by Frontiers Cancers evade destruction by convincing some immune cells to suppress others. But a surprising interlocutor can persuade the suppressors to defect, and the destroyers to redouble. A review published in Frontiers in Oncologyexplains how bacteria can rally immune cells to attack tumors, via ancient lines of chemical communication with our immune system. Decoding these molecular signals is key to developing bacteria as a safe,...
Tag: <span>Immune system</span>
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How pregnancy changes women’s metabolism and immune systems
by April Rees, Ben Jenkins and Catherine Thornton, The Conversation Some of the changes that happen to a woman’s body during pregnancy are more obvious than others. We all know that women usually get a visible bump, they might have morning sickness initially, and swollen ankles later on, but pregnancy can also change some of...
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Disrupting the gut microbiome may affect some immune responses to flu vaccination
Posted Today The normal human gut microbiome is a flourishing community of microorganisms, some of which can affect the human immune system. In a new paper published in Cell, researchers found that oral antibiotics, which can kill gut microorganisms, can alter the human immune response to seasonal influenza vaccination. The work was led by scientists at Stanford University and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part...
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What to know about chickenpox in adults
By Rachel Nall MSN CRNA Reviewed by Cameron White, MD, MPH Many people think of chickenpox as a childhood disease, but adults can get it, too. In a healthy person, the varicella-zoster — or chickenpox — virus usually causes mild symptoms. However, in adults with chronic medical issues, especially those with weakened immune systems, more severe symptoms are possible....
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Women’s stronger immune response to flu vaccination diminishes with age
Study of flu vaccine responses in humans and mice finds evidence that estrogen boosts vaccine immunity while testosterone lowers it JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Women tend to have a greater immune response to a flu vaccination compared to men, but their advantage largely disappears as they age and their estrogen levels decline, suggests...
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Medicines made of solid gold to help the immune system
By studying the effects of gold nanoparticles on the immune cells related to antibody production, researchers at UNIGE, at Swansea University and at the NCCR ‘Bio-inspired Materials’ are paving the way for more effective vaccines and therapies UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE Over the past twenty years, the use of nanoparticles in medicine has steadily increased. However, their safety and effect...
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Patients with feared superbug shed large amounts of it from their skin, study says
By HELEN BRANSWELL @HelenBranswell New research on a frightening new superbug confirms what scientists have both suspected and feared: Some hospitalized patients who carry the fungus shed large amounts of it from their skin, contaminating the environment in which they are being treated and leaving enough of it to infect others later on. The bug, called Candida auris, is highly resistant to many existing antifungal drugs. It’s also...
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Swell Snapshots
Posted Today After decades of attempts by the scientific community, researchers at Harvard Medical School and Peking University have provided the first clear look at a protein implicated in a vast array of inflammatory conditions. The finding, published in Nature, lifts a blindfold that has hampered scientists’ ability to intervene when the immune system overreacts to...
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Changes to immune genes link paternal smoking with childhood asthma
Children exposed to paternal tobacco smoking before birth are more likely to develop asthma — and associated changes to immune genes predict the level of risk FRONTIERS Children exposed to paternal tobacco smoking before birth are more likely to develop asthma – and associated changes to immune genes predict the level of risk. These are the findings of a new study of Taiwanese families, whose lifestyle...
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New study reveals gut segments organized by function
by Daniel Mucida, Rockefeller University As food enters the intestine, it embarks on windy, lengthy journey. For most of the route, its surroundings don’t appear to change much. But new research from Rockefeller’s Daniel Mucida shows that the food-processing canal consists of compartments that pace the immune system’s reactions to the food passing through—with less aggressive defenses in...