Scientists observe how a close bond activates the immune system
...itself. These T cell clones are capable of killing invaders outright and marshaling other cells to destroy them. In the new study, Gabriele Campi, a graduate student in Dr. Dustin's laboratory, and Kaspar Mossman, a graduate student of Dr. Groves's, created a synthetic dendritic cell using purified antigen...Invasive species harms native hardwoods by killing soil fungus
...es striking evidence for a unique process by which invaders harm native species, was conducted by researchers at Harvard University, the University of Guelph, the University of Montana, Purdue University, and the UFZ Centre for Environmental Research in Germany. "While vanishing habitat caused by human activ...Commonly used antidepressants may also affect human immune system
...ntigen-presenting cells and the ones that can find invaders that have never infected the body and "educate" the immune system to fight them -- also use serotonin to quickly excite a T-cell response. They discovered that these dendritic cells can rapidly secrete serotonin, which activates serotonin receptors o...Flu not the only germ threat this time of year
...deal? Simply put, there are a lot more infectious invaders besides the flu to worry about. They don't get the big headlines, but they still knock people down for days or weeks and cause thousands of deaths each winter. Metapneumovirus. Rhinoviruses. Coronaviruses. Parainfluenza. Respiratory syncytial virus ...Researchers reveal lung's unique innate immune system
...roughout the body, cells normally on the alert for invaders to kill. Alveolar macrophages are unique among macrophages in the body, because their activation is inhibited by TGFb, a compound expressed in the lung by epithelial cells. "Because the microenvironment of the alveola is a delicate one, it would be...Single microRNA causes cancer in transgenic mouse
...by B cells that can detect the presence of foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses or parasites. Lab tests revealed that the B cells in enlarged spleens had stopped evolving in the pre-B phase, right at the point where a B cell normally begins to create structures necessary for antibody development. "We b...New insight into machinery of immune cells' 'tentacles'
...the T cell to effectively identify and target such invaders for destruction. The site of contact between the T and B cells has been dubbed the "immunological synapse," because it is a communication link between the cells just as synapses between brain cells are the sites where one brain cell signals another. ...The diversity of marine life in the Gulf of Maine region is much greater than previously thought
...an activities, such as shipping, and are unwelcome invaders that are altering local ecosystems. These include the European green crab, a small shore crab that is an efficient colonizer and predator. ...Newly discovered killer cell fights cancer
...cells spread "look here" information about foreign invaders to other immune cells, but do not actually kill th...mental pathogens. "Here, IKDCs are ready to sense invaders and spring into action," says Housseau. Then, the group tracked the cells to the main messenger cen...APS lecturer shows rare video of 'teacher-student' immune cell interactions in live animal
...es von Andrian has been working on, is how foreign invaders manage to proliferate in the very area, the lymph node, where the immune system is marshaling its troops. "So understanding how these (foreign) cells survive in the lion's den of the lymph node might allow us to develop strategies to combat infectio...Research reveals inner workings of immune system 'thermostat'
...h the soldiers. These "hot" protein compounds kill invaders ?but also trigger inflammation, which, if unchecked, can destroy tissue, induce shock and kill the host. So immune system cells let loose another protein compound to cool down the immune response. Precisely how this immune system "thermostat" opera...Failure of 'scout cells' may lead to cancer in transplant patients
...out cells detect the presence of viruses and other invaders and alert the immune system to the infection. Memory T cells are immune cells that have fought an earlier infection and remain ready to respond quickly should that infection occur again. Most people are infected by EBV early in life and the immune...Finding paves way for better treatment of autoimmune disease
...components of the immune system designed to attack invaders such as bacteria and viruses; regulatory T cells are a small subset that prevents the cells from also attacking body tissue. Research published in the August issue of Nature Methods shows that, given the option, phospholipase D, which typically ...Invasive species alter habitat to their benefit
...mply observing such changes doesn't prove that the invaders are responsible. University of Michigan researc...d transplant experiments to figure out whether the invaders were causing the changes she observed. She set up four study plots in a previously uninvaded section...Bacteria have their own immune system protecting against outside DNA
... Just as immune cells recognize and attack foreign invaders in the human body to protect against harmful infections, single-cell organisms have a protein called H-NS that recognizes foreign DNA and prevents it from becoming active, the researchers discovered. But bacteria can also benefit from foreign DNA. W...Study shows how herpes infects cornea, evades immune cells
...lar to the way bacteria, viruses and other foreign invaders are engulfed by immune cells called phagocytes. "In the electron microscope pictures, it looks like the stroma cells form long arms that reach out and collect the virus particles, and then wrap around them, forming a sac, and bring them into the ce...Different strategies underlie the ecology of microbial invasions
...xample, depending on whether the bacteria are rare invaders or abundant residents. The findings, reported by a group of researchers including Sam P. Brown of the University of Texas at Austin, Cambridge University, and University of Montpellier II, and François Taddei of University of Paris, appear in the Oct...HIV-1 kills immune cells in the gut that may never bounce back
... cells -- immune cells responsible for recognizing invaders and priming other cells for attack. Intrigued, Martin Markowitz, an Aaron Diamond Professor at Rockefeller University and a staff scientist at ADARC, wanted to know whether this loss was reversible, and whether giving patients HAART during the early ...Tiny Tampa Bay fish key to evolution of immune system
...ing an innate immune system, which defends against invaders by recognizing predetermined patterns of molecules. About 520 million years ago, a different form of immunity emerged - the adaptive immune system, shared by humans and other organisms with jaws and vertebrae. This type relies on an army of antibodie...OHSU researchers demonstrate how white blood cells cannibalize virus-infected cells
...ht against an ongoing infection. It's sort of like invaders that pillage their defeated foe's supplies and then continue the fight." The way in which Slifka and his colleague, Carol Beadling, made this discovery was quite serendipitous. The researchers were studying the interactions between virus-specific T...