The immune system is highly complex and a detailed understanding of many underlying mechanisms is still lacking. Only the precise interaction of a variety of factors guarantees a reliable and correct immune response in a healthy body. Misregulated immune responses are a major cause of a variety of diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, and immune deficiency.
Read moreA team has completed the first study of the effects of a simultaneous infection with blood flukes (schistosomes) and the bacterium Helicobacter pylori — a fairly common occurrence in some parts of the world. They identified a complex interaction which resulted — among other effects — in a weakening of the adverse impact of the pathogens acting individually.
Read moreDysfunctions in the maternal immune system that occur during pregnancy could possibly lead to impaired brain development in the unborn child.
Read moreScientists have constructed synthetic vesicles in which ATP, the main energy carrier in living cells, is produced. The vesicles use the ATP to maintain their volume and their ionic strength homeostasis. This metabolic network will eventually be used in the creation of synthetic cells – but it can already be used to study ATP-dependent processes.
Read moreIn a small safety and feasibility clinical trial, researchers have demonstrated for the first time that senescent cells can be removed from the body using drugs termed 'senolytics.' The result was verified not only in analysis of blood but also in changes in skin and fat tissue senescent cell abundance.
Read moreDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare but devastating genetic disorder that causes muscle loss and physical impairments. Researchers have shown in a mouse study that the powerful gene editing technique known as CRISPR may provide the means for lifelong correction of the genetic mutation responsible for the disorder.
Read moreNew research is highly relevant to how antibodies are made in response to infections, vaccines and in autoimmunity due to the its analysis of a signal that is associated with hyper IgM syndrome, a genetic deficiency of CD40 ligand (CD40L) that results in profound immunodeficiency.
Read moreScientists describe a previously unknown disorder of the immune system: in a distinct subset of immune cells from patients with primary immunodeficiency, cellular respiration is significantly increased. This cellular metabolic overactivity leads to inflammation.
Read moreWhile the medical community agrees immune cells inside a tumor leads to improved health outcome, for a subset of colorectal cancer patients, having too much of a good thing is a strong predictor of disease recurrence and reduced chances of survival. Scientists identify patients who could benefit from immunotherapy. This is the first report of immune infiltrated tumors with poor health outcomes and is counter to the standard belief in the field.
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