immune system

‘Ninja parasites’ elude immune response through molecular mimicry
03/08/2013 - 11:10

In feudal-age Japan, cunning, unorthodox mercenaries known as ninjas were notorious for using disguise, deception, and stealth to infiltrate enemy fortifications. In the world of modern parasites, certain organisms — dubbed "ninja parasites" by Professor Timothy Yoshino — use similar tactics, in a biological and chemical sense, to trick their way past the immune systems of their hosts.

 

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Scientists Identify New Strategy to Fight Deadly Infection in Cystic Fibrosis
01/23/2013 - 13:31

New research suggests that lowering excessive levels of a protein in immune system cells could be a strategy to clear an infection that is deadly to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Researchers determined that normalizing levels of the protein, called p62, in cells from mice carrying the most common mutation that causes CF will jump-start a natural cellular process that clears away the offending bacteria.

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Study Points to Potential New Therapies for Cancer and Other Diseases
11/27/2012 - 15:36

Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute (TRSI) are fueling the future of cancer treatment by improving a powerful tool in disease defense: the body’s immune system. By revealing a novel but widespread cell signaling process, the scientists may have found a way to manipulate an important component of the immune system into more effectively fighting disease.

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No Antibodies, No Problem
10/18/2012 - 12:25

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have determined a new mechanism by which the mosquitoes’ immune system can respond with specificity to infections with various pathogens, including the parasite that causes malaria in humans, using one single gene. Unlike humans and other animals, insects do not make antibodies to target specific infections.

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Zinc deficiency mechanism linked to aging, multiple diseases
10/01/2012 - 13:01

A new study has outlined for the first time a biological mechanism by which zinc deficiency can develop with age, leading to a decline of the immune system and increased inflammation associated with many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes.

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Scripps Research Scientists Devise Powerful New Method for Finding Therapeutic Antibodies
09/12/2012 - 10:33

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found a new technique that should greatly speed the discovery of medically and scientifically useful antibodies, immune system proteins that detect and destroy invaders such as bacteria and viruses. New methods to discover antibodies are important because antibodies make up the fastest growing sector of human therapeutics; it is estimated that by 2014 the top-three selling drugs worldwide will be antibodies.

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