While our immune systems typically do a great job containing pathogens and clearing infections, they can occasionally overreact. When the immune response to infection becomes excessive, it causes rapid, widespread organ damage in a life-threatening con…
Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have recently found that a certain protein may have a large influence on how the immune system functions.
As our hair goes gray and our muscles weaken with age, our immune system also changes. In particular, the stem cells that become blood or immune cells can develop mutations, potentially leading to cancers or other dysfunctions.
In cancer patients, the health of the thymus—a key part of the body’s immune system—is associated with the outcomes these patients experience after immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment, according to an international study reported at ESMO 2025.
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that explains how bacteria can drive treatment resistance in patients with oral and colorectal cancer. The study was published today in Ca…
Results of a study led by researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center are shedding light on why some newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients survive longer than others after receiving standard treatment in conjunction with the therapeutic bra…
Could a future vaccine against cancer be made better by an immune-boosting virus? Very likely, say Canadian scientists, who’ve proven its effectiveness in experiments on mice.
Scientists have found a way to transform hard-to-treat tumors into targets for the immune system. Using two protein stimulators, they activated strong T-cell and B-cell responses and built immune structures inside tumors that improved survival and prev…
Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors used to treat type 2 diabetes are associated with an 11% lower risk of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, compared with another group of diabetes drugs called sulfon…
An experimental gene therapy developed by researchers at UCLA, University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital has restored and maintained immune system function in 59 of 62 children born with ADA-SCID, a rare and deadly genetic immune disor…
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are well known as a form of cancer treatment. Researchers at UZH have now identified a new, important function of these inhibitors: promotion of tissue healing. This finding could help advance the treatment of fibrosis and …
Multiple sclerosis, which affects around one in 500 people in Switzerland, is an autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack the central nervous system, causing irreversible damage. Current treatments involve blocking the immune system to prevent i…
Researchers at UMC Utrecht have discovered that converting monoclonal antibodies from the IgG to the IgM isotype can significantly broaden their ability to recognize and bind multiple human-relevant bacterial pathogens. The study is published in Cell R…
HIV remains a major global health issue, affecting nearly 40 million people worldwide. Current treatments, known as antiretroviral therapy (ART), are highly effective at suppressing the virus and preventing illness, but they are not curative and must b…
A study published in Cancer Discovery finds that combining an epigenetic therapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody, which uses the body’s natural response to viral infections, shows promising results in patients with relapsed or refractory natural killer/T-ce…
Endurance exercise may train the immune system as much as the muscles. Older adults with decades of running or cycling had immune cells that functioned better and aged more slowly. Their inflammation levels were lower and their cells resisted fatigue e…
Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in collaboration with Roche, have developed a next-generation human liver organoid microarray platform that could help predict which drugs may cause harmful immune reactions in some people.
A tiny molecule called a nanobody may succeed where today’s cancer drugs often fail, according to University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher Stefan Moisyadi, who has been refining the concept for nearly a decade.
A special group of immune cells known as regulatory T cells, or Tregs for short, became an overnight sensation when a trio of U.S. and Japanese scientists won the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on Oct. 6, 2025, for their discovery and elucidatio…
Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a “molecular switch” on a gene strongly associated with the autoimmune disease lupus, which appears to propel immune cells into overdrive, attacking and damaging healthy tissues and organs.
Many advanced cancers develop resistance to treatment and become highly aggressive, often leaving patients with limited treatment options. In some cancers, including lung, pancreatic and prostate tumors, a key driver of treatment resistance and metasta…
MIT and Harvard scientists have designed an advanced type of immune cell called a CAR-NK cell that can destroy cancer while avoiding attack from the body’s own immune defenses. This innovation could allow doctors to create “off-the-shelf” cancer treatm…
The aim of immunotherapy strategies is to leverage cells in the patient’s own immune system to destroy tumor cells. Using a preclinical model, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm successfully stimulated an effective anti-tumor immune respon…
Treatments for cancer are continuously improving, but they can still cause debilitating, even fatal, side effects. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, or ICIs, have revolutionized cancer therapy, yet their use can trigger a rare but deadly side effect that a…
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health challenge, affecting more than 10 million people annually worldwide, with 1.25 million people dying of TB every year. While steroids like dexamethasone are used in certain TB cases (e.g., TB meningitis), …
Chinese researchers have developed a novel method to efficiently engineer natural killer (NK) cells for cancer immunotherapy. NK cells are central to early antiviral and anticancer defense—among other immune system roles—making them well-suited for can…
Researchers are gaining insights into how external factors like air pollutants, diet and medications, and even microbes in the gut interact with regulatory T cells, for better or for worse.
A study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London has found that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may help reverse changes in the immune system caused by menopause, potentially boosting immune health. The research reveals new evidence that…
A research team at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has discovered that certain dietary fatty acids can supercharge the human immune system’s ability to fight cancer. The team found that a healthy fatty acid found in …
Researchers explore the human immune system by looking at the active components, namely the various genes and cells involved. But there is a broad range of these, and observations necessarily produce vast amounts of data.
New research shows green tea may help the body burn fat and balance blood sugar. In a study with obese mice, it improved metabolism and muscle health without harming lean animals. Scientists say its powerful plant compounds work together to regulate fa…
In addition to strengthening the muscles, lungs, and heart, regular physical exercise also strengthens the immune system. This finding comes from a study of older adults with a history of endurance training, which involves prolonged physical activity s…
Advanced colon cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in young American men and the second highest worldwide. In the majority of these patients, as the cancer advances it metastasizes to the liver. Despite progress in surgical therapies ai…
A multi-institutional study from the Accelerating GBM Therapies Through Serial Biopsies TeamLab, led by investigators from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, found that serially testing tumor samples can help detect when a cancer treatment is a…
Scientists at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and their collaborators are exploring emerging trends in cancer immunotherapy with back-to-back review articles published in Nature Cancer and Trends in Cancer that look at how n…
A research team at The University of Osaka, joined by Professor Shimon Sakaguchi—the latest Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine—has identified a previously uncharacterized subset of immune cells called precursor T follicular regulatory cells (preT…
Breastfeeding until at least six months helps babies to fight off infections and reduces chronic inflammation, according to a new study. And better understanding the way specific nutrients in breast milk impact the immune system will improve health out…
Australian researchers have discovered that an anti-inflammatory drug already being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could dramatically improve recovery from heart attacks. The work is published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.
One of the newest weapons that scientists have developed against cancer is a type of engineered immune cell known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells. Similar to CAR-T cells, these cells can be programmed to attack cancer cells.
Understanding the interaction between immune cells and cancer cells has important implications for cancer immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitor drugs and cell-based therapies, as well as newer treatments like cancer vaccines.
UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified two distinct populations of cells known as antigen-presenting cancer-associated fibroblasts (apCAFs) that appear to support the survival and growth of malignant tumors. Their findings, reported…
Every day, your immune system performs a delicate balancing act, defending you from thousands of pathogens that cause disease while sparing your body’s own healthy cells. This careful equilibrium is so seamless that most people don’t think about it unt…
Regulatory T cells help your immune system distinguish between ‘self’ and ‘nonself’ – and can open doors to better treatments for cancer, autoimmune disease and transplant rejection.
In an advance for critical care medicine, two international studies published in parallel in the journal Nature Medicine have established a new unified framework for understanding the biological chaos of sepsis and other life-threatening illnesses. A U…
Researchers at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China claim that an in vivo CD8 T-cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle carrying CD19 CAR mRNA (HN2301) generated transient CAR T cells that rapidly depleted B cells…
An international research team led by the University of Cologne has discovered an antibody that could advance the fight against HIV. The newly identified antibody 04_A06 proved to be particularly effective in laboratory tests. It was able to neutralize…
People with Sweet’s syndrome often wake up with a fever, body aches, and blisters on their neck, limbs and face. Also known as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, it is an inflammatory skin disease marked by severe symptoms and elevated counts of wh…
A few easy-to-implement tools—a training video, electronic health record prompts and handouts for families—greatly increased how often pediatricians recommended early peanut introduction to infants, reports a new clinical study led by Northwestern Univ…
A research team has determined that severe obesity causes the lungs to age faster. The team was led by Prof. Dr. Veronika Lukacs-Kornek from the “ImmunoSensation2” Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn and the Institute for Molecular Medicine…
Actress, singer and makeup mogul Selena Gomez has been candid about her experience of living with lupus. Since 2015, Gomez has documented on social media and in interviews the effect the condition has had on her health.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded on Monday to three scientists for discovering how a particular kind of cell can stop the body’s immune system from attacking itself.
A Wayne State University study published in Nature Communications revealed that Zika virus exposure during pregnancy causes long-term, sex-specific changes to a baby’s immune system, particularly affecting the frontline immune cells that fight infection.
Cervical epithelial cells are far from passive bystanders in the body’s immune system. New research shows they actually play an active and highly coordinated role in detecting and fighting infections. That’s the conclusion of an international research …
Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.
Results from a randomized clinical trial published in Pediatrics show that pediatricians who received targeted educational and clinical decision-support tools were significantly more likely to advise parents to introduce peanut-containing foods early—a…
A new study shows glioblastoma isn’t confined to the brain—it erodes the skull and hijacks the immune system within skull marrow. The cancer opens channels that let inflammatory cells enter the brain, fueling its deadly progression. Even drugs meant to…
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most aggressive and hardest forms of breast cancer to treat, but a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine suggests a surprising way to stop it from spreading. Researchers have discovered that an enzym…
Researchers at National Jewish Health have shown that subtle increases in lung scarring, detected by an artificial intelligence-based tool on CT scans taken one year apart, are associated with disease progression and survival in patients with fibrotic …
A research team at Lund University in Sweden has discovered a mechanism that helps acute myeloid leukemia cells to evade the body’s immune system. By developing an antibody that blocks the mechanism, the researchers could restore the immune system’s ab…
What if the presence of a well-known but misunderstood viral protein explains why some people living with HIV (PLWH) never recover their health, even with antiretroviral treatment?
Cancer researchers focused on improving the success of cancer immunotherapies introduced a new tool in a Yale study published in Nature Chemical Biology.
The European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) has released its ninth special report on indications for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. The report provides updated guidanc…
Approximately 9.5 million people globally live with type 1 diabetes, a chronic autoimmune disease where T cells from the body’s immune system destroy insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, which are needed to control blood-sugar levels. Daily insulin…
Researchers at London Health Sciences Center Research Institute (LHSCRI) have launched a Phase II clinical trial that aims to treat renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) by inserting microscopic beads filled with radiation directly into blood vessels su…
Scientists at Université de Montreal and its Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer have begun a phase-1 clinical trial for a small-molecule therapy for solid tumors.
Zeaxanthin, best known for eye health, has been found to boost the tumor-killing power of T cells. Researchers showed it strengthens T-cell receptors, enhances immune signaling, and improves the effects of immunotherapy. Found naturally in foods like s…
Scientists from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC–James) report key findings about the underlying mechanisms of immune system stress response to protei…
A research team working at MedUni Vienna has demonstrated that a specific component of the immune system (PTX-3) remains at significantly higher levels in the blood of patients who have suffered from severe COVID-19, even months after the acute infecti…
At first glance, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer have little in common. One erodes memory, while the other consumes the body. Yet researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have discovered an unexpected link connecting the two.
Previously, results from the photon cohort of the NRG-BN001, a signal seeking Phase II randomized trial, indicated that photon radiation dose intensification (75 Gy) did not demonstrate improvement in overall survival (OS) for patients with newly diagn…
Immune cells called double negative T cells are abundant in the intestine but have been poorly understood till date. In a recent study, researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo report that these cells actually have an indispensable role in suppr…
A new way to treat asthma symptoms and even repair previously irreversible lung damage could be on the horizon following the discovery of a potential new therapeutic target by scientists at the Universities of Aberdeen and Manchester.
Around 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) each year. About half of patients die within 14 to 18 months of being diagnosed, usually due to breathing failure. The exact cause of ALS has long been unknown.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, which uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer, has emerged as a powerful way to treat lymphoma and other blood cancers. But researchers have struggled to adapt the treatment for solid tumors—inc…
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have reported encouraging results from a phase 1B clinical trial showing that the immunotherapy drug avelumab, when combined with whole brain radiotherapy, may provide a safe and effective treatment option for patie…
Researchers at the University of Granada and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York have developed a luminescent probe, called GLed, capable of measuring the activity of the immune system in real time and with unprecedented accuracy.
In experiments with mouse models of breast, pancreatic, and muscle cancers, researchers at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital report new evidence that a novel means of boosting the natural immune system prevents cancer recurrence and improves survival.
Exercise can help to restore a more normal, well-regulated immune system in people with post-COVID syndrome, according to a gold-standard randomized-controlled trial presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
When a patient enters the emergency department in critical condition, doctors must quickly run through a crucial list of questions: Does the patient have an infection? If so, is it bacterial or viral? Do they require treatment? Can the patient recover …
Morning sickness isn’t just random misery—it’s a biological defense system shaped by evolution to protect the fetus. By linking immune responses to nausea and food aversions, UCLA researchers show these symptoms are signs of a healthy pregnancy.
Instead of stabbing yourself, or someone else, in the thigh with a needle to deliver a dose of adrenaline to counter anaphylactic shock, would it not be easier to use a nasal spray instead?
New research from Indiana University School of Medicine scientists has revealed that a well-known cancer-fighting gene also plays an unexpected role in regulating how certain immune cells can support tumor growth. This insight into pancreatic cancer pr…
The most common type of liver cancer in children, hepatoblastoma, surprisingly appears to contain many immune cells from a type that has long been overlooked. This is according to a study by researchers at the Princess Máxima Center and UMC Utrecht. Th…
Removing lymph nodes during cancer surgery has saved countless lives in many tumor types. Yet recent research is challenging parts of this long-standing practice.
A company called uniQure has announced promising results from a trial of a new gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. The news has spread quickly through families affected by this condition, who have been desperately waiting for a treatment that can st…
For over three decades, HIV has played an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with researchers, making treating—and possibly even curing—the disease a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to achieve.
Researchers at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital have developed a promising new immunotherapy targeting the CTNNB1 gene mutation associated with various aggressive cancers such as lung and prostate cancer. This approach has effectivel…
Daily cocoa extract supplements reduced key inflammation markers in older adults, pointing to a role in protecting the heart. The findings reinforce the value of flavanol-rich, plant-based foods for healthier aging.
Scientists have discovered a way to block pain while still allowing the body’s natural healing to take place. Current painkillers like ibuprofen and aspirin often come with harmful side effects because they shut down both pain and inflammation. But thi…
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will present new data at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2025 Annual Meeting demonstrating that stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and surgery achieved simil…
Newcastle researchers have revealed the first treatment to target the underlying cause of a rare kidney condition called “C3G” and prevent the disease progressing.
Babies exposed to dog allergens in the home have a lower risk of developing asthma by the age of five years, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The researchers also studied …
A new, highly potent class of immunotherapeutics with unique Velcro-like binding properties can kill diverse cancer types without harming normal tissue, University of California, Irvine cancer researchers have demonstrated.
Brazilian researchers, in partnership with French institutions, have developed a tool that can predict how patients will respond to natalizumab, one of the most commonly used drugs for treating multiple sclerosis.
A study published in Nature Communications describes how lymphatic endothelial cells assist in generating robust immune memory, offering new insights into how the immune system functions.
Neuroinflammation is linked to a host of detrimental brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. A collaborative research team from Houston Methodist and Rice University has developed a way to fight back with a tiny, bioengineered s…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a subcutaneous (SC) induction regimen of Tremfya (guselkumab) for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.
UCLA researchers have uncovered a link between “morning sickness” symptoms and the body’s natural, but complex, inflammatory response to biological and bodily changes during pregnancy.
