Feature Channels: Immunology

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An international consortium co-led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center immunogeneticist Rubén Martínez-Barricarte, PhD, has discovered a new genetic disorder that causes immunodeficiency and profound susceptibility to opportunistic infections including a life-threatening fungal pneumonia. The discovery, reported Jan. 20 in the journal Science Immunology, will help identify people who carry this in-born error of immunity (IEI).

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A combination of two next-generation immunotherapy drugs has shown promising clinical activity in treating patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, a disease which has not previously responded well to immunotherapies, according to a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher.

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In a brightly lit kitchen one recent afternoon, cancer survivors Patricia Rhodes and Evette Knight were part of a group gathered around a convection burner and a sauté pan filled with mushrooms. Cancer dietitian Meghan Laszlo, RD, explained why they shouldn’t stir quite yet. “We’re going to try our best to leave them alone so that they brown,” she said.

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amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, has awarded Luis J. Montaner, D.V.M., D.Phil., in collaboration with Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, Ph.D., a Target Grant for $397,663 over two years.

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Researchers are building detailed maps of colorectal cancer to better understand the dynamics of the disease

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Researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have found a mechanism for why a subset of patients’ tumors grow, rather than shrink, when faced with immunotherapy.

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New UCLA-led research suggests that antiretroviral drugs called TAF and TDF directly reduce energy production by mitochondria, structures inside cells that generate the power that cells use to function. Both drugs led to reduced cellular oxygen consumption rates, a measure of the ability of the mitochondria to produce energy, compared with controls.

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A tendency for one or both spouses to avoid or withdraw from tough conversations could set up married couples for emotional distress, bad feelings about their relationship, chronic inflammation and lowered immune function, new research suggests.

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A new study led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) shows how ideal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 hit their marks. Now scientists are looking at how we might harness their power in new antibody therapeutics and even more effective COVID-19 vaccines.

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Also evokes central and peripheral pro-inflammatory responses

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The researchers screened a library of drugs using a mouse endothelial cell line to identify pathways that are involved in the regulation of Robo4 and found that two competitive SMAD signaling pathways appear to regulate Robo4 expression. When the researchers treated LPS-injected mice with a drug that inhibits ALK1-SMAD signaling, they observed increased Robo4 expression, decreased vascular permeability, and reduced mortality.

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NEW YORK, NY – Jan. 17, 2023 – The American Thoracic Society is starting the new year poised to improve vaccination rates with three health system partners: University of Arizona/ Banner Health; West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc.; and San Francisco Health Network/ University of California.

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Jennifer Wargo, M.D., professor of Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has received a 2023 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Medicine from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) for her contributions to the understanding of how the gut microbiome influences responses to immunotherapy and other cancer treatments.

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Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, the CNRS and the Collège de France have used paleogenomics to trace 10,000 years of human immune system evolution.

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Gut bacteria can influence brain health, according to a study of mice genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s-like brain damage. The study, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, indicates that gut bacteria produce compounds that influence the behavior of immune cells, including ones in the brain that can cause neurodegeneration. The findings suggest a new approach to treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

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Morteza Mahmoudi, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Radiology, explains why addressing disagreements with stronger standards will help ensure future nanomedicines are safe, effective and successful.

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LA JOLLA, CA — Researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have at last uncovered how an enzyme called O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) keeps cells healthy. Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, reveals a key aspect of cellular biology and may lead to important medical advances.

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A team of researchers led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has developed a novel delivery system for messenger RNA (mRNA) using extracellular vesicles (EVs). The new technique has the potential to overcome many of the delivery hurdles faced by other promising mRNA therapies.

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Findings from a newly published study provide further evidence suggesting that the breast milk of those vaccinated against COVID-19 may help protect babies from the illness

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Using new microscopic methods in combination with machine learning-based image analysis, researchers from Freiburg have discovered new structures on the surface of living B cells that affect the distribution and possibly the function of their antigen receptors.

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New research in JNCCN finds that immunotherapy from immune checkpoint (PD-1) inhibitors prior to surgery was strikingly effective for patients with localized mismatch repair-deficient or microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC).

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CAR T cell therapy may enhance the effectiveness of surgery for solid tumors, according to a preclinical study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights provides a glimpse into recent basic, translational and clinical cancer research from MD Anderson experts.

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A new analysis by Cedars-Sinai investigators is furthering the scientific community’s understanding of COVID-19 immunity by showing that similar levels of COVID-19 antibodies are reached over an extended period of time in different population groups.

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RUDN neurosurgeons studied the immune response in polytrauma - multiple serious traumatic lesions. The results will help specialists understand the features of the recovery period and adjust the treatment.

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Christian Bréchot, MD, PhD, President of the Global Virus Network (GVN), Associate Vice President for International Partnerships and Innovation at the University of South Florida and Professor of the Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the GVN Southeast U.S. Regional Headquarters today issued a statement on the surge of SARS-CoV-2.

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Afamitresgene autoleucel (afami-cel; formerly ADP-A2M4), an adoptive T cell receptor (TCR) therapy targeting the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen, achieved clinically significant results for patients with multiple solid tumor types in a Phase I clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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A Ludwig Cancer Research study has discovered that the immune system’s surveillance of cancer can itself induce metabolic adaptations in the cells of early-stage tumors that simultaneously promote their growth and equip them to suppress lethal immune responses.

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Peter Heeger, MD, Justin Steggerda, MD, Hirsh Trivedi, MD, and Lorenzo Zaffiri, MD, PhD, have all recently joined the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center.

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Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s leading cancer program and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health, in collaboration with investigators from MD Anderson Cancer Center, discovered a novel triple immunotherapy combination, targeting checkpoints on both T cells and myeloid suppressor cells, that dramatically improved anti-tumor responses by reprogramming the tumor microenvironment in preclinical models of PDAC.

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A roundup of the latest medical discoveries and faculty news at Cedars-Sinai.

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UC San Diego study reveals critical insights into the complex biology of tissue-specific T cells, paving the way for a new branch of precision therapeutics in immunity, autoimmunity, and cancer.

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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other rheumatic conditions are more at risk for complications and death from pneumonia, meningitis, and other bacterial infections, yet most have not been vaccinated against infection.

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UT Southwestern immunologists have uncovered a key pathogenic event prompted by obesity that can trigger severe forms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and potential liver failure.

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New research findings have revealed an underlying genetic cause for why some children who have had COVID-19 infection develop Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a rare but potentially life-threatening disease. The findings, published in Science, are the first potential genetic cause identified for MIS-C, a disease that typically occurs about four weeks after COVID-19 infection and has broad symptoms such as fever, vomiting and inflammation of the heart muscle that can lead to hospitalization. States have reported about 9,000 MIS-C cases, with 71 deaths, according to most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers.

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Two new yardsticks, Clinical Guidance for the Use of Dupilumab in Eosinophilic Esophagitis: and A Yardstick and Yardstick for Managing Cough. Part 1: in Adults and Adolescent Patients >14 years of age have been published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, ACAAI’s scientific journal.

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Jessica Thaxton’s group at the UNC School of Medicine found that T cells exposed to the environment of solid cancers undergo a natural response to stress that shuts off their function, limiting T cell ability to kill tumors.