Immunology News and Research

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Immunology is the study of the body's immune system.

A New Understanding of the Effects of Fever on Immune Cells

Fever temperatures rev up immune cell metabolism, proliferation and activity, but they also -; in a particular subset of T cells -; cause mitochondrial stress, DNA damage and cell death, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have discovered.

23 Sep 2024

Study Utilizes Flow Cytometry and Advanced Transcriptomics to Reveal Age-Related Defects in Thymic Regeneration

Research identifies two states of age-associated thymic epithelial cells, linking thymic degeneration to aging and injury, impacting immune system function.

26 Aug 2024

The Role of DNA Repair Pathways in Antibody Somatic Hypermutation

In a recent online publication in SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, researchers from the laboratory of Leng-Siew Yeap at the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine published a review article entitled "Molecular Mechanisms of DNA Lesion and Repair During Antibody Somatic Hypermutation". This review comprehensively summarizes the mechanisms involved in the generation of antigen-specific diversified antibodies, with a particular focus on the mechanisms that generate high-frequency point mutations and low-frequency deletions and insertions (indels) in antibody genes.

22 Aug 2024

Ancient Viral Remnants Serve as Accurate Aging Clock

DNA markers linked to retroelements - remaining pieces of ancient viral genetic material - in human genes have been found by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the epigenetics startup TruDiagnostic.

20 Aug 2024

New Insights into Cell Communication During Inflammation

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have made significant progress in understanding how cells communicate during inflammation.

16 Aug 2024

Flavivirus Hijacks Importin-7 for Nuclear Transport and Replication

Viruses of the family Flaviviridae, including Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Tick-borne encephalitis virus, are significant arthropod-borne pathogens.

15 Aug 2024

Discovery of Novel Macrophage Population Offers Hope for Lung Repair Post-Viral Infection

Researchers at the University of Liège (Belgium) have discovered a new population of macrophages, important innate immune cells that populate the lungs after injury caused by respiratory viruses.

5 Aug 2024

Breakthrough Study Reveals Role of Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells in Lung Cancer Prognosis

An extensive analytical study performed at the Terasaki Institute and published in Frontiers in Immunology highlights the crucial role of tissue-resident memory T cells and how they influence the immune environment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and their overall prognosis.

1 Aug 2024

Swabbing Technique Reveals Diversity of Immune Cells in the Upper Airway

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have published the first-ever, in-depth analysis of immune cell memory in the upper airways of adult volunteers. Among these immune cells, the researcher spotted "tissue resident" memory cells, which stand ready to defend the airway from SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases.

1 Aug 2024

IL-22BP Protein's Influence on Gut Microbiota and Infection Response Revealed

A study reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) shows how the presence of a specific protein called IL-22BP affects the composition of the gut microbiota and the body's response to bacterial infection.

30 Jul 2024

Harvard Researchers Crack the Code on Western Equine Encephalitis Decline

The story of the rise and fall of western equine encephalitis as a lethal disease offers essential lessons about how a pathogen can gain or lose its ability to jump from animals to humans.

29 Jul 2024

Harnessing Immune Cell Triads for Effective Cancer Treatment

There's a frustrating fact about today's immunotherapies for cancer. While sometimes they work beautifully -; completely eliminating or greatly reducing cancer in particular patients -; other times they don't work at all. It's a mystery.

16 Jul 2024

Macrophage Inflammation may Contribute to LSD Symptoms

Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have found that inflammation in an immune cell may be responsible in part for some severe symptoms in a group of rare genetic conditions called lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs).

15 Jul 2024

Breakthrough Study Reveals How Toxoplasma gondii Alters Host Cell Metabolism

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, a lifelong chronic infection prevalent in about 30% of the human population.

12 Jul 2024

Liver Blood Vessels Trigger 'Sleep Timer' to Inactivate Immune Cells in Chronic Hepatitis B

In chronic hepatitis B, the liver contains immune cells that could destroy hepatitis B virus infected cells but are inactive.

11 Jul 2024

New Insights into ILC2 Development Could Lead to Innovative Therapies for Allergic Diseases

Scientists have discovered a novel mechanism of ILC2 immune cell development which may be involved in exacerbating allergic diseases.

11 Jul 2024

Phage Protein Discovery Holds New Key to Battling Bacteria

An unexpected find has enabled important progress to be made in the battle against harmful bacteria.

11 Jul 2024

New Pipeline Studies Viruses in Humans and Coral Reefs

Tens of millions of still-unknown or poorly understood viruses have the potential to cause diseases, including new pandemics, and impact the health of valuable terrestrial and marine environments.

10 Jul 2024

Unveiling Progesterone's Impact on Cancer Immunosuppression

Researchers turned to pregnancy to explore why some cancers successfully evade the immune system and grow unchecked.

9 Jul 2024

Scientists develop first fully functional human immune system in mouse model

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio have produced a mouse model that is humanized, complete with a human immune system and a gut microbiome that resembles that of a human being and is able to elicit particular antibody responses.

8 Jul 2024