A new study has revealed insights on the intricate, adaptive mechanisms of a protective system employed by the cells of mammalian immune systems. These defenses have evolved to set a type of tripwire that produces an immune response against attack from…
Scientists find key function of molecule in cells crucial for regulating immunity
Scientists discovered that AIM2 is important for the proper function of regulatory T cells, or Treg cells, and plays a key role in mitigating autoimmune disease. Treg cells are a seminal population of adaptive immune cells that prevents an overzealous …
T cells can mount attacks against many SARS-CoV-2 targets — even on new virus variant
A new study suggests that T cells try to fight SARS-CoV-2 by targeting a broad range of sites on the virus — beyond the key sites on the virus’s spike protein. By attacking the virus from many angles, the body has the tools to potentially recognize di…
How breast cancer cells hide from immune attack
Researchers at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified how breast cancer cells hide from immune cells to stay alive. The discovery could lead to better immunotherapy treatment for patients.
Two anti-viral enzymes transform pre-leukemia stem cells into leukemia
Viral infections and space travel similarly trigger inflammation and the enzymes APOBEC3C and ADAR1; researchers are developing ways to inhibit them as a means to potentially lower cancer risk for both astronauts and people on Earth.
Malaria tricks the brain’s defense system
Malaria is one of the most common causes of death in children in Africa. When the parasite builds up in the blood vessels of the brain, it develops into one of the most dangerous forms of the disease, cerebral malaria. Though it wasn’t certain if the p…
Missing protein helps small cell lung cancer evade immune defenses
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells are missing a surface protein that triggers an immune response, allowing them to hide from one of the body’s key cancer defenses, a new study suggests. The findings could lead to new treatments for SCLC, which has no…
Newly discovered subset of brain cells fight inflammation with instructions from the gut
Astrocytes are the most abundant type of cells within the central nervous system (CNS), but they remain poorly characterized. Researchers have long assumed that astrocytes’ primary function is to provide nutrients and support for the brain’s more close…
Immune cells found in the brain are behind the depression experienced in inflammation
Special immune cells found in the brain, microglia, play a key role in the processes that make you feel uneasy and depressed in correlation with inflammation. This is the conclusion of a study using mice. The results suggest that microglial cells contr…
Fine tuning first-responder immune cells may reduce TBI damage
Immediately after a traumatic brain injury and as long as one year later, there are increased levels of immune cells called ILCs in the brain promoting inflammation, which can worsen brain damage, scientists report. They also report for the first time …