Immune System News - SciTechDaily

New Study Unravels the Mystery of COVID’s Worst Pediatric Complication

University of California San Francisco — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 22:58:46 +0000

A study identified how children’s immune systems trigger MIS-C by mistaking a COVID-19 protein for a similar human protein, leading to severe autoimmune responses. This finding provides new perspectives on treating autoimmune diseases linked to viral infections. Research uncovers a mechanism behind multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). During the early stages of the COVID-19 [...]

Immune System Reprogramming: Small Molecule Discovery Opens a New Approach to Fighting Disease

University of Chicago — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 03:57:07 +0000

Researchers have identified steroids and other small molecules that can boost immune responses by training innate immune cells, offering new possibilities for disease treatment and vaccine enhancement. Vaccines provide a front-line defense against dangerous viruses, training adaptive immune cells to identify and fight specific pathogens. But innate immune cells — the first responders to any [...]

New Immune System Defense Pathway Discovered

University Hospital Bonn — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 10:21:52 +0000

Researchers in Bonn have decoded the interaction between monocytes and platelets in human blood. Monocytes, a unique type of white blood cell, release cytokines as inflammatory signals essential for a proper immune response. Researchers at University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have discovered that platelets, also called thrombocytes, interact with monocytes, enhancing [...]

Newly Discovered Mechanism Could Significantly Improve Cancer Immunotherapies

Technical University of Munich (TUM) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:32:19 +0000

A study revealed that tumors block immune responses by using prostaglandin E2, providing new insights for enhancing cancer immunotherapies. Tumors actively inhibit the development of immune responses by cytotoxic T cells, crucial for fighting cancer. For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) Hospital have discovered the [...]

Supercharging the Immune System: UCLA’s Pioneering Vaccine Shows Promise Against Deadly Brain Cancer

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 09:40:51 +0000

The use of poly-ICLC in combination with a dendritic cell-based immunotherapy vaccine shows promise as a treatment for patients with deadly brain cancer. Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a combination immunotherapy that boosts the immune response in patients with malignant gliomas, an aggressive and challenging-to-treat type of brain tumor. [...]

Overturning Traditional Beliefs – Cambridge Scientists Have Discovered “New Rules of the Immune System”

University of Cambridge — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 08:26:26 +0000

Cambridge researchers have discovered that regulatory T cells traverse the body to repair tissue, opening avenues for targeted treatments in various diseases. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that regulatory T cells, a kind of white blood cell, form a single, large group that continuously circulates throughout the body to seek out and [...]

Cellular Fountain of Youth: New T-Cell Discovery Rewrites the Rules of Aging

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 02:59:55 +0000

Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Minnesota have discovered that the aging of T-cells is not constrained by the age of the organism, enabling these healthy cells to continue multiplying indefinitely. Most cell types undergo functional decline after extensive proliferation and replication over the years. However, T cells appear to [...]

Previously Unknown Immune System Link Uncovered – Findings Could Lead to New Cancer Treatments

Weill Cornell Medicine — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:49:11 +0000

Weill Cornell scientists discovered a crucial link between two immune pathways involving IL-23 and CTLA-4, impacting the understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases and informing cancer immunotherapy strategies. Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have uncovered a previously unknown connection between two key pathways that regulate the immune system in mammals. This discovery significantly enhances [...]

Alarming Findings: COVID-19 Triggers Lethal Lung Disease in Previously Unaffected Populations

University of Leeds — Sat, 08 Jun 2024 19:11:21 +0000

Researchers discovered that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surge in a rare autoimmune disease among previously unaffected demographic groups, leading to the deaths of nine patients. The disease is an autoimmune response where the immune system mistakenly attacks its own sentinel proteins, which are help detect viruses. It is predominantly observed in East [...]

Evolving With the Virus: Repeat COVID-19 Shots Neutralizing Beyond the Expected

Washington University School of Medicine — Thu, 23 May 2024 00:38:42 +0000

The response to an updated vaccine is influenced by previous vaccinations but also produces broadly neutralizing antibodies. The COVID-19 pandemic has ended, yet the virus responsible continues to circulate, hospitalizing thousands weekly and frequently producing new variants. Due to the virus’s remarkable capacity for mutation and immune evasion, the World Health Organization (WHO) advises yearly [...]

New Research Reveals That Zinc May Shorten Cold Duration by Two Days – But Is It Worth the Side-Effects?

Cochrane — Tue, 21 May 2024 02:15:54 +0000

A recent Cochrane review has discovered that zinc supplementation can reduce the duration of common cold symptoms by approximately two days. Zinc supplementation could shorten the duration of common cold symptoms by approximately two days, according to a recent Cochrane review. However, the findings are not definitive, and the possible advantages should be weighed against [...]

Mystery Finally Solved? New Discovery Could Explain Long COVID

University of Virginia Health System — Sun, 19 May 2024 20:23:08 +0000

Researchers at University of Virginia Health have uncovered a potential explanation for some of the most puzzling aspects of COVID-19 and long COVID. These surprising insights may pave the way for novel treatments targeting the challenging acute impacts of COVID-19, long COVID, and potentially other viruses. Researchers led by UVA’s Steven L. Zeichner, MD, PhD, [...]

Revolutionary “Quartet Nanocage” Vaccine Effective Against Coronaviruses That Haven’t Even Emerged Yet

University of Cambridge — Mon, 13 May 2024 08:21:33 +0000

Researchers have created a new vaccine technology that, in tests with mice, has demonstrated protection against a wide variety of coronaviruses, including those that could cause future disease outbreaks—even those not yet identified. This is a new approach to vaccine development called ‘proactive vaccinology’, where scientists build a vaccine before the disease-causing pathogen even emerges. [...]

The Trojan Horse Approach – New Method Could Revolutionize Lung Cancer Treatment

University of Texas at Arlington — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 06:53:32 +0000

Technique employs patient’s own cells as a Trojan horse to deliver cancer-destroying medications directly to tumors. While lung cancer may not be the most common type of cancer, but it is by far the deadliest. Despite treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, only about a quarter of all people with the disease will [...]

The Flu’s Hidden Weakness: New Antibodies Target “Dark Side” of Virus Protein

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:37:00 +0000

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have discovered antibodies that attack a difficult-to-detect area of the influenza virus, shedding light on the relatively unexplored “dark side” of the neuraminidase (NA) protein head. The antibodies target a region of the NA protein that is common among many influenza viruses, including H3N2 subtype viruses, and could [...]

A Man Got the COVID-19 Vaccine 217 Times – This Is What Happened to Him

Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 09:18:48 +0000

Researchers at FAU have discovered no negative effects on the immune system. Scientists at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Erlangen University Hospital have studied a man who has undergone over 200 Covid-19 vaccinations. They learned of his case via newspaper reports. Until now, it has been unclear what effects hypervaccination such as this would have [...]

Transforming Cancer Treatment: CRISPR Technology Unveils a New Path

Hokkaido University — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 01:35:58 +0000

New technology using CRISPR to enhance the immune system’s ability to detect cancer cells has been created, potentially paving the way for innovative cancer treatment methods. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are an immune complex present on the surface of all cells in humans. MHC class I molecules are a prerequisite for the [...]

Scientists Discover Simple Trick To Enhance Vaccine Efficacy

Oregon Health & Science University — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 13:46:10 +0000

COVID-19 vaccine discovery could shape clinical practices globally. New research reveals as much as a four-fold increase in immune response when people alternate from one arm to the other when given a multi-dose vaccine. The laboratory study led by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University measured the antibody response in the blood of 947 [...]

Scientists Discover New Class of Antibodies That Could Neutralize the Flu Virus

PLOS — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 01:47:23 +0000

The findings may assist in creating vaccines that offer wider protection against various flu strains. Researchers led by Holly Simmons from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered a new class of antibodies that show potential in neutralizing various types of influenza viruses. This significant advancement, which might aid in the creation of [...]

Scientists Discover New, Better Way To Develop Vaccines

Oxford University Press — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 11:56:09 +0000

A team of researchers in Germany has created an innovative system for presenting epitopes in mammalian cells, aimed at immunization research. This method is anticipated to significantly aid scientists in their immunization endeavors. Their research was recently published in the journal Biology Methods and Protocols. Promoting blood cells to produce antibodies against a specific viral [...]

The Missing Link in Public Health: Why We Still Lack a Staph Vaccine

University of California - San Diego — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 14:41:46 +0000

Research conducted at UC San Diego provides insight into the clinical failure of numerous potential vaccines for widespread human infection and proposes a solution to overcome this issue. Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a widespread bacterial infection, with approximately 30% of individuals harboring SA colonies in their nasal passages. While often harmless, SA is a major [...]

“Fascinating” Findings – Scientists Have Discovered a New Type of Immune Cell

University of California - Riverside — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 14:38:13 +0000

Biomedical scientists from UC Riverside state that the cells resemble M cells found in the gut and airways. It came as a surprise to Professor David Lo and his graduate student Diana Del Castillo when they were recently consulted by researchers in Israel for their expertise on specialized cells called Microfold cells, or M cells, which are mostly known [...]

New Study: Immune Cells Move More Independently Than Previously Thought

University of Turku — Sun, 24 Dec 2023 00:12:37 +0000

Immune cells demonstrate a higher level of self-directed mobility than previously recognized. Jonna Alanko, a researcher with InFLAMES, has unveiled that these cells are not merely passive reactors to chemical signals in their surroundings. Instead, they actively modify these signals and adeptly navigate complex environments through self-organization. Directional cell movement is an essential and fundamental [...]

Revolutionary Sepsis Treatment Moves to Next Phase of Human Trials

University of Melbourne — Sun, 17 Dec 2023 13:20:54 +0000

Researchers at Florey Institute, in collaboration with intensive care clinicians from a hospital, have demonstrated the effectiveness of sodium ascorbate, a pH-balanced formulation of vitamin C, in treating sepsis. Researchers at The Florey Institute have demonstrated that a formulation they pioneered alleviates deadly sepsis, with the next phase of clinical trials to start rolling out [...]