Latest Protective autoimmunity Stories
The immune system possesses a type of cell that can be activated by tissues within the body to remind the immune system not to attack our own molecules, cells and organs, UCSF researchers have discovered. The discovery is likely to lead to new strategies for fighting a range of autoimmune diseases – in which the immune system attacks and harms specific molecules and cells within us – as well as for preventing transplant rejection, according to UCSF researchers who report their findings...
The research shows that in addition to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, which present the antigen vaccine to the immune cells, genetic factors, that control some immune cells, influence the quality of response to vaccinations. The results could make it possible to prevent neuroinflammatory reactions, which are major obstacles preventing the use of the vaccination in humans. This study has just been published in the Journal of Immunology. Since the beginning of the 2000s,...
Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a type of cell that may contribute to autoimmune disease. The findings also suggest why diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis strike women more frequently than men.The cells, a subset of immune-system B cells, make autoantibodies, which bind to and attack the body's own tissue. The researchers report in the August 4, 2011, issue of the journal Blood, that they found higher levels of these cells in elderly...
Lesions to the brain or spinal cord rarely heal fully, which leads to permanent functional impairment. After injury to the central nervous system (CNS), neurons are lost and largely replaced by a scar often referred to as the glial scar based on its abundance of supporting glial cells. Although this process has been known to science for over a century, the function of the scar tissue has long been disputed. However, there are indications that it stabilizes the tissue and that it inhibits the...
One of the beneficial compounds found in green tea has a powerful ability to increase the number of "regulatory T cells" that play a key role in immune function and suppression of autoimmune disease, according to new research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.This may be one of the underlying mechanisms for the health benefits of green tea, which has attracted wide interest for its ability to help control inflammation, improve immune function and prevent...
Findings could lead to better diagnostics and more personalized treatmentResearchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that human proteins with an affinity for Dermatan Sulfate (DS) have the propensity to become autoantigens. In a companion article, the researchers also found that DS physically interacts with dead cells and that the resulting DS"“autoantigen complexes drive autoreactive B-1a cell responses and autoantibody production both in-vitro and in mouse...
Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified the key immune cell population responsible for regulating the body's immune response.The finding could have wide-ranging repercussions for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation and cancer, and change how the efficacy of newly developed drugs is measured.The discovery was made by Dr Erika Cretney, Dr Axel Kallies and Dr Stephen Nutt from the institute's Molecular Immunology division. It centred on a...
A paper published online on January 10 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reports that retinal ganglion cells"”neurons in the eye"”are rescued by immune cells that infiltrate the mouse retina after eye injury.A group led by Michal Schwartz at the Weizmann Institute detected immune cells called macrophages in the retinas of mice that sustained eye injuries a few days prior. Thanks to their expression of an anti-inflammatory protein, these macrophages dampened injury-induced...
Immune systemResearchers at BRIC, the University of Copenhagen, have discovered that the human body can create its own vaccine, which boosts the immune system and helps prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. The researchers' results have just been published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation and may have significant consequences in developing new medicine.Researchers at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC) at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a...
Between Oct. 26-30 takes place in Sitges (Barcelona, Spain) the 10th International Congress of Neuroimmunology of the International Society of NeuroimmunologyThe complexity of the immune system and nervous system turn Neuroimmunology into one of the most exciting fields of modern biomedicine. Between October 26th and 30th takes place in Sitges (Barcelona, Spain) the X International Congress of Neuroimmunology of the International Society of Neuroimmunology. This event highlights the advances...
