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Identifying the underlying causes of rare genetic immune disorders

The activated PI3K Delta syndrome 2 (APDS2) is a rare genetic disease that is caused by cellular anomalies, according to experts from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

23 Mar 2023

Developing new therapies that leverage the host immune system

Yersinia bacteria cause a variety of human and animal diseases, the most notorious being the plague, caused by Yersinia pestis. A relative, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, causes gastrointestinal illness and is less deadly but naturally infects both mice and humans, making it a useful model for studying its interactions with the immune system.

14 Mar 2023

Regulatory T cells produced in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles

The human immune system is incredibly versatile. Among its most skilled multitaskers are T cells, known for their role in everything from fighting infection to reining in inflammation to killing nascent tumors.

3 Mar 2023

Macrophages as new therapeutic target to address obesity-related diseases

Macrophages are immune system cells that control inflammation and tissue function in addition to being crucial in the early response to microbial infection. Since it aids in the repair of damaged tissue, inflammation is a natural physiological response.

6 Feb 2023

Immunological mechanisms behind the development of alloantibodies

Hemophilia A is the most frequent severe variant of hemophilia. It nearly mostly affects men. The condition is frequently treatable, although not for all patients. A study at the University of Bonn has now highlighted a critical mechanism required for the therapy to be efficient.

28 Oct 2022

The strategy used by metastatic cancer cells to invade the liver identified

The alternative pathway for liver metastasis has been revealed by a team of researchers.

5 Oct 2022

Study shows how new single-cell RNA-sequencing helps to analyze gene expression

One of the most crucial techniques for examining biological activity in cells is single-cell RNA sequencing, but it is constrained by the possibility that the data it produces may be inaccurate.

From Tokyo University of Science 1 Jul 2022

Checkpoint immunotherapy acts as an interface between killer T cells and dendritic cells

Chronic viral infections and cancers can damage the immune system permanently, diminishing the ability of immune killer T cells to destroy tumor cells or virus-infected cells—a condition known as “immune exhaustion.”

5 Apr 2022

Several variants of COVID-19 may hide away from body’s immune system, new study reveals

A recent study published in Nature Communications by an international research group suggests that people infected with COVID-19 may have several distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants stashed away from the immune system in various parts of the body.

3 Mar 2022

Researchers discover a molecular mechanism linked with cholesterol movement

A team of researchers from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) discovered a mechanism associated with the movement of cholesterol within cells.

From University of Barcelona 20 Jan 2022

Study unravels novel gene vital for establishing proper left-right asymmetry

A group of scientists headed by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) recently identified a new gene.

17 Dec 2021

Scientists unravel the structure of octopus-like Lassa viral polymerase

Endemic in Western African countries, Lassa virus is transmitted to humans through food or household items that are contaminated with the urine or faeces of Mastomys rats.

7 Dec 2021

Glial cells in the heart play critical role in cardiac development and function

Glial cells in the heart help regulate heart rate and rhythm, and drive its development in the embryo, according to a new study publishing November 18th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Nina Kikel-Coury, Cody Smith and colleagues at the University of Notre Dame.

19 Nov 2021

Research demonstrates how diet affects immunity through the gut microbiome

The cliché "you are what you eat" has been used for hundreds of years to illustrate the link between diet and health. Now, an international team of researchers has found the molecular proof of this concept, demonstrating how diet ultimately affects immunity through the gut microbiome.

From Harvard Medical School 17 Nov 2021

Using a new genetic technology to decipher intratumoral heterogeneity

Even within a single patient with cancer, there is a vast diversity of individual tumor cells, which display distinct behaviors related to growth, metastasis, and responses to chemotherapy.

12 Nov 2021

New technology efficiently delivers immune checkpoint inhibitors for treating brain tumors

Multi-institutional researchers have succeeded in efficiently delivering an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) into the mouse brain, confirming its high efficacy and specificity in treating orthotopically transplanted mice with glioblastoma (GBM). The research was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

12 Oct 2021

Delta opioid receptor agonists modulate immune responses to ameliorate colonic inflammation

Opioids are a class of substances that control sensations such as pain and emotions in animals. While plant-derived opioid narcotics such as morphine are the most well-recognized, other opioid molecules like endorphins can also be synthesized by the body or artificially developed in laboratories.

From Tokyo University of Science 1 Oct 2021