http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Cancer cells spread and grow by avoiding detection and destruction by the immune system. Stimulation of the immune system can help to eliminate cancer cells; however, there are many factors that cause the immune system to ignore cancer cells. Regulatory T cells are immune cells that function to suppress the immune system response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-modulating-immune-combat-metastatic-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 24 May 2013 12:31:48 EST news288617502 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 Researchers from Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) have found that proteins in the IL-6 signaling pathway may be leveraged as novel biomarkers of multiple sclerosis (MS) to gauge disease activity and as a target for new therapies. The research, which investigated how several components involved in immune response differ between MS patient and control samples, was conducted by a team of researchers at BRI led by Dr. Jane Buckner in collaboration with Dr. Mariko Kita at Virginia Mason Medical Center and was published today in Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-biomarker-potential-therapy-multiple-sclerosis.html Immunology Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:00:09 EST news278766505 A study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that an important branch of the immune system, in reaction to the development of atherosclerotic lesions, mounts a surprisingly robust anti-inflammatory T cell response that helps prevent the disease from progressing. The findings may help inform the design of anti-atherosclerosis vaccines and other therapies that can take advantage of this aspect of the immune system. The study was published today in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-insights-immune-atherosclerosis.html Immunology Fri, 21 Dec 2012 14:38:28 EST news275323100 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center have found that delayed tumor growth and enhanced survival of mice bearing melanoma were possible by blocking the reconstitution of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and Tregs (suppressors of anti-tumor activity) after total body irradiation had eliminated them. Blocking myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T-cell reconstitution improved adoptive T-cell therapy, an immunotherapy designed to suppress tumor activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-effective-immunotherapy-melanoma-hinges-blocking.html Immunology Tue, 11 Dec 2012 03:48:04 EST news274420077 (Medical Xpress)—The debilitating symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, appear to be increased by a lack of inflammation-reducing T cells, report scientists from the Methodist Neurological Institute in an upcoming print issue of The EMBO Molecular Medicine Journal.The researchers found that expression of the gene FoxP3—which helps control the production of anti-inflammatory T cells—was an indicator of disease progression in 80 percent of the patients they studied. Low FoxP3 levels were likely in patients whose ALS would develop rapidly, and vice versa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-gene-rapid-als-percent.html Genetics Mon, 10 Dec 2012 08:14:23 EST news274349583 Following an infection, dysregulation of the immune system can result in a systemic inflammatory response and an often fatal condition called severe sepsis or septic shock. Sepsis is not uncommon, yet its cause and underlying immune dysfunction remain poorly understood. Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a component of the immune system, now appear to have an important role in suppressing the immune response in advance of sepsis, and understanding this role may lead to new therapeutic strategies for improving patient outcomes, as described in a review article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-closer-deadly-sepsis.html Medical research Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:56:11 EST news272292918 Cancers arise in the body all the time. Most are nipped in the bud by the immune response, not least by its T cells, which detect telltale molecular markers—or antigens—on cancer cells and destroy them before they grow into tumors. Cancer cells, for their part, evolve constantly to evade such assassination. Those that succeed become full-blown malignancies. Yet, given the right sort of help, the immune system can destroy even these entrenched tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-mouse-exposes-cell-melanoma.html Cancer Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:00:01 EST news270298157 A new clinical study published in BioMedCentral's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy provides preliminary evidence that vitamin D supplementation could be considered an immunomodulatory agent for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune disease characterized not only by skin, joint, neurological and renal symptoms, but also by inflammation of tissue linings in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-vitamin-d-supplements-benefit-lupus.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:00:01 EST news269626017 (Medical Xpress)—We couldn't live without our immune systems, always tuned to detect and eradicate invading pathogens and particles. But sometimes the immune response goes overboard, triggering autoimmune diseases like lupus, asthma or inflammatory bowel disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-immunologists-molecule-inflammation.html Immunology Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:18:09 EST news268057076 A new study published online in the journal Nature suggests it might be possible to develop vaccines to prevent premature birth and other pregnancy complications. If so, such vaccines would be the first intended to stimulate the subset of regulatory CD4 T cells that suppress the immune response. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-pregnancy-maternal-immune-suppressive-cells-fetus.html Immunology Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:00:14 EST news267876734 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have discovered that changes in the physical characteristics of the effector memory regulatory T cell can predict the progression risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to acute myeloid leukemia. The finding could improve prognostication for patients with MDS and better inform therapeutic decision making. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-predictor-mds.html Immunology Thu, 13 Sep 2012 04:51:23 EST news266730411 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have shown in an animal model that a common childhood virus disables the normal immune tolerance transferred from the mother to child through breast milk, leading to increased susceptibility for allergic asthma later in life. Their findings were reported in the online version of Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-team-childhood-viral-infection-allergic.html Immunology Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:50:01 EST news266662590 (HealthDay)—A treatment regimen that is effective in preventing diabetes in a mouse model of the disease leads to worsening disease in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a study published online June 20 in Diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-experimental-combo-treatment-worsens-diabetes.html Diabetes Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:00:02 EST news265027635 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have conducted a clinical trial aimed at preventing graft vs. host disease (GVHD) in patients who have received hematopoietic (blood) cell transplants (HCT). The study, comparing the drug tacrolimus (TAC) in combination with either methotrexate (MTX ) or sirolimus (SIR), found that the sirolimus/tacrolimus (SIR/TAC) combination was more effective in preventing grades II-IV acute GVHD and moderate-severe chronic GVHD after allogeneic blood cell transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-drug-combinations-graft-host-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:20:34 EST news259939220 A team from the Perelman School of Medicine and the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania found that the FDA-approved drug daclizumab improved the survival of breast cancer patients taking a cancer vaccine by 30 percent, compared to those patients not taking daclizumab. This proof-of-concept study is published this week in Science Translational Medicine. Senior authors of the study are Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, associate professor of Medicine, and James Riley, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-fda-approved-drug-daclizumab-cancer-vaccine.html Cancer Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:03 EST news256391812 Untangling the root cause of rheumatoid arthritis has been a difficult task for immunologists, as decades of research has pointed to multiple culprits in our immune system, with contradictory lines of evidence. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute announce that it takes a diverse array of regulatory T cells (a specialized subset of white blood cells) to prevent the immune system from generating the tissue-specific inflammation that is a hallmark of the disease. Regulatory T cell diversity, the researchers say, provides a cumulative protective effect against rheumatoid arthritis. When that diversity is not present, it allows the immune system to attack joints. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-regulatory-immune-cell-diversity-tempers.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 08 May 2012 14:52:26 EST news255707478 In an organ transplant the recipient protects himself with an immune reaction against the alien organ. This reaction is counteracted long-term with the use of immunosuppressants. In future this medication might no longer be necessary. If bone marrow belonging to the donor is also transplanted, no immune reaction occurs. However, this is still associated with undesirable side effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-bone-marrow-transplantation-donated.html Surgery Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:50:02 EST news252660692 (HealthDay) -- Following a conditioning regimen of lymphoid irradiation (TLI) and antithymocyte globulin (ATG), the majority of HLA-matched kidney and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients can be withdrawn from immunosuppressive drugs, according to a small study published online March 8 in the American Journal of Transplantation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-conditioning-regimen-beneficial-kidney-recipients.html Surgery Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:08:10 EST news252176882 Scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that could help explain how multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases can be exacerbated by the onset of an infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-inflammation-ms.html Immunology Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:16:23 EST news248699773 Tissue in monkeys infected with a close relative of HIV can ramp up production of a type of T cell that actually weakens the body's attack against the invading virus. The discovery, in lymph nodes draining the intestinal tract, could help explain how the HIV virus evades the body's immune defenses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-siv-infection-immune-suppressive-treg-cells.html Immunology Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:44:54 EST news248449475 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 Researchers have turned off a life-threatening allergic response to peanuts by tricking the immune system into thinking the nut proteins aren't a threat to the body, according to a new preclinical study from Northwestern Medicine. The peanut tolerance was achieved by attaching peanut proteins onto blood cells and reintroducing them to the body -- an approach that ultimately may be able to target more than one food allergy at a time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-peanut-allergy-immune.html Medical research Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:49:10 EST news237552538 It is no easy task to preserve the delicate balance that allows us to maintain a strong immune system that can defend us from harmful pathogens, but that is sensitive enough to correctly identify and spare our own cells. Therefore, it is not surprising that the mechanisms that underlie immune activation and tolerance are not completely understood. Now, a new research study published by Cell Press in the journal Immunity and available online on September 15th provides intriguing insight into the complex immune regulatory mechanisms that underlie immune tolerance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-insight-immune-tolerance-furthers-autoimmune.html Medical research Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:12:43 EST news235308079 A regulatory T cell that expresses three specific genes shuts down the mass production of antibodies launched by the immune system to attack invaders, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported online in the journal Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-specialized-regulatory-cell-stifles-antibody.html Medical research Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:27:01 EST news230819197 A normal but concerning consequence of pregnancy is the fact that pregnant women are more susceptible to infection. University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have identified the underlying mechanisms for this physiologic immune suppression that may lead to new therapies to help ward off infections during pregnancy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-key-women-infections-pregnancy.html Medical research Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:37:24 EST news230485031 One of the beneficial compounds found in green tea has a powerful ability to increase the number of "regulatory T cells" that play a key role in immune function and suppression of autoimmune disease, according to new research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-mechanism-health-benefit-green-tea.html Medical research Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:00:49 EST news226242011 (Medical Xpress) -- Too much cleanliness has been linked to the alarming rise in auto-immune and allergic diseases in the Western world, says Professor Barbara Fazekas de St Groth from the Centenary Institute. But the answer to this dilemma could lie in our gut. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-cleanliness-immune.html Medical research Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:04:55 EST news226231458 Researchers at King's College London have used cells found naturally in the body, to re-educate the immune system to prevent rejection of an organ transplant while remaining capable of fighting infections and cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-re-educating-immune-cell-therapy.html Medical research Wed, 18 May 2011 14:00:05 EST news224942288 University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have discovered a method to quickly and exponentially grow regulatory T-cells – also known as "suppressor cells." The new process enables replication of the cells by tens of millions in several weeks, a dramatic increase over previous duplication methods. Historically, regulatory T-cells have been difficult to replicate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-duplicating-immunity-boosting-regulatory-t-cells.html Medical research Wed, 18 May 2011 14:00:01 EST news224942164