http://medicalxpress.com/immunology-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest research news on immunology (Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-immune.html Immunology Mon, 20 May 2013 18:27:22 EST news288293224 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at King's College London have discovered that Vitamin D has the potential to significantly reduce the symptoms of asthma. The study, led by Professor Catherine Hawrylowicz from the MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma at King's, was published today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and highlights Vitamin D as a possible new treatment for the condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-vitamin-d-effective-treatments-asthma.html Immunology Mon, 20 May 2013 07:40:01 EST news288253463 Melbourne researchers have identified an immune protein that has the potential to stop or reverse the development of type 1 diabetes in its early stages, before insulin-producing cells have been destroyed. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-immune-protein-diabetes-tracks.html Immunology Mon, 20 May 2013 06:22:51 EST news288249285 Raising hopes for cell-based therapies, UC San Francisco researchers have created the first functioning human thymus tissue from embryonic stem cells in the laboratory. The researchers showed that, in mice, the tissue can be used to foster the development of white blood cells the body needs to mount healthy immune responses and to prevent harmful autoimmune reactions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-stem-cell-based-strategy-boosts-immune-mice.html Immunology Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:03 EST news287923006 Researchers from CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier and IRD have elucidated new molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to visceral leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic infection. They have shown that dectin-1 and mannose receptors participate in the protection against the parasite responsible for this infection, by triggering an inflammatory response, while the DC-SIGN receptor facilitates the penetration of the pathogen and its proliferation in macrophages. This work, conducted on both mice and humans and published on 16 May 2013 in the journal Immunity, opens new perspectives for the prevention and treatment of this disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-resistance-visceral-leishmaniasis-mechanisms-involved.html Immunology Thu, 16 May 2013 11:10:01 EST news287919687 Women's immune systems age more slowly than men's, suggests research in BioMed Central's open access journal Immunity & Ageing. The slower decline in a woman's immune system may contribute to women living longer than men. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-women-immune-younger-longer.html Immunology Tue, 14 May 2013 20:00:01 EST news287773825 (Medical Xpress)—Labs around the world, and a core group at Penn, have been studying recently described populations of immune cells called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Some researchers liken them to foot soldiers that protect boundary tissues such as the skin, the lining of the lung, and the lining of the gut from microbial onslaught. They also have shown they play a role in inflammatory disease, when the body's immune system is too active. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-newly-immune-cell-cells-similar.html Immunology Tue, 14 May 2013 07:10:01 EST news287733340 (Medical Xpress)—Cytokines are molecules produced by immune cells that induce the migration of other cells to sites of infection or injury, promote the production of anti-microbial agents, and signal the production of inflammatory mediators. These events are important for fighting infections. However, sometimes this process goes unchecked, resulting in unwanted inflammation that can damage tissues and organs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cytokine-producing-cells.html Immunology Mon, 13 May 2013 07:48:16 EST news287650086 Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington scientists have identified a class of immune cells that reside long-term in the genital skin and mucosa and are believed to be responsible for suppressing recurring outbreaks of genital herpes. These immune cells also play a role in suppressing symptoms of genital herpes, which is why most sufferers of the disease are asymptomatic when viral reactivations occur. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-immune-cells-suppress-genital-herpes.html Immunology Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:01 EST news287236436 An international team of researchers, led by physician-scientists at Johns Hopkins, reports that a once-daily tablet containing a high dose of a key ragweed pollen protein effectively blocks the runny noses, sneezes, nasal congestion and itchy eyes experienced by ragweed allergy sufferers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-once-a-day-pill-relief-ragweed-allergy.html Immunology Tue, 07 May 2013 11:22:42 EST news287144554 (HealthDay)—A new Swedish study suggests that parents who want to protect their infants from developing allergies should try a simple approach to introducing their children to the wide world of microbes: Just pop their pacifiers into their own mouths before giving them back to their babies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tots-allergies-pacifiers.html Immunology Mon, 06 May 2013 09:17:07 EST news287050609 Young children who suffer from allergy to raw egg are being fed cake containing baked egg in a new study aimed at helping children to outgrow their allergy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-childhood-egg-allergy-piece-cake.html Immunology Mon, 06 May 2013 09:00:03 EST news287047786 Allergy shots are commonly used to treat children with severe environmental allergies and asthma, but under-the-tongue drops may offer yet another beneficial—and stick-free—option for pediatric allergy sufferers, according to a Johns Hopkins Children's Center review of existing scientific evidence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-oral-kids-needle-free-relief-asthma.html Immunology Mon, 06 May 2013 05:10:02 EST news287034597 (HealthDay)—For U.S. children aged younger than 18 years, the prevalence of allergies increased from 1997 to 2011, with age, race/ethnicity, and income all affecting the prevalence, according to a May data brief issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-allergies-children.html Immunology Fri, 03 May 2013 15:20:01 EST news286807739 Parents are reporting more skin and food allergies in their children, a big U.S. government survey found. Experts aren't sure what's behind the increase. Could it be that children are growing up in households so clean that it leaves them more sensitive to things that can trigger allergies? Or are mom and dad paying closer attention to rashes and reactions, and more likely to call it an allergy? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-food-skin-allergies-children.html Immunology Thu, 02 May 2013 04:51:43 EST news286689082 Using advanced genetic sequencing technology and analysis, Mayo Clinic vaccine researchers have identified 27 genes that respond in very different ways to the standard rubella vaccine, making the vaccine less effective for a portion of the population. The findings appear today in the online journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-dont-rubella-vaccine.html Immunology Wed, 01 May 2013 17:00:11 EST news286628460 A properly functioning immune system is a lesson in balance, providing protection against disease without attacking healthy tissue. Work led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists and published recently in Nature Immunology has identified a mechanism that helps T cells find that sweet spot where the strength of the immune response matches the threat. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cells-rheostat-immune-response-threat.html Immunology Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:34:51 EST news286562083 Children born outside the United States have a lower risk of asthma, skin and food allergies, and living in the United States for a decade may raise a person's allergy risk, said a study on Monday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-children-born-states-allergic-disease.html Immunology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:06 EST news286466157 The tiny thymus teaches the immune system to ignore the teeming, foreign bacteria in the gut that helps you digest and absorb food, researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-thymus-immune-cells-vital-gut.html Immunology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:04:49 EST news286455882 (Medical Xpress)—Waging an immunological war against a pathogen is not the body's only way to survive an infection. Sometimes tolerance, or learning to live with an invader, can be just as important. In tolerance the body lessens or repairs the damage that the pathogen causes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-infections.html Immunology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:50:01 EST news286438914 (HealthDay)—Many children suffer allergies at this time of year as trees and other plants start releasing pollens into the air. So parents need to monitor their youngsters for symptoms, an expert says. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-kids-pollen-allergies-expert.html Immunology Sun, 28 Apr 2013 06:40:01 EST news286347880 Just as a uniform helps distinguish a soldier from a police officer, scientists use proteins that immune cells wear on their surfaces to determine their job in the body. T cells, for example, that display the CD8 protein are classified as 'cytotoxic lymphocytes', which kill off cancerous or infected cells, whereas those displaying the CD4 protein are identified as 'helper' T cells that coordinate the immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reassigning-cells-infection.html Immunology Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:50:01 EST news286183937 Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders. Their research is published ahead of print online in the journal Infection and Immunity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-roundworm-quells-obesity-metabolic-disorders.html Immunology Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:41:54 EST news286126907 (Medical Xpress)—Exercising at the time of having a flu shot may increase the success of vaccination according to a University of Sydney researcher. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-flu-shots-boosted.html Immunology Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:43:18 EST news285925287 When the space shuttle Atlantis touched down in the summer of 2011 at Cape Canaveral, closing the book on the U.S. shuttle program, a team of U.S. Army researchers stood at the ready, eager to get their gloved hands on a small device in the payload that housed a set of biological samples. On Monday, April 22, at the Experimental Biology 2013 conference in Boston, the team will present the results of nearly two years' worth of study on those samples, results that shed light on how the human immune system responds to stress and assaults while in space – and maybe here on Earth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-effects-microgravity-human-body.html Immunology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:30:05 EST news285849779 (Medical Xpress)—University of Sydney researchers have discovered a new type of immune cell in skin that plays a role in fighting off parasitic invaders such as ticks, mites, and worms, and could be linked to eczema and allergic skin diseases. The findings have been published today in the journal Nature Immunology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-immune-cells-hint-eczema.html Immunology Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:57:01 EST news285836207 Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown that a diet high in salt is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. Now Timothy L. Cover and colleagues of Vanderbilt University show that high dietary salt combined with infection by the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori greatly increases the risk of cancer. The study was published ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-high-salt-diet-ulcer-bug-combine.html Immunology Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:23:49 EST news285520975 In a manuscript published today in Immunity, scientists at the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) and the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR) report the results of a comparative study of the molecular immune responses to influenza and pneumococcal vaccines. In addition, cutting-edge web technology was used to improve dissemination of data in order to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-web-apps-vaccine.html Immunology Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:16:12 EST news285506165 (Medical Xpress)—A previously unknown function of a family of enzymes familiar to biologists may contribute to scientists' understanding of signaling molecules involved in the body's immune response and could help in the treatment of such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-immune-response-linked-key-enzyme.html Immunology Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:10:01 EST news284968011 A research team of Inserm, CNRS and MDC lead by Michael Sieweke of the Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy (CNRS, INSERM, Aix Marseille Université) and Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin-Buch, today revealed an unexpected role for hematopoietic stem cells: they do not merely ensure the continuous renewal of our blood cells; in emergencies they are capable of producing white blood cells "on demand" that help the body deal with inflammation or infection. This property could be used to protect against infections in patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, while their immune system reconstitutes itself. The details of the research is published in Nature on April 10, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-ability-blood-stem-cells-emergencies.html Immunology Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:07:54 EST news284818052