Feature Channels: Immunology

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Released: 19-Jul-2021 2:05 PM EDT
Common COVID-19 Antibiotic No More Effective Than Placebo
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

A UC San Francisco study has found that the antibiotic azithromycin was no more effective than a placebo in preventing symptoms of COVID-19 among non-hospitalized patients, and may increase their chance of hospitalization, despite widespread prescription of the antibiotic for the disease.

Released: 19-Jul-2021 11:50 AM EDT
COVID-19 Antibodies Persist at Least Nine Months After Infection
Imperial College London

Testing of an entire Italian town shows antibody levels remain high nine months after SARS-CoV-2 infection, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.

15-Jul-2021 5:45 PM EDT
Preparing T Cells for the Long Haul
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

In a new Nature Immunology study, researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) report that T cells can be engineered to clear tumors without succumbing to T cell exhaustion.

Released: 15-Jul-2021 11:25 AM EDT
New Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate Provides Effective Option for Low- to Mid-Income Countries
Emory Health Sciences

A multidisciplinary team of researchers is the first to show combining yeast-expression technology and a novel adjuvant formulation to produce a COVID-19 vaccine candidate is effective against SARS-COV-2 and promises to be easy to produce at large scale and cost-effective, important aspects for vaccinating people worldwide, especially in low- to middle-income countries.

Released: 15-Jul-2021 11:00 AM EDT
Hopkins Med News Update
Johns Hopkins Medicine

NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE: - Johns Hopkins Medicine Celebrates Its Contributions to Keto Therapy as Diet Turns 100 - COVID-19 News: Can Dietary Supplements Help the Immune System Fight Coronavirus Infection? - Johns Hopkins Medicine Helps Develop Physician Training to Prevent Gun Injuries, Deaths - COVID-19 News: Study Says Pandemic Impaired Reporting of Infectious Diseases - Johns Hopkins Medicine Helps Create Treatment Guide for Neurodegenerative Disorders - Johns Hopkins Pediatrics Says, ‘Get Kids Required Vaccines Before Going Back to School’

Released: 15-Jul-2021 10:30 AM EDT
A rapid method to quantify antibodies against SARS-CoV-2
Hokkaido University

Scientists have developed a rapid, highly accurate test to detect antibodies against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 in human serum, opening a new avenue for understanding the full extent of the pandemic and evaluating the effectiveness of vaccines.

Released: 14-Jul-2021 4:25 PM EDT
Vaccine Hesitancy In Young Adults May Hamper Herd Immunity
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Vaccine skepticism among young adults may stall efforts to achieve herd immunity - a threshold in which approximately 80 percent of a population is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

   
Released: 13-Jul-2021 2:05 PM EDT
One shot of the Sputnik V vaccine triggers strong antibody responses
Cell Press

A single dose of the Sputnik V vaccine may elicit significant antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2, finds a study published July 13 in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.

Released: 12-Jul-2021 5:00 AM EDT
MD Anderson and Hummingbird Bioscience Announce Strategic Research Collaboration to Advance Innovative Immunotherapies
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

MD Anderson and Hummingbird Bioscience announced a multi-year strategic research collaboration to investigate HMBD-002, Hummingbird's VISTA antagonist antibody, as a novel immunotherapy for cancer.

Released: 7-Jul-2021 2:30 PM EDT
New study shows mathematical models helped reduce the spread of COVID-19
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Colorado researchers have published new findings in Emerging Infectious Diseases that take a first look at the use of SARS-CoV-2 mathematical modeling to inform early statewide policies enacted to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in Colorado.

Released: 7-Jul-2021 2:30 PM EDT
‘Fortunate Accident’ May Yield Immunity Weapon Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
Johns Hopkins Medicine

In what turned out to be one of the most important accidents of all time, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory after a vacation in 1928 to find a clear zone surrounding a piece of mold that had infiltrated a petri dish full of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a common skin bacterium he was growing.

Released: 7-Jul-2021 12:35 PM EDT
Discovery Shows How Tuning the Immune System May Enhance Vaccines and Ease Disease
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

A metabolic control pathway that regulates T follicular helper cells offers targets for drugs to stimulate the adaptive immune response.

Released: 6-Jul-2021 5:05 PM EDT
Study Reveals How Our Immune System Reacts to COVID-19 Variants
University of Sydney

Australian scientists researching how our immune system responds to COVID-19 have revealed that those infected by early variants in 2020 produced sustained antibodies, however, these antibodies are not as effective against contemporary variants of the virus.

Released: 6-Jul-2021 5:00 PM EDT
UT Southwestern Scientists Closing in on Map of The Mammalian Immune System
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Using artificial intelligence, UT Southwestern scientists have identified thousands of genetic mutations likely to affect the immune system in mice. The work is part of one Nobel laureate’s quest to find virtually all such variations in mammals.

Released: 6-Jul-2021 3:40 PM EDT
Study Shows Laboratory Developed Protein Spikes Consistent with COVID-19 Virus
University of Southampton

A new international study has found that the key properties of the spikes of SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 are consistent with those of several laboratory-developed protein spikes, designed to mimic the infectious virus.

Released: 6-Jul-2021 3:35 PM EDT
mRNA Vaccines Slash Risk of COVID-19 Infection by 91 Percent in Fully Vaccinated People
University of Utah Health

People who receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are up to 91 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who are unvaccinated, according to a new nationwide study of eight sites, including Salt Lake City. For those few vaccinated people who do still get an infection, or “breakthrough” cases, the study suggests that vaccines reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and shorten its duration.

Released: 1-Jul-2021 3:35 PM EDT
Vaccines grown in eggs induce antibody response against an egg-associated glycan
University of Chicago Medical Center

Researchers have found that viral vaccines grown in eggs, such as the H1N1 flu vaccine, produce an antibody response against a sugar molecule found in eggs, which could have implications for the effectiveness of these vaccines.

Released: 1-Jul-2021 2:40 PM EDT
Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines prime T cells to fight SARS-CoV-2 variants
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that T cells from people who have recovered from COVID-19 or received the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are still able to recognize several concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Released: 1-Jul-2021 2:40 PM EDT
For Transplant Patients, COVID-19 Vaccination Presents a Different Uncertainty
UC San Diego Health

Researchers at UC San Diego Health have launched a pair of clinical trials to study the immune response of COVID-19 vaccinated transplant recipients of bone marrow and solid organs, such as the heart, lung, liver and kidney.

Released: 29-Jun-2021 11:45 AM EDT
Studying how microbiome affects immunity could improve vaccine effectiveness
Iowa State University

A new grant will help Iowa State University researchers figure out how the microbiome, or all the microorganisms that live inside and on human systems, affects immunity and the effectiveness of vaccines. Not everyone responds to vaccines in identical ways, and the researchers will search for ways humans can adjust their microbiomes to optimize vaccine response.

   
28-Jun-2021 11:55 AM EDT
Cell-Based Immunotherapy Shows Promise Against Melanoma
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown in preclinical studies conducted in mice and human cells that a type immunotherapy based on natural killer cells could be effective against solid tumors, starting with melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can be deadly if not caught early.

Released: 28-Jun-2021 11:00 AM EDT
Carl F. Ware receives ICIS Honorary Lifetime Membership Award
Sanford Burnham Prebys

Carl F. Ware, Ph.D., director of the Inflammatory Diseases Center at Sanford Burhnam Prebys, has received the 2021 International Cytokine & Interferon Society Honorary Lifetime Membership Award.

Released: 25-Jun-2021 10:05 AM EDT
Hard-working Enzyme Keeps Immune Cells in Line
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have shed light on a process in immune cells that may explain why some people develop cardiovascular diseases. Their research, published recently in Genome Biology, shows the key role that TET enzymes play in keeping immune cells on a healthy track as they mature. The scientists found that other enzymes do play a role in this process—but TET enzymes do the heavy lifting.

Released: 24-Jun-2021 4:20 PM EDT
Mosquito Love songs send Mixed Message About Immunity
Cornell University

A new Cornell University study of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes investigates how a mating cue called “harmonic convergence” might affect immunity against parasites, bacteria and dengue virus in offspring, which has important implications for trade-offs male mosquitoes make between investing energy towards immunity or investing it on traits that impact mating and fitness.

23-Jun-2021 1:45 PM EDT
Many Cancer Patients May Need a Sequential One-Two Punch of Immunotherapies
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

New research led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and the University of Liverpool may explain why many cancer patients do not respond to anti-PD-1 cancer immunotherapies—also called checkpoint inhibitors. The team reports that these patients may have tumors with high numbers of T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells.

Released: 21-Jun-2021 5:55 PM EDT
UCI-led study finds that cancer immunotherapy may self-limit its efficacy
University of California, Irvine

Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2021 — Cancer immunotherapy involving drugs that inhibit CTLA-4 also activates an unwanted response that may self-limit its efficacy in fighting tumors, according to a new study led by Francesco Marangoni, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology & biophysics and member of the Institute for Immunology at the University of California, Irvine.

Released: 21-Jun-2021 4:10 PM EDT
Study examines how breast implant surfaces affect immune response
Rice University

Rice University bioengineers collaborated on a six-year study that systematically analyzed how the surface architecture of breast implants influences the development of adverse effects, including an unusual type of lymphoma.

   
Released: 21-Jun-2021 12:15 PM EDT
Study Suggests that Smoother Silicone Breast Implants Reduce Severity of Immune System Reactions
Johns Hopkins Medicine

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rice University in Houston, silicone breast implants with a smoother surface design have less risk of producing inflammation and other immune system reactions than those with more roughly textured coatings. Results of the experiments using mice, rabbits and samples of human breast tissue advance knowledge of how the body responds to such implants, providing new information to physicians and affirming the benefits of certain smoother surfaces, the researchers say.

   
Released: 17-Jun-2021 2:05 PM EDT
Trojan horses and tunneling nanotubes: Ebola virus research at Texas Biomed gets NIH funding boost
Texas Biomedical Research Institute

Scientists have a general idea of how viruses invade and spread in the body, but the precise mechanisms are actually not well understood, especially when it comes to Ebola virus. Olena Shtanko, Ph.D., a Staff Scientist at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed), has received more than $1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore different aspects of Ebola virus infection.

Released: 16-Jun-2021 8:00 AM EDT
Two COVID-19 Vaccines Show Safety, Strong Immunity in Infant Model
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

The Moderna mRNA vaccine and a protein-based vaccine candidate elicited durable neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in pre-clinical research. There were no adverse effects.

Released: 15-Jun-2021 1:05 PM EDT
Common cold combats COVID-19
Yale University

Exposure to the rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, can protect against infection by the virus which causes COVID-19, Yale researchers have found.

9-Jun-2021 6:05 PM EDT
AI Predicts How Patients with Viral Infections, Including COVID-19, Will Fare
UC San Diego Health

UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers discovered gene expression patterns associated with pandemic viral infections, providing a map to help define patients’ immune responses, measure disease severity, predict outcomes and test therapies — for current and future pandemics.

10-Jun-2021 11:05 AM EDT
Ludwig Cancer Research Study Shows How Certain Macrophages Dampen Anti-Tumor Immunity
Ludwig Cancer Research

A Ludwig Cancer Research study adds to growing evidence that immune cells known as macrophages inhabiting the body cavities that house our vital organs can aid tumor growth by distracting the immune system’s cancer-killing CD8+ T cells. Reported in the current issue of Cancer Cell and led by Ludwig investigators Taha Merghoub and Jedd Wolchok at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) and Charles Rudin of MSK, the study shows that cavity-resident macrophages express high levels of Tim-4, a receptor for phosphatidylserine (PS), a molecule that they surprisingly found on the surface of highly activated, cytotoxic and proliferative CD8+ T-cells.

9-Jun-2021 12:55 PM EDT
Could Neutrophils be the Secret to Cancer’s Achilles’ Heel?
University of Chicago Medical Center

A study published in the June 10, 2021 issue of Cell describes a remarkable new mechanism by which the body’s own immune system can eliminate cancer cells without damaging host cells. The findings have the potential to develop first-in-class medicines that are designed to be selective for cancer cells and non-toxic to normal cells and tissues.

Released: 9-Jun-2021 7:05 AM EDT
Single-Shot COVID-19 Vaccine Generates Robust Immune Responses Against COVID-19 Variants
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

In a new study published in Nature, Dan Barouch, MD, PhD, Director of BIDMC's Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, and colleagues report on the antibody and cellular immune responses generated by the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine against the original viral strain and against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. The team found that this vaccine induced immune responses against all the viral variants.

Released: 8-Jun-2021 3:20 PM EDT
Understanding gut inflammation may hold clues to mitigating Parkinson’s onset
Van Andel Institute

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (JUNE 8, 2021) — Chronic inflammation in the gut may propel processes in the body that give rise to Parkinson’s disease, according to a study by scientists at Van Andel Institute and Roche.

Released: 8-Jun-2021 8:55 AM EDT
First in the World! Chulalongkorn Hospital Successfully Treats a Breast Cancer Patient with Immunotherapy
Chulalongkorn University

Queen Sirikit Center for Breast Cancer, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society (Chulalongkorn Hospital) has become the world’s first institution to have successfully used immunotherapy to treat a breast cancer patient who is now in complete remission with minimal side effects and uplifted quality of life.

Released: 7-Jun-2021 2:20 PM EDT
Protein identified as new therapeutic anti-viral target for COVID-19
King's College London

New research identified a novel interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the galectin-3-binding protein (LGALS3BP) which could be a new therapeutic anti-viral target.

Released: 4-Jun-2021 12:20 PM EDT
Collaboration controls killers
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude immunologists are researching how effector and killer T cells can be controlled to destroy cancer cells that resist treatment.

Released: 4-Jun-2021 11:45 AM EDT
Understanding the skin’s defense system
Michigan State University

It can be easy to forget that the human skin is an organ. It’s also the largest one and it’s exposed, charged with keeping our inner biology safe from the perils of the outside world. But Michigan State University’s Sangbum Park is someone who never takes skin or its biological functions for granted. He’s studying skin at the cellular level to better understand it and help us support it when it’s fighting injury, infection or disease.

2-Jun-2021 2:35 PM EDT
Studies reveal skull as unexpected source of brain immunity
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered that the immune cells that protect the brain and spinal cord come primarily from the skull. The finding opens up the possibility of developing therapies to target such cells as a way to prevent or treat brain conditions.

1-Jun-2021 11:15 AM EDT
Immunotherapy After Surgery Is Shown to Reduce Deadly Relapse Risk in Advanced Bladder Cancer
Mount Sinai Health System

A phase 3 clinical trial co-led by Mount Sinai researchers is the first to show that immunotherapy after surgery to remove bladder cancer can reduce the risk of relapse for patients who are at high risk of their cancer returning in a deadly metastatic form, according to results published in The New England Journal of Medicine. The immunotherapy nivolumab was used as an adjuvant therapy, which is given after surgery in the hopes of maximizing its effectiveness.

Released: 2-Jun-2021 3:45 PM EDT
Metal Contamination, Gene Signatures, Bisphenol F, and More Featured in June 2021 Toxicological Sciences
Society of Toxicology

Toxicological Sciences delivers the latest research in toxicology, in areas such as clinical and translational toxicology; emerging technologies, methods, and models; and environmental toxicology.

   
Released: 2-Jun-2021 1:55 PM EDT
LJI launches new global cancer immunology resource
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health has granted over $4.2 million to launch the Cancer Epitope Database and Analysis Resource (CEDAR), led by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) Professors Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., and Bjoern Peters, Ph.D.

Released: 2-Jun-2021 10:10 AM EDT
Patients Taking Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Respond Less Well to COVID-19 Vaccine
NYU Langone Health

One-quarter of people who take the drug methotrexate for common immune system disorders — from rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis — mount a weaker immune response to a COVID-19 vaccine, a new study shows.

Released: 2-Jun-2021 12:45 AM EDT
Time-dependent viral interference between influenza virus and coronavirus in the infection of differentiated porcine airway epithelial cells
Taylor & Francis

A new study carried out in pig cells suggests previous infection with swine influenza virus (SIV) can protect against the development of porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCoV) if there is a zero- or three-day interval between infections.

Released: 1-Jun-2021 2:40 PM EDT
Research Shows Plunge in Childhood Vaccination Rates in Texas During Pandemic
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

A team of researchers from universities in California and Texas has found immunization rates for children in Texas for a wide range of diseases, including polio and measles, have dropped steeply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Released: 28-May-2021 12:40 PM EDT
Researchers Discover Drug that Blocks Multiple SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Mice
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

A small molecule STING agonist was highly protective against the virus that causes COVID-19 and likely other coronaviruses

Released: 27-May-2021 6:05 PM EDT
LJI and Synbal, Inc. partner to develop better COVID-19 models
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

The La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) is partnering with Synbal, Inc., a preclinical biotechnology company based in San Diego, CA, to develop multi-gene, humanized mouse models for COVID-19 research. The research at LJI will be led by Professor Sujan Shresta, Ph.D., a member of the Institute’s Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research.



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