http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. New work from the Broad Institute's Klarman Cell Observatory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, MIT, and Yale University expands the understanding of how one type of immune cell – known as a T helper 17 or Th17 cell – develops, and how its growth influences the development of immune responses. By figuring out how these cells are "wired," the researchers make a surprising connection between autoimmunity and salt consumption, highlighting the interplay of genetics and environmental factors in disease susceptibility. The results of their work appear in three companion papers in Nature this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-circuitry-cells-involved-immunity-autoimmune.html Medical research Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:00:05 EST news281796782 The underdeveloped immune systems of newborns don't respond to most vaccines, leaving them at high risk for infections like rotavirus, pertussis (whooping cough) and pneumococcus. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital have identified a potent compound that activates immune responses in newborns' white blood cells substantially better than anything previously tested, and that could potentially make vaccines effective right at birth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-vaccine-newborns-compound-babies-vulnerable.html Immunology Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:00:06 EST news281616288 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)—Natural killer cells – a vital part of the immune system – have a dual role in protecting against infection and ensuring reproduction. Scientists suggest that the multi-tasking ability of these cells helped humans to spread out of Africa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-natural-killer-cells-vital-role.html Immunology Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:29:32 EST news279530965 (Medical Xpress)—Stealth is a well-known concept in military tactics. Almost since the invention of radar, the hunt began for counter-technologies to hide aircraft and missiles from detection – most successfully by modifying the composition and shape of surfaces to confound detection. In a biological parallel, the African sleeping sickness parasite Trypanosoma brucei also has a stealth-like trick for altering its surface to confound recognition by the human immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-sickness-stealth.html Immunology Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:05:07 EST news279270291 Dendritic cells, or DCs for short, perform a vital role for the immune system: They engulf pathogens, break them down into their component parts, and then display the pieces on their surface. This in turn signals other immune cells capable of recognizing these pieces to help kick-start their own default program for fighting off the invaders. In order to do their job, the DCs are dependent upon the support from a class of immune system molecules, which have never before been associated with dendritic cells: antibodies, best known for their role in vaccinations and diagnostics. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Hannover Medical School (MHH) were able to show that antibodies are essential for dendritic cell maturation. The researchers' findings have been published in the renowned scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-immune-molecule-hidden-talents.html Immunology Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:13:08 EST news278075581 (Medical Xpress)—UNSW researchers have discovered a new strain of norovirus that they warn could cause a severe epidemic of acute gastroenteritis in Australia this winter. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-norovirus-strain-severe-gastro-epidemic.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 15 Jan 2013 07:26:21 EST news277457172 Researchers at McGill University and the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have discovered the molecular blueprint behind the IFIT protein. This key protein enables the human immune system to detect viruses and prevent infection by acting as foot soldiers guarding the body against infection. They recognize foreign viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) produced by the virus and act as defender molecules by potentially latching onto the genome of the virus and preventing it from making copies of itself, blocking infection. The findings are a promising step towards developing new drugs for combatting a wide range of immune system disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-foot-soldiers-immune-ifit-antiviral.html Immunology Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:00:12 EST news277297742 The memory of the human immune system is critical for the development of vaccines. Only if the body recognizes a pathogen with which it has already come into contact in the case of a second infection, the immune system can combat it more effectively than it did the first time. The Freiburg immunobiologist Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel from the Institute of Biology III of the University of Freiburg and his colleagues have succeeded in demonstrating how the memory of the immune system functions. Their findings have now been published in the journals Immunity and Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-cholesterol-boosts-memory-immune.html Immunology Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:21:29 EST news275577681 In a new essay, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., and David Morens, M.D., reflect on what has been learned about emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) in the two decades since a major report from the U.S. Institute of Medicine rekindled interest in this important topic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-nih-scientists-gains-emerging-infectious.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 11 Dec 2012 13:06:38 EST news274453589 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have identified the key gene in ensuring that our immune defences develop infection-fighting cells. No cells of the adaptive immune system - key to attacking and destroying bacteria and other pathogens - develop in the absence of the gene Bcl11a. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-gene-knockout-immune-cell.html Immunology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:26:24 EST news274436728 Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered that a virus commonly found in dogs may serve as the foundation for the next great breakthrough in human vaccine development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-friend-common-canine-virus-vaccines.html Medical research Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:46:16 EST news273239120 (Medical Xpress)—Using tissue from pigs, scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have created a "scaffold" that preserves the infrastructure of natural blood vessels and supports human stem cells. The result a rebuilt heart that could be used as a post-heart attack implant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-pig-tissue-scaffolding-hearts-rebuilt.html Medical research Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:10:01 EST news272012034 Excessive immune reactions against the body's own skin cells can lead to painful and even chronic dermatitis. An international team of researchers at the MedUni Vienna, the MedUni Graz and the Salk Institute in California, led by Herbert Strobl, has now unencrypted the mechanism that contributes towards this unwanted autoimmune reaction being suppressed. This may in future lead to common conditions such as chronic allergic dermatitis or psoriasis being halted as they develop and treated. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-dermatitis-suppressed.html Immunology Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:43:01 EST news271669367 (Medical Xpress)—Having HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but it's still a lifelong illness that requires an expensive daily cocktail of drugs—and it means tolerating those drugs' side effects and running the risk of resistance. Researchers at The Rockefeller University may have found something better: they've shown that a therapeutic approach harnessing proteins from the human immune system can suppress the virus in mice without the need for daily application and could one day be used in humans to treat the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-potent-antibodies-neutralize-hiv-therapy.html Immunology Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:07:01 EST news271494406 (Medical Xpress)—A fundamental mechanism controlling cells of the human immune system could be key to helping fight inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, new research at the University of Dundee has found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-immune-cells-inflammatory-diseases.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:34:27 EST news269159658 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 Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of a critical protein from the Marburg virus, a close cousin of Ebola virus. These viruses cause similar diseases and are some of the deadliest pathogens on the planet, each killing up to 90 percent of those infected. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-reveal-deadly-marburg-virus.html Medical research Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:00:09 EST news266763744 UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-link-stem-cells-immune.html Immunology Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:00:23 EST news265786489 Microbial infections are becoming unbeatable due to progressive mutations that lead to antimicrobial drug resistance. European scientists exploited the characteristics of novel antimicrobial compounds that mimic the dual activities of natural antimicrobial proteins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-immune-antimicrobials.html Medications Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:24:29 EST news265537460 A key challenge in virus-based gene therapy is avoiding detection by the human immune system so that the virus would not be deactivated before it reaches its intended target. Now, researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have succeeded in circumventing the body’s own defense mechanism by combining two IBN innovations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-microfibers-virus-body-immune.html Medical research Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:00:25 EST news262944012 (Medical Xpress) -- A new study by researchers at the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania (Menzies) suggests that one of the main treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) may also increase the amount of vitamin D patients receive from sun exposure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-link-ms-treatment-vitamin-d.html Neuroscience Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:40:04 EST news262859191 One of the challenges to HIV vaccine development has been the lack of an animal model that accurately reflects the human immune response to the virus and how the virus evolves to evade that response. In the July 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard report that a model created by transplanting elements of the human immune system into an immunodeficient mouse addresses these key issues and has the potential to reduce significantly the time and costs required to test candidate vaccines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-animal-replicates-human-immune-response.html HIV & AIDS Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:00:01 EST news261824850 Scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have discovered a 'constant cloud' of potent inflammatory molecules surrounding the cells responsible for diseases such as thickening of the arteries and rheumatoid arthritis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-discovery-early-onset-inflammatory-disease.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 04 Jul 2012 19:00:05 EST news260626920 The human gut is home to a teeming ecosystem of microbes that is intimately involved in both human health and disease. But while the gut microbiota is interacting with our body, they are also under constant attack from viruses. In a study published online inGenome Research, researchers have analyzed a bacterial immune system, revealing a common set of viruses associated with gut microbiota in global populations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-gut-microbes-common-viruses-global.html Genetics Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:50:08 EST news259811390 Researchers from Aarhus University have now located the place in the human body where the earliest virus alert signal triggers the human immune system. They have also discovered a new alarm signal, which is activated at the very first sign of a virus attack. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-danish-scientists-immune.html Immunology Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:12:15 EST news259578717 More than 15 percent of new HIV infections occur in children. Without treatment, only 65 percent of HIV-infected children will live until their first birthday, and fewer than half will make it to the age of two. Although breastfeeding is attributed to a significant number of these infections, most breastfed infants are not infected with HIV, despite prolonged and repeated exposure. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-breast-hiv-blocks-oral-transmission.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:59:30 EST news258911954 The human immune system has a natural ability to identify and attack tumor cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune cells that are particularly effective at killing tumor cells due to their ability to secrete cytotoxic enzymes. However, mutations have allowed many types of tumors to develop a resistance to NK-mediated killing through ill-defined mechanisms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-cancer-immune.html Cancer Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:00:31 EST news258632667 Lies Van Nieuwenhove, researcher at the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, has produced proteins imitating typical parts of the sleeping sickness parasite. They can be used in more efficient diagnostic tests, without the need for culturing dangerous parasites. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-sickness.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 22 May 2012 10:50:18 EST news256902584 University of British Columbia researchers have found a potential way to develop universal flu vaccines and eliminate the need for seasonal flu vaccinations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-h1n1-discovery-paves-universal-flu.html Immunology Tue, 08 May 2012 04:30:02 EST news255669447