Scientists review macrophage activation syndrome — a feature of the cytokine storm that kills patients with severe cases of COVID-19, as well as possible treatments.
COVID-19 high-risk groups: Why the immune system is less effective at fighting the virus
Older people and people with underlying medical conditions are at particular risk of severe COVID-19. Researchers have discovered one possible reason for this vulnerability. While these risk groups produce greater quantities of an important type of imm…
Recommendations measuring persistent HIV reservoirs
Scientists compiled the first comprehensive set of recommendations on how to best measure the size of persistent HIV reservoirs during cure-directed clinical studies.
Unconventional T cells in severe COVID-19 patients could predict disease outcome
Researchers in France have discovered that patients suffering from severe COVID-19 show changes in a class of immune cells known as unconventional T cells. The study suggests that monitoring the activity of these cells in the blood of patients could pr…
Does the COVID-19 cytokine storm exist?
Cytokines play a crucial role in the immune response. If this immune response is too strong, also known as ‘cytokine storm’, it can cause harm to the patient. Following the measurement of several important cytokines in patients with COVID-19 and variou…
How to capture images of cells at work inside our lungs
Scientists have discovered how to capture ‘live’ images of immune cells inside the lungs. The group is the first in the world to find a way to record, in real time, how the immune system battles bacteria impacting the alveoli, or air sacs, in the lungs…
Obesity may alter immune system response to COVID-19
Obesity may cause a hyperactive immune system response to COVID-19 infection that makes it difficult to fight off the virus, according to a new paper.
Tiny biological package gets drug right to the ‘heart’ of transplant rejection
For patients who receive a heart transplant in the near future, the old adage, ‘Good things come in small packages,’ may become words to live by. Researchers have demonstrated in mice that they can easily deliver a promising anti-rejection drug directl…
Effective cancer immunotherapy further linked to regulating a cell ‘suicide’ gene
Researchers have added to evidence that a gene responsible for turning off a cell’s natural ‘suicide’ signals may also be the culprit in making breast cancer and melanoma cells resistant to therapies that use the immune system to fight cancer.
New treatment for drug-resistant bacterial infections
A new antibacterial agent that has been engineered to essentially hide from the human immune system may treat life-threatening MRSA infections. A new article provides details on the agent, which is the first lysin-based treatment with the potential to …