Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can trigger an immune response that lasts well beyond the initial infection and recovery — even among people who had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to investigators.
Scientists retool CAR T cells to serve as ‘micropharmacies’ for cancer drugs
Immunotherapies called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells use genetically engineered versions of a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. These treatments have energized cancer care, especially for people with certain types of blood cancers. …
Microglial methylation ‘landscape’ in human brain
Recent studies have shown variation in the gene-expression profile and phenotype of microglia across brain regions and between different age and disease states. But the molecular mechanisms that contribute to these transcriptomic changes in the human b…
Immune response to seasonal coronaviruses may offer protection against COVID-19
Researchers have found that individuals with a certain HLA type may be able to mount a killer T cell response to COVID-19, thanks to the T cells responding to a portion of the virus’s spike protein that is also present in seasonal coronaviruses that ca…
Communication between cells plays a major role in deciding their fate
Scientists have found a way to prove that biochemical signals sent from cell to cell play an important role in determining how those cells develop, findings that can help explain how stem cells differentiate and how cancer arises and proliferates, poss…
Immune memory less durable after severe COVID-19, study suggests
Patients recovering from severe COVID-19 may have a more dysfunctional B cell response than patients who had less-severe COVID-19, a new study suggests.
Disarming a blood-clotting protein prevents gum disease in mice
Blocking function of a blood-clotting protein, called fibrin, prevented bone loss from periodontal (gum) disease in mice, according to new research. The study suggests that suppressing abnormal fibrin activity could hold promise for preventing or treat…
Dietary fiber improves outcomes for melanoma patients on immunotherapy
Melanoma patients receiving therapy that makes it easier for their immune system to kill cancer cells respond to treatment better when their diet is rich in fiber, according to a large, international research collaboration.
CBD reduces glioblastoma’s size, supportive environment in experimental model
Inhaled CBD shrinks the size of the highly aggressive, lethal brain tumor glioblastoma in an animal model by reducing the essential support of its microenvironment, researchers report.
What makes an mRNA vaccine so effective against severe COVID-19?
A new study helps explain why mRNA vaccines have been so successful at preventing severe disease.