Chinese researchers reveal redox sensor protein role in pathogenic mycobacteria
As one of the most successful intracellular pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes 8 million cases of tuberculosis and 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually. During the course of infection,...
View ArticleStudy examines role of ghrelin receptor in fat tissue inflammation and...
Scientists have proposed that inflammation is the harbinger of aging and central to the aging process, a phenomenon described as 'inflamm-aging,' said Dr. Yuxiang Sun.
View ArticleThe immune system-body weight connection
A primary role of the immune system is fighting off harmful bacteria and viruses. However, recent studies have revealed additional roles of immune cells in other important host functions, such as...
View ArticleHow the 'police' of the cell world deal with 'intruders' and the 'injured'
The job of policing the microenvironment around our cells is carried out by macrophages. Macrophages are the 'guards' that patrol most tissues of the body - poised to engulf infections or destroy and...
View ArticleNew insights into latent HIV infections
In spite of ever more effective therapies, HIV keeps managing to survive in the body. A comprehensive project conducted by the Austrian Science Fund FWF has clarified the molecular processes which...
View ArticleUncovering the mechanisms that support the spread of ovarian cancer
A very high mortality rate is associated with ovarian cancer, in part due to difficulties in detecting and diagnosing the disease at early stages before tumors have spread, or metastasized, to other...
View ArticleEmbryonic white blood cells needed in adulthood
Leukocytes which arise during the embryonic period regulate iron metabolism and the growth of the mammary gland in adults.
View ArticleScientists reveal link between cell metabolism and the spread of cancer
Scientists at VIB and KU Leuven have discovered a crucial factor in the spread of cancer. A team led by professor Massimiliano Mazzone has demonstrated that the metabolism of macrophages, a particular...
View ArticleActivation of two genes linked to development of atherosclerosis
Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have found two new potential drug targets for treating arterial diseases such as atherosclerosis. By using proteomics to screen a vast number of molecules,...
View ArticleMissing link between hemolysis and infection found
Worldwide, millions of people suffer from hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, such as those afflicted with sickle-cell disease, malaria or sepsis. These patients face an unprecedented risk of...
View ArticleMacrophage COX-2 prevents diabetic nephropathy progression
(HealthDay)—Macrophage cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) deletion is associated with progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN), according to an experimental study published online Nov. 4 issue of Diabetes.
View ArticleImmune cells may facilitate tumor growth by forming primitive vascular channels
A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) suggests there may be a way to limit tumor growth by targeting immune system cells called macrophages.
View ArticleWhy raising good cholesterol may not always protect against heart disease
Good cholesterol is well associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk, but just raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels have produced disappointing results in recent clinical trials. A study...
View ArticleResearchers discover a critical cellular 'off' switch for the inflammatory...
Working with human immune cells in the laboratory, Johns Hopkins researchers report they have identified a critical cellular "off" switch for the inflammatory immune response that contributes to...
View ArticleMetabolic sensor causes granulomas to form
Granulomas are tissue nodules of immune cells that occur in diseases such as tuberculosis and sarcoidosis and can damage many organs. For the first time, a team of researchers at the Center for...
View ArticleTime to put TB on a diet
Global Tuberculosis Report, the disease kills over 1.5 million people a year. Although the mortality rate has dropped by 47% since 1990 due to advances in preventive and treatment options, the...
View ArticleStudy shows how HIV breaches macrophage defenses, could be step towards cure
A team led by UCL researchers has identified how HIV is able to infect macrophages, a type of white blood cell integral to the immune system, despite the presence of a protective protein. They...
View ArticlePotential new cancer treatment activates cancer-engulfing cells
Macrophages are a type of white blood cell that can engulf and destroy cancer cells. A research group led by Professor MATOZAKI Takashi, Associate Professor MURATA Yoji, and YANAGITA Tadahiko (Kobe...
View ArticleProgress toward HIV cure highlighted
A comprehensive collection of articles describing the broad scope and current status of this global effort is published in a special issue of AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
View ArticleNewfound effect of cancer drug may expand its use
A drug first designed to prevent cancer cells from multiplying has a second effect: it switches immune cells that turn down the body's attack on tumors back into the kind that amplify it. This is the...
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