http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys to HIV in humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cytomegalovirus-monkeys-hiv-equivalent.html HIV & AIDS Fri, 24 May 2013 09:01:38 EST news288604885 (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 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 Mice with different naturally occurring stomach bacteria have distinct susceptibilities to disease caused by Helicobacter pylori, the well-known cause of ulcers in humans, according to a study published online ahead of print in the journal Infection and Immunity. This is the first study to document (in mice) that the presence of certain bacteria in the stomach microbiota can prevent pathology from H. pylori. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-stomach-microbiota-modulate-resistance-pylori-driven.html Immunology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:34:40 EST news283433672 (Medical Xpress)—For an immune response to get underway, an invading microbe must first be halted in the spleen, and then digested by immune cells known as 'dendritic cells', which guard specific portals. Australian scientists have now shown how these gatekeepers position themselves to undertake their task. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-immune-positions-gatekeepers.html Immunology Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:29:23 EST news282900532 Around one in ten Japanese school children suffer from a debilitating form of eczema known as atopic dermatitis (AD). Despite clear signs that the condition is heritable, the genetic origins of the disease have remained elusive. Now, in a study of about 3,300 Japanese individuals with AD and some 15,000 unaffected controls, researchers have discovered eight new loci with ties to the chronic inflammatory skin disorder, a finding that could lead to new treatment options, particularly for Japanese people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-large-scale-japanese-genomics-loci-linked.html Genetics Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:40:01 EST news280744189 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-strategy-rheumatoid-arthritis-mice.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:00:02 EST news279542331 (Medical Xpress)—Multiple sclerosis, a brain disease that affects over 400,000 Americans, causes movement difficulties and many neurologic symptoms. MS has two key elements: The nerves that direct muscular movement lose their electrical insulation (the myelin sheath) and cannot transmit signals as effectively. And many of the long nerve fibers, called axons, degenerate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-view-ms-unexpectedly-nerve-fibers.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:14:01 EST news279368035 A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has discovered the mechanism that enables CD4 helper T cells to assume the more aggressive role of killer T cells in mounting an immune attack against viruses, cancerous tumors and other damaged or infected cells. The finding, made in collaboration with researchers from the RIKEN Institute in Japan, could enable the development of more potent drugs for AIDS, cancer and many other diseases based on using this mechanism to trigger larger armies of killer T cells against infected or damaged cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-team-molecular-enabling-immune-cells.html Immunology Sun, 20 Jan 2013 13:00:15 EST news277900981 To transport substances from the site of their production to their destination, the body needs a sophisticated transport and sorting system. Various receptors in and on the cells recognize certain molecules, pack them and ensure that they are transported to the right place. One of these receptors is Sortilin. It is present in the cells of the nervous system, the liver, and the immune system. Studies by Stefanie Herda and Dr. Armin Rehm (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch and Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin) and the immunologist Dr. Uta Höpken (MDC) have now shown that the receptor Sortilin plays an important role in the function of the immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-elucidate-pathway-immune-substances.html Immunology Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:00:10 EST news269775338 A team of scientists led by virologists Prof. Oliver T. Fackler and Prof. Oliver T. Keppler from Heidelberg University Hospital have decoded a mechanism used by the human immune system to protect itself from HIV viruses. A protein stops the replication of the virus in resting immune cells, referred to as T helper cells, by preventing the transcription of the viral genome into one that can be read by the cell. The ground-breaking results provide new insights into the molecular background of the immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS and could open up starting points for new treatments. The study has now been published – ahead of print online – in the international journal Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-immune-cells-defend-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:37:34 EST news268385838 (Medical Xpress)—New research showing how the HIV virus targets "veterans" or memory T-cells could change how drugs are used to stop the virus, according to new research by George Mason University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-breakthrough-door-strategy-hiv.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:16:53 EST news267884083 Astrocytes, previously thought of as helper cells for neurons, have recently been shown to send signals themselves. The signals are chemical not electrical and astrocytes send them to neurons, vascular cells and other astrocytes to improve the efficiency of synaptic signaling. A team led by Katsuhiko Mikoshiba and Hiroko Bannai at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, have described the mechanism that allows astrocytes to signal each cell in their network individually. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-starring-role-astrocytes.html Medical research Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:33:39 EST news263802806 A research team led by Xian Chang Li, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Transplantation Research Center, has shed light on how a population of lymphocytes, called CD4+ T cells, mature into various subsets of adult T helper cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cell-receptor-proclivity-helper-cells.html Immunology Sun, 29 Jul 2012 13:00:01 EST news262779741 Human defensins, aptly named antimicrobial peptides, are made in immune system cells and epithelial cells (such as skin cells and cells that line the gut). One of these peptides, human neutrophil peptide 1, under certain circumstances hinders HIV infection, but exactly how it works remains unclear. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-conditions-peptide-blocks-hiv-infection.html HIV & AIDS Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:23:53 EST news262362225 Helper cells traditionally thought to only assist killer white blood cells may be the frontline warriors when battling hepatitis A infection. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-helper-cells-killer-responsible-hepatitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 Jul 2012 11:00:41 EST news261655233 The characterisation of a rare immune cell's involvement in antibody production and ability to 'remember' infectious agents could help to improve vaccination and lead to new treatments for immune disorders, say researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-rare-immune-cells-key-disorders.html Immunology Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:06:55 EST news252580003 Regulatory T cells, which are part of the body's immune system, downregulate the activity of other immune cells, thus preventing the development of autoimmune diseases or allergies. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have now found the activation steps that are blocked by Tregs in immune cells. Since Tregs can also suppress the body's immune defense against cancer, the findings obtained by the DKFZ researchers are important for developing more efficient cancer treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-self-regulation-immune-suppresses-defense-cancer.html Immunology Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:45:25 EST news243683081 Chronic infections by viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C eventually take hold because they wear the immune system out, a phenomenon immunologists describe as exhaustion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-pep-revive-immune-cells-exhausted.html Medical research Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:40:01 EST news243018526 A new study reveals that just as different soldiers in the field have different jobs, subsets of a type of immune cell that polices the barriers of the body can promote unique and opposite immune responses against the same type of infection. The research, published online on July 21st by Cell Press in the journal Immunity, enhances our understanding of the early stages of the immune response and may have important implications for vaccinations and treatment of autoimmune diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-skin-sentry-cells-distinct-immune.html Medical research Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:40:39 EST news230481622 When children with asthma get the flu, they often land in the hospital gasping for air. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have found a previously unknown biological pathway explaining why influenza induces asthma attacks. Studies in a mouse model, published online May 29 by the journal Nature Immunology, reveal that influenza activates a newly recognized group of immune cells called natural helper cells – presenting a completely new set of drug targets for asthma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-therapeutic-virally-induced-asthma.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 29 May 2011 13:00:07 EST news225887527