Phagocytes News and Research

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Novel Antibiotic Discovery: Harnessing Energy Compounds to Combat Bacterial Infections

About a decade ago, researchers in UC Santa Barbara chemistry professor Guillermo Bazan's lab began to observe a recurring challenge in their research: Some of the compounds they were developing to harness energy from bacteria were instead killing the microbes.

22 Feb 2024

Analyzing The Role of Hypochlorous Acid in the Immune Response Against Fungal Pathogens

An examination investigating the impact of hypochlorous acid (HOCl), commonly recognized as bleach, produced during a cell’s immune response (phagocytosis) combating the common fungal pathogen Candida albicans, reveals the potent lethality of HOCl.

5 Dec 2023

Leishmania Parasites Found to Infect Non-Immune Cells

The organisms that cause visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly version of the parasitic disease that most often affects the skin to cause disfiguring disease, appear to have a secret weapon, new research suggests: They can infect non-immune cells and persist in those uncommon environments.

4 Oct 2023

Study Solves Mystery and Establish the Mechanism Underlying SLC29A3 Disorders

In humans, the SLC29A3 gene regulates the function of lysosomes to control waste recycling in cells such as macrophages (that engulf and destroy foreign bodies).

23 Aug 2023

Antibacterial Biologic Agent Effective Against Staphylococcus Aureus Infections in Early Tests

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Janssen Biotech, Inc. have shown in early tests that a bioengineered drug candidate can counter infection with Staphylococcus aureus – a bacterial species widely resistant to antibiotics and a major cause of death in hospitalized patients.

25 Apr 2023

Researchers shed light on development and treatment of brain diseases

It is highly regulated what goes into the brain and what does not. The phagocytes that encapsulate the blood arteries in the brain and maintain the blood-brain barrier have been examined by researchers at the University of Freiburg’s Faculty of Medicine.

25 Apr 2022

Non-neutralizing antibodies likely to protect against COVID, says study

Non-neutralizing antibodies may also be crucial in giving protection against COVID-19, according to a recent study from Lund University in Sweden.

20 Jan 2022

Study finds a correlation between zika-induced neurological complications and Gas6 protein

An article by Brazilian researchers published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity elucidates one of the mechanisms whereby zika virus causes neurological complications in adult patients and microcephaly in fetuses. The discovery paves the way for future research to develop drugs that combat the virus.

4 Oct 2021

New molecule can effectively deplete cancer-protecting cells inside tumors

A new study has discovered a two-arm molecule that can effectively deplete cancer-protecting cells within tumors.

16 Aug 2021

Antibody treatment reactivates the immune defense in advanced-stage cancer patients

Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, showed that the antibody treatment reactivates the immune defense in patients with advanced-stage cancer. The treatment alters the function of the body's phagocytes and facilitates extensive activation of the immune system.

4 Jun 2021

“Paralyzed” immune cells can be reactivated by drugs in IDH-mutant gliomas

Brain tumor cells with a certain common mutation reprogram invading immune cells. This leads to the paralysis of the body's immune defense against the tumor in the brain. Researchers from Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Freiburg discovered this mechanism and at the same time identified a way of reactivating the paralyzed immune system to fight the tumor.

25 May 2021

Study reveals molecular mechanisms involved in eliminating unwanted cells in the body

Researchers have uncovered molecular mechanisms involved in removing unwanted cells in the body.

29 Mar 2021

KAIST researchers identify mechanism underlying plasticity in adult brains

Developing brains constantly sprout new neuronal connections called synapses as they learn and remember. Important connections — the ones that are repeatedly introduced, such as how to avoid danger — are nurtured and reinforced, while connections deemed unnecessary are pruned away.

28 Dec 2020

Novel method produces anti-inflammatory substances with controlled quality

Anti-inflammatory substances based on components of human cells could one day improve treatment in patients. Researchers at the Institute of Pharmacy at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a method for producing those substances with controlled quality.

10 Sep 2020

Spinal Cord Injuries: Finding Better Treatments

Two scientists are seeking answers to questions about spinal cord injuries that have long frustrated the development of effective treatments.

1 May 2020

Combination therapy encourages innate immune cells to eat GBM tumors

A combination of immunotherapy agents that encourages some immune cells to eat cancer cells and alert others to attack tumors put mice with a deadly type of brain cancer called glioblastoma into long-term remission, a new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests.

24 Apr 2020

Patients with chronic myopathy can benefit from cell-aging drug and exercise

According to a researcher from Hokkaido University and collaborators from Japan-based Sapporo Medical University, exercise can boost strength in muscle-degenerating disorders only when aging occurs in a certain type of muscle cell.

1 Apr 2020