UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER Science tells us that a lot of good things happen in our brains while we sleep – learning and memories are consolidated and waste is removed, among other things. New research shows for the first time that important immune cells called microglia – which play an important role in reorganizing...
Tag: <span>Immune cells</span>
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Study fingers new player in cancer immunity
Deleting immune-regulatory gene boosted tumor-fighting capacity in the immune cells of mice with colon cancer, melanoma HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL The immune system must strike an exquisite balance between vanquishing infections and cancer, while at the same time restraining its activity to avoid inadvertently attacking the body’s healthy tissues and organs. This balancing feat is accomplished by...
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These secret battles between your body’s cells might just save your life
To fight cancer and ageing, biologists are looking at how cells evict, kill or cannibalize less-fit rivals. Kendall Powell Yasuyaki Fujita has seen first-hand what happens when cells stop being polite and start getting real. He caught a glimpse of this harsh microscopic world when he switched on a cancer-causing gene called Ras in a few kidney cells in a dish....
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Blocking a hormone’s action in immune cells may reduce heart disease risk
by American Physiological Society Blocking the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)—a protein that helps maintain normal levels of salt and water in the body—in immune cells may help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by improving blood vessel health. The study will be presented today at the American Physiological Society (APS) Aldosterone and ENaC in...
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Parkinson’s disease is also present in the blood
by Aarhus University The behaviour of immune cells in the blood is so different in patients with Parkinson’s disease that it advocates for a new type of supplementary medicine, which can regulate the immune system and thus inhibit the deterioration of the brain. These are the perspectives in a new study which researchers from the...
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Genomic map implicates broad immune cell involvement in multiple sclerosis
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Consortium (IMSGC) reports the results of its latest study, “Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates peripheral immune cells and microglia in susceptibility”, in the journal Science today: the highly productive collaborative group presents a new milestone in its efforts to understand the genetic basis of multiple...
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Synthetic cells capture and reveal hidden messages of the immune system
by University of Oxford When immune cells detect harmful pathogens or cancer, they mobilise and coordinate a competent defence response. To do this effectively immune cells must communicate in a way that is tailored to the pathogenic insult. Consequently, the body’s response to various health challenges depends on successful coordination among the cells of the immune...
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Renegade immune cells found to raid aging brains and choke new neuron generation
Rich Haridy New work led by Stanford University scientists has revealed killer immune cells have been found to collect in parts of the brain where new nerve cells are generated. This damaging proliferation seems to naturally increase as a brain ages and the researchers hypothesize this may be a mechanism that underpins general age-related cognitive...
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Scientists discover self-defense “switch” for stem cells
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...
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Why visual stimulation may work against Alzheimer’s
Several years ago, MIT neuroscientists showed that they could dramatically reduce the amyloid plaques seen Alzheimer’sdisease in mice simply by exposing the animals to light flickering at a specific frequency. In a new study, the researchers have found that this treatment has widespread effects at the cellular level, and it helps not just neurons but also...