Immunology

Philadelphia, PA — The immune system remembers. Often this memory, primed by past encounters with threats like bacteria or viruses, is an asset. But when that memory is sparked by internal drivers, like chronic inflammation, it can prove detrimental, perpetuating a misguided immune response. In a new paper in Cell, researchers from the School of […]

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 […]

Irvine, CA — A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine, identifies a reason for why older adults are significantly more susceptible to infectious diseases than younger people, a critical societal issue most recently exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Study results also pave the way for new potential therapeutic targets to […]

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 […]

La Jolla, CA — Every kind of T cell has a job to do. A healthy immune system makes sure no T cell oversteps. A new study from La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) scientists shows that a specialized subset of CD4+ T cells, called Tregs, jump into action early during an infection. Tregs are […]

Amherst, MA — In the long-term battle between a herpesvirus and its human host, a University of Massachusetts virologist and her team of students have identified some human RNA able to resist the viral takeover – and the mechanism by which that occurs. This discovery, described in a paper published Feb. 15 in Proceedings of […]

Boca Raton, FL — Ivermectin is a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat parasites in animals and in humans with intestinal strongyloidiasis (roundworm) and onchocerciasis (river blindness) orally, as well as ectoparasites and skin conditions topically.  Ivermectin is not approved by the FDA to treat or prevent COVID-19. […]

Washington, DC — Cholera, a diarrheal disease caused by the highly transmissible bacteria Vibrio cholerae, kills tens of thousands of people each year worldwide. Current vaccines last only 2–5 years, and they don’t work very well in young children. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Infectious Diseases have developed a new type of cholera vaccine consisting […]

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 […]

Oak Brook, IL — Vaccine-associated myocarditis shows a similar injury pattern on cardiac MRI compared to other causes of myocarditis, but abnormalities are less severe, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, often occurs as a result of a viral infection, including COVID-19. It can affect […]