Scent-sensing cells have a better way to fight influenza

Influenza researchers have long focused most of their efforts on the epithelial cells lining the lungs because these are the cells that become infected and killed while producing new copies of the virus. But other cells lining the upper airways are exposed to viruses in the same amounts and somehow aren’t as likely to be […]

Exploring connections between ovarian cancer and blood cells

Dr. Abhishek Jain, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Medical Physiology in the College of Medicine, collaborated with researchers from the Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology at MD Anderson Cancer Center to gain a better understanding of the interaction among ovarian cancer tumors, blood vessels and platelets. […]

Multiple sclerosis drug blocks HIV infection and transmission in human immune cells

An immunomodulatory drug called fingolimod, which is approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, blocks human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and transmission in human immune cells, according to a study published August 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Postdoctoral Fellow Rachel Resop and Assistant Professor Alberto Bosque of The George Washington University, and […]

Internal differences: A new method for seeing into cells

Invading cells’ private space—prying into their internal functions, decisions and communications—could be a powerful tool that may help researchers develop new immunotherapy treatment for cancer. As reported today in Cell, a research group at the Weizmann Institute of Science has developed a technology that enables them to see inside tens of thousands of individual cells […]

B cells and their function in the immune system

Whenever a germ gets into the human body, the immune system usually responds immediately to fight off the enemy attacker. One of our defense system’s most important strategies involves B lymphocytes, also known as B cells, which produce antibodies that target and neutralize pathogens. B cells play a central role in adaptive immunity and, together […]

Engineered immune cells recognize, attack human and mouse solid-tumor cancer cells

A method known as CAR-T therapy has been used successfully in patients with blood cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia. It modifies a patient’s own T-cells by adding a piece of an antibody that recognizes unique features on the surface of cancer cells. In a new study, researchers report that they have dramatically broadened the […]

Scientists uncover immune cells that may lower airway allergy and asthma risk

The world is full of house dust mites. Do some cleaning, and you’ll probably stir some up. While everyone has immune cells capable of reacting to common allergens like house dust mites, most of us have no allergic symptoms. Still, many people do react with the typical allergic symptoms: sneezing, a runny nose, and itchy, […]

SARS-CoV-2 may be exploiting our immune system’s ‘first responder’ cells

The new coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2, may be using part of the human body’s own immune response against us, a new study suggests. The novel coronavirus is known to use a keyhole called the ACE2 receptor to “unlock” a cell and get inside, where it replicates and wreaks havoc. Now, researchers have found that the […]

Immunotherapy using ‘young cells’ offers promising option against cancer

Immunotherapy that involves treating cancer with the body’s own immune cells, or those of a matched donor, shows promise in clinical trials for some patients, but not all. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the age of certain immune cells used in such therapy plays a role […]