A four-year phase 2 clinical trial demonstrated that a peanut allergy treatment called sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, is effective and safe, while offering durable desensitization to peanuts in peanut-allergic children.
Researchers may have found why viral infections hit males more severely than females. They found that female mouse and human NK cells have an extra copy of an X chromosome-linked gene called UTX. UTX acts as an epigenetic regulator to boost NK cell anti-viral function, while repressing NK cell numbers.
A Kaiser Permanente study confirms the benefit of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, also known as Paxlovid, as an early-stage treatment to prevent hospitalization for people with mild to moderate COVID-19, regardless of prior immunity or age. The study was published March 15, 2023, in Lancet ID.
Research is shedding light on why ‘breakthrough’ Omicron infections occur in vaccinated individuals and suggests those who are both vaccinated and experienced previous infection have better protection against getting sick again.
A group of researchers have used the Advanced Photon Source to look at monoclonal antibodies to subvert the “shield” of the Lassa virus, potentially paving the way for new therapies.
In a Phase II trial led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, adding ipilimumab to a neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, combination of nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a major pathologic response (MPR) in half of all treated patients with early-stage, resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have found that high consumption of a common artificial sweetener, sucralose, lowers activation of T-cells, an important component of the immune system, in mice.
Researchers have revealed the modulatory effect of the anti-inflammatory metabolite itaconate on T helper and T regulatory cells, which may lead to new therapeutic approaches to treating some autoimmune diseases.
It's sleep awareness week, according to the National Sleep Foundation. It’s important to understand how sleep deprivation can impact your health. Most people recognize that if they don’t get enough sleep, their mood and memory will suffer the next day.
A new approach that delivers a “one-two punch” to help T cells attack solid tumors is the focus of a preclinical study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Immunotherapy is an effective form of therapy for different types of cancer. However, for pancreatic cancer, its effect is limited and differs between men and women.
A new software tool developed by Texas Biomedical Research Institute and collaborators can help scientists and vaccine developers quickly edit genetic blueprints of pathogens to make them less harmful. The tool, called CoDe – short for Codon Deoptimization – enables users to make precise edits to a genetic code to make genes less functional – in other words, to deoptimize the genes.
In a step forward for genetic engineering and synthetic biology, researchers have modified a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to be immune to natural viral infections while also minimizing the potential for the bacteria or their modified genes to escape into the wild.
The gut is home to a cast of microbes that influence health and disease. Some types of microorganisms are thought to contribute to the development of inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the exact cascade of events that leads from microbes to immune cells to disease remains mysterious.
The human intestine is an environment inhabited by many bacteria and other microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiome, gut microbiota or intestinal flora.
UC San Diego researchers have identified a strong association between the product of a gene expressed in most cancers and elevated levels of white blood cells that produce antibodies within tumors, suggesting a new therapeutic target.
In a new study published in Nature Medicine, Moffitt Cancer Center physician-scientists, in collaboration with four cancer centers in the United States and Germany, reveal how microorganisms in the gut influence non-Hodgkin lymphoma patient outcomes to a type of cellular immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, or CAR T.
The next pandemic that cascades through the human population could be caused by a new influenza virus strain concocted in animals, against which humans will have little to no immunity.
In reviewing data from previous studies, a team lead by researchers at the University of Chicago and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) found that individuals who had fewer than six hours of sleep per night in the days surrounding vaccination had a blunted antibody response. That indicates efforts to promote heathy sleep duration ahead of an immunization could be an easy way to improve vaccine effectiveness.
The enzyme TBK1 is an important component of the innate immune system that plays a critical role in the defense against viruses. Upon mutation-induced loss of TBK1 function, patients show an increased susceptibility to viral infections.
Exercising too much and not getting enough rest is bad for your health. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the same is true for migratory birds. They need to rest not only to renew their energy levels but also in order to boost their immune system.
Dr. Marcus Bosenberg, an accomplished clinician, teacher, and researcher who studies the factors that regulate anti-cancer immune responses, was recently appointed the Anthony N. Brady Professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Immunobiology, effective immediately.Bosenberg received his Ph.D. and M.D. at Cornell University Medical College.
A new class of oral drugs can inhibit a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, researchers report, potentially identifying new antiviral agents providing broad activity against the constantly emerging new strains of the COVID-19 virus
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how healthy bacteria can escape the intestine, travel to lymph nodes and cancerous tumors elsewhere in the body, and boost the effectiveness of certain immunotherapy drugs. The findings, published in Science Immunology, shed light on why antibiotics can weaken the effect of immunotherapies and could lead to new cancer treatments.
Scientists from the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) have shed new light on ageing processes in the brain. By linking the increased presence of specialised immune cells to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury for the first time, they have unearthed a possible new target for therapies aimed at treating age-related neurological diseases.
The link between symptoms of COVID-19 and physical inactivity is increasingly evident. An article recently published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil describes a study in which COVID-19 survivors with at least one persistent symptom of the disease were 57% more likely to be sedentary, and the presence of five or more post-acute sequelae of infection by SARS-CoV-2 increased the odds of physical inactivity by 138%.
Juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare but often severe and chronic systemic autoimmune disease, includes a large number of patients who are treatment resistant, requiring long term immunosuppressive therapy. A small open-label study published in Arthritis and Rheumatology shows promise using a targeted biologic therapy called abatacept to treat such patients.
A pilot trial by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, tested the nasal administration of the drug Foralumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.
For the first time, a research team has identified and analyzed the steps by which immune cells “see” and respond to cancer cells, providing insights into reasons some treatments may be effective for certain patients but not others.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a way to treat the area surrounding breast tumors that have spread to bone so that such tumors become vulnerable to attack by the body’s immune system. When the researchers boosted the activity of certain immune cells, called T cells and macrophages, these immune cells worked together to clear metastatic breast tumors that had spread to the bones of mice.
Reducing the methylation of a key messenger RNA can promote migration of macrophages into the brain and ameliorate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in a mouse model, according to a new study publishing March 7th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Rui Zhang of Air Force Medical University in Xian, Shaanxi, China. The results illuminate one pathway for entrance of peripheral immune cells into the brain, and may provide a new target for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Biotic stress experienced by plants can take the form of attacks by insect herbivores or disease-causing pathogens. In crops grown for food production, this stress provides a substantial risk to crop yields and is currently managed with the widespread use of pesticides, which are damaging for the environment and can pose a risk to human health.
A global team of researchers has created an algorithmic tool that can identify existing drugs in order to combat future pandemics. The work, reported in the Cell Press journal Heliyon, offers the possibility of responding more quickly to public-health crises.
The research team consists of six investigators who will lead three separate project grants and three separate cores, in the hopes of finding new avenues for research and treatments to help patients who suffer from conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress disorder, a common and serious complication of COVID-19.
A clinical trial testing a freeze-dried, temperature-stable experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in healthy adults found that it was safe and stimulated both antibodies and responses from the cellular arm of the immune system.
Lung cancer patients with moderate to severe depression are 2 to 3 times more likely to have inflammation levels that predict poor survival rates, a new study found. The results may help explain why a substantial portion of lung cancer patients fail to respond to new immunotherapy and targeted treatments that have led to significantly longer survival for many people with the disease.
The recent public health emergency declarations in New York and London due to polio infections and detection of the virus in these cities’ wastewater strongly indicate that polio is no longer close to being eradicated. Now, four members of the Global Virus Network (GVN) proposed changes in global polio eradication strategy to get the world back on track to one day eliminating polio’s threat.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has awarded a $1 million grant to a renowned specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
In an even more unexpected twist, the researchers found that gut microbes fuel the production of Tregs, which act as immune healers that go on patrol around the body and respond to distress signals from distant sites of injury.
A good night’s sleep can solve all sorts of problems – but scientists have now discovered new evidence that sleeping well may make you less vulnerable to infection.
It’s almost that dreaded time of year, when spring and summer allergies can make life miserable for many. Ashley Agan, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said steps can be taken to control symptoms and prevent infections.
Together with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) experts, biostatisticians and clinicians from across the globe, a UK HealthCare neurologist has helped compile an essential list of MS medications for patients in resource-poor settings. Jagannadha “Jay” Avasarala, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Comprehensive Care Center for MS and Neuroimmunology at the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, currently serves as a panel member of the Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation (MSIF) and previously served as chair of the American Academy of Neurology (2020-22).