With the power to turn themselves into any other cell in the body, stem cells have a future as a key treatment for a range of diseases and injuries. The problem is, they lack some of the self-defense mechanisms that other cells have, leaving them open to attack from viruses and other threats. Now, researchers...
Tag: <span>Immune system</span>
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A question of time
by University of Freiburg A team led by the Freiburg biologists Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel and Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber conducted an experiment in which they controlled the duration of the interaction of a specific protein with T cells, a type of white blood cells, thereby showing how the immune system differentiates between self and non-self molecules. The scientists published their results in the journal eLife. The function of the immune system is to distinguish between the body’s own cells...
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Gene therapy may help fight tough-to-treat blood cancer
by Amy Norton, Healthday Reporter (HealthDay)—A gene therapy that tweaks the immune system might offer hope to people with blood cancer that has resisted standard treatments, a new preliminary trial suggests. The cancer, called multiple myeloma, arises in certain white blood cells. It is currently incurable, but there are treatments that can help people live with the disease for years. However, most people eventually progress, and some fail to respond to the available therapies...
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Study finds that many people diagnosed with MS do not have the condition
By Chiara Townley Fact checked by Paula Field Researchers found that nearly 1 in 5 people who had received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis had other unrelated conditions. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a widespread disabling neurological condition in which the immune system attacks and destroys the fatty tissue that surrounds the nerves. This leads to...
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How the body protects itself from type 2 diabetes
by German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases A specific group of white blood cells, termed “regulatory T cells,” keeps the immune system in balance and suppresses its activity to protect the body against autoimmune diseases. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn have now discovered a new mechanism by which...
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Immune study sheds light on vitamin D effects
by University of Edinburgh Scientists have uncovered fresh insights into how vitamin D affects the immune system and might influence susceptibility to diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight and is often lauded for its health benefits. Researchers found it also affects key cells of the immune system. This discovery might explain...
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How grief affects the immune system
by Alexis Blue, University of Arizona Losing a loved one is one of the most stressful life experiences a person will endure, and its toll can be physical as well as emotional. Science has shown, for example, that widows and widowers have a 41 percent higher risk of early death, compared to their still-married peers. Bereavement’s...
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Lipid-filled particle may work with immune system to keep fat healthy
Researchers have discovered that fat tissue releases a lipid-filled particle that has a role in immune function and metabolism. The study, in mice, was published online in the journal Science. Obesity appears to activate the immune system, contributing to type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and other disorders. Understanding how fat tissue regulates immune...
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Decoding the human immune system
For the first time ever, researchers are comprehensively sequencing the human immune system, which is billions of times larger than the human genome. In a new study published in Naturefrom the Human Vaccines Project, scientists have sequenced a key part of this vast and mysterious system—the genes encoding the circulating B cell receptor repertoire. TechGenYZ...
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Skin cancer can spread in mice by hijacking the immune system
Targeting these molecules with inhibiting drugs could help to prevent this aggressive skin cancercoming back after treatment. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Scientists have uncovered molecules released by invasive skin cancer that reprogram healthy immune cells to help the cancer to spread. The findings of the Cancer Research UK-funded study are published in Cell, today. Researchers...