Tag Archive for 'Immune system'

The C6orf106 gene controls the production of proteins involved in infectious diseases, cancer and diabetes. Image credit: CSIRO.

Critical Immunity-Related Gene Identified

Jul 2, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia, has identified an ancient gene that plays...

Walton et al describe how acidity makes oxygen-starved cancer cells dormant and drug resistant. Image credit: Walton et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.05.009.

Baking Soda Could Improve Cancer Therapy

Jun 6, 2018 by News Staff

Cells enter a state of dormancy as tissues starved of oxygen become increasingly acidic, according to a new study. Published in the journal Cell, the study...

This illustration depicts a 3D computer-generated image of a group of Escherichia coli. Image credit: James Archer / CDC.

Bacterial Infection Induces Delirium in Healthy, Aging Rats, Study Says

May 30, 2018 by News Staff

Activation of the immune system by the Escherichia coli infection may temporarily disrupt formation of long-term memories in older rats by reducing levels...

Trompette et al report that a diet rich in the fermentable fiber inulin and SCFAs improve the response of mice to influenza infection by dampening deleterious immunopathology caused by neutrophils while enhancing anti-viral CD8+ T cell responses through a boost in T cell metabolism. Image credit: Trompette et al, doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.04.022.

Dietary Fiber Increases Survival in Influenza-Infected Mice, Study Shows

May 16, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new preclinical study by researchers from the University of Lausanne and Monash University, a diet rich in fiber blunts harmful immune responses...

The new study indicates that oral NaHCO3 activates a splenic anti-inflammatory pathway and provides evidence that the signals that mediate this response are transmitted to the spleen via a novel neuronal-like function of mesothelial cells. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Drinking Baking Soda Daily May Help Reduce Inflammation Caused by Autoimmune Diseases

Apr 27, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Augusta University has shown that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3), it...

Dual immunotherapy led to shrinkage of distant tumors and long-term survival of the animals, even in a stringent spontaneous tumor model. Image credit: Rilson S. Avelar.

Dual Immunotherapy Eliminates Tumors in Animal Cancer Models

Feb 5, 2018 by News Staff

Injecting amounts of two immune-stimulating agents directly into tumors in multiple types of mouse cancer models can eliminate all traces of cancer, according...

Research from the Rockefeller University suggests that variability between strains of the same bacterial species could influence patient immune response. Image credit: Mogana Das Murtey / Patchamuthu Ramasamy / CC BY-SA 3.

Genetic Variation between Pathogen Strains Contributes to Diverse Patient Immune Responses

Jan 15, 2018 by Zvi Cramer

Individuals have wide-ranging physiological responses to the same species of pathogen. Researchers have demonstrated that different strains of a given...

Garlic is rich in ajoene, allicin, and thiosulfinates -- sulfurous compounds that can boost the immune system. Image credit: Thomas Ulrich.

Garlic Compound Can Fight Chronic Bacterial Infections, New Study Shows

Nov 29, 2017 by News Staff

Ajoene, an active sulfurous compound found in garlic, is able to destroy important components in the communication systems of Staphylococcus aureus and...

Audio signals can be stored in a magnetic tape medium; similarly the microscopic data recorder stores biological signals into a CRISPR tape in bacteria. Image credit: Columbia University Medical Center.

Synthetic Biologists Create Bacterial ‘Tape Recorder’

Nov 24, 2017 by News Staff

A team of synthetic biologists from Columbia University has successfully converted an immune system of the gut bacterium Escherichia coli into a microscopic...

Common signs and symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common type of lupus. Image credit: Mikael Haggstrom.

Researchers Identify Potential Cause of Lupus

Jul 17, 2017 by News Staff

A group of researchers at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research has identified a protein called Blimp-1 as a likely primary cause of the adverse...

The anti-heroin vaccine candidate is effective in mice and rhesus monkeys. Image credit: Bremer et al, doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b03334.

Anti-Heroin Vaccine Shown Effective in Rhesus Macaques

Jun 7, 2017 by News Staff

An anti-heroin vaccine created by scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University to block the ‘high’ of heroin,...

Structure of milky spots in the omentum. (A) schematic of whole omentum in mice; the omentum is a thin strip of fat (yellow) that is covered by a layer of mesothelial cells (green); milky spots (MSs, blue) are located just beneath the mesothelial layer embedded between adipocytes; the omentum is well vascularized with an extensive network of capillaries (not shown), which connect to a large central blood vessel (red), running between the adipocytes; blood vessels also connect to the MSs and form a glomerulus-like knot of blood vessels in the lymphoid clusters; a large central lymphatic vessel (light blue) runs down the center of the omentum and branches from this vessel lead to MSs as well as to areas of the omentum that lack MSs; the human omentum is much larger and resembles an apron hanging in front of the abdomen, but also contains MSs. (B) structure of MS; MSs are loose collections of leukocytes embedded between adipocytes (yellow) just beneath the mesothelial layer (green); B cells (blue) form a central cluster, whereas macrophages (brown) and dendritic cells (light green) tend to accumulate around the outside of the MS and are also found individually throughout the omentum; T cells (green circles) and ILCs (orange) can be intermixed with the B cells or may cluster around blood vessels (not shown); cells and antigens are passively collected from the peritoneal cavity through fenestrations in the mesothelial layer by fluid flow or may be actively carried by phagocytic cells like macrophages; cells can also enter the MSs from the blood through HEVs (not shown). Image credit: Selene Meza-Perez & Troy D. Randall, doi: 10.1016/j.it.2017.03.002.

Omentum Performs Unique Immunological Functions

Jun 2, 2017 by News Staff

The omentum is an important immune organ that serves as a first line of defense against toxins and infection, according to a review paper published online...

Scientists Find Link between Immune System, Memory and Structure of Brain

Apr 27, 2017 by News Staff

In two separate studies, researchers have demonstrated that both the structure of the brain and several memory functions are linked to immune-related genes. The...

Young Tasmanian devil. Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Researchers Find Potential Cure for Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease

Mar 13, 2017 by News Staff

A study led by University of Tasmania researchers Cesar Tovar and Gregory Woods has shown that immunotherapy can cure Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)...

The study by Mitchell et al shows baby’s sex is associated with pregnant women’s immune responses.

Fetal Sex Plays Role in Immunity of Pregnant Women, New Study Finds

Feb 22, 2017 by News Staff

Women tend to react with stronger responses to immune challenges while pregnant with girls than with boys, a new study published in the journal Brain,...

The study by N.F. Watson et al shows the transcriptomic effects of habitual short sleep on dysregulated immune response and provides a potential link between sleep deprivation and adverse metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory outcomes. Image credit: Geralt.

Sleep Deprivation Suppresses Your Immune System, Study of Twins Shows

Jan 29, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A University of Washington-led team of researchers studying monozygotic (identical) twins has found that chronic sleep deprivation suppresses immune system....

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1, grown in cultured lymphocytes; virions are seen as small spheres on the surface of the cells. Image credit: C. Goldsmith.

Recently-Discovered Antiviral Protein Inhibits HIV-1 in Non-Human Primates

Jan 18, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered that a gene called SLFN11 — which encodes a protein known as Schlafen...

Super-resolution microscopy of GapmeR co-localization with SNX5 protein -- a member of the sorting nexin family of proteins -- in human T-cells. Image credit: Fazil, M. H. U. T. et al, doi: 10.1038/srep37721.

Researchers Develop New Method for Silencing Specific Genes in Human T-Cells

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, has developed a novel technique for gene silencing in human T-lymphocytes...

Neanderthal. Image credit: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Neanderthal DNA Gave Humans Allergies, Immunity Boost

Jan 8, 2016 by News Staff

Interbreeding of anatomically modern Homo sapiens with Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) around 40,000 years ago may have left humans with gene variants...

This fluorescence microscopy image shows natural killer cells (Pageon SV et al)

British Scientists Bring Immune Cells into View

Jul 25, 2013 by News Staff

Superresolution single-molecule fluorescence microscopy has given researchers their clearest pictures yet of how white blood immune cells, known as natural...

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