By stimulating macrophages—a type of white blood cell—with biological factors that mimic infection, researchers have uncovered genetic drivers of complex diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in one of the largest studies of its kind.
Researchers at Kyoto University have discovered that “immune hubs” in the kidney create a unique metabolic environment that could be targeted for new treatments. These clusters of immune cells, called tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs), show high leve…
Belgian scientists have uncovered new details about how the immune system responds to vaccines. Dendritic cells, which are key immune messengers that help kick-start the body’s defenses, show specific responses to lipid nanoparticles. These findings, p…
Blood contains two types of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell: mature neutrophils and immature neutrophils. Under normal conditions, most neutrophils are mature and play a role in host defense by inducing inflammation in response to pathogens.
A team of researchers led by Professor Yoko Hamazaki and Assistant Professor Yann Pretemer (Department of Life Science Frontiers) has developed an in vitro model that faithfully recapitulates human thymic epithelial cell (TEC) development using iPS cel…
Researchers have successfully produced antibodies that kill the parasite carried by the “kissing bug” that causes the potentially deadly Chagas disease. The research is a vital step toward the development of the first effective vaccine.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex and potentially life-threatening autoimmune disease. Part of the complexity stems from how it can differ from person to person—giving rise to marked heterogeneity in not only manifestations, but also in d…
Around 25% of hay fever sufferers in the UK are allergic to birch tree pollen. This means that for a good chunk of the population, the arrival of spring and summer means sneezing, itchy eyes, blocked sinuses and days spent indoors avoiding pollen. But …
The global incidence of autoimmune diseases among children has increased over the past few decades. A study published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Ju-Young Shin at Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea, and colleagues suggests that …
By revealing the molecular mechanisms behind the peacekeeping abilities of specialized immune cells, scientists are uncovering new pathways for treating autoimmune conditions and detecting diseases like cancer.
