Immunotherapy

Canberra, Australia — Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have identified a gene called TLR7 that, when over-activated, is responsible for causing lupus, an autoimmune disease that can be life-threatening in severe cases.   TLR7 is programmed to help the immune system guard against viral infections, but in its mutated form it can become aggressive and […]

Singapore — In the fight against cancer, the development of efficacious drugs is only half the battle; equally important is how drugs may be delivered efficiently and safely to the diseased sites in the body. The challenge of drug delivery is especially pertinent for RNA therapeutics which target an important immuno-modulatory receptor, RIG-I. When activated […]

Pittsburgh, PA — Fighting cancer and chronic disease is tiring work for the immune system. When T cells are engaged in this kind of lengthy battle, they can become exhausted, or unable to function properly. One immunotherapy that revitalizes these cells by blocking an immune checkpoint protein called LAG3 was recently approved by federal regulators. […]

La Jolla, CA — Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, with collaborators at La Jolla Institute for Immunology and elsewhere, have further elucidated how ovarian cancer tumours defy immunotherapy, identifying new molecular targets that might boost immune response. The findings will publish […]

Houston, TX — Houston Methodist researchers have identified the genetic and molecular fingerprints of different cancer and immune cells in glioblastoma, the deadliest and most common type of brain cancer in adults. Their in-depth molecular analysis of over 200,000 single cells revealed a protein, called S100A4, that could be a potential therapeutic target for restoring […]

Madison, WI — A new biodegradable gel improves the immune system’s ability to keep cancer at bay after tumours are surgically removed. The gel, tested in mice, releases drugs and special antibodies that simultaneously deplete immune-blocking cells called macrophages from the surgical site and activate T cells so they can attack cancer. University of Wisconsin–Madison […]

New York, NY — Tumours can use an enzyme called ART1 to thwart antitumour immune cells, making the enzyme a promising new target for immunity-boosting cancer treatments, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In the study, published Mar 16 in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers found […]

Osaka, Japan — T cells, also known as lymphocytes, have important roles in various immune reactions. However, there are only a few reports on delivery systems into T cells. Realizing this, it is essential to work and actively contribute in controlling immune systems. Associate Professor Chie Kojima and her co-workers from Department of Applied Chemistry, […]

Cold Spring Harbor, NY — Our immune systems have the potential to find and destroy cancer cells. But cancer cells can be clever and develop tricks to evade the immune system. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Douglas Fearon and his former postdoc ZhiKai Wang found one such trick. Cancer cells weave a deactivating signal into a protective […]

Frederick, MD — In a groundbreaking study published Feb. 9, scientists describe how Ebola virus, which can persist in certain areas of the body, can re-emerge to cause fatal disease—even long after treatment with monoclonal antibodies. Their research, using a nonhuman primate model of Ebola virus infection, appears on the cover of Feb. 9 edition […]

Philadelphia, PA — In the summer of 2010, Bill Ludwig and Doug Olson were battling an insidious blood cancer called chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). They’d both received numerous treatments, and as remaining options became scarce, they volunteered to become the first participants in a clinical trial of an experimental therapy underway at the Abramson Cancer […]

Bethesda, MD — A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that giving peanut oral immunotherapy to highly peanut-allergic children ages 1 to 3 years safely desensitized most of them to peanut and induced remission of peanut allergy in one-fifth. The immunotherapy consisted of a daily oral dose of peanut flour […]