June 21, 2022
A new combination therapy to combat cancer could one day consist of a plant virus and an antibody that activates the immune system’s “natural killer” cells, shows a study by UC San Diego researchers. In mouse models of colon cancer, the therapy eliminated all tumors and prevented their recurrence.
September 1, 2011
…and Pharmaceutical Sciences report that inhibiting the ability of immune cells to use fatty acids as fuel measurably slows disease progression in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS).
December 11, 2017
…that is key to the development of killer T cells—immune cells important for fighting infections and cancer. The researchers believe Runx3, if properly directed, could be combined with other approaches to help T cells recognize and destroy tumor cells and enhance vaccine efficacy.
May 26, 2021
Researchers are finding new details on the complex dynamics involved in how organisms sense an infection from pathogens. The researchers found that worms can sense changes in their metabolism in order to unleash protective defenses, even if they don’t directly sense an incursion from pathogens.
September 20, 2011
Two scientists at the University of California, San Diego have been awarded New Innovator Awards from the National Institutes of Health for research projects “that challenge the status quo with innovative ideas that have the potential to propel fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health for…
January 13, 2022
Researchers studying how small worms defend themselves against pathogens have discovered a gene that acts as a first-line response against infection. They identified “ZIP-1” as a centralized hub for immune response, a finding could have implications for understanding human immunity against viruses.
July 10, 2018
Researchers discovered an unexpected twist in the battle versus tumors. Tumors employ a protein called PD-L1 to blind T cells from functioning. PD-L1 protects tumors through a “molecular brake” known as PD-1. Researchers have found that some tumor cells display not only their PD-L1 weapon, but also the PD-1 brake,…
June 6, 2013
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and colleagues report that the herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1), which affects an estimated 50 to 80 percent of all American adults, exploits an immune system receptor to boost its infectivity and ability to cause disease.
May 26, 2016
…blood cells in our immune systems home in on and engulf bacterial invaders—like humans following the scent of oven-fresh pizza—has long been a mystery to scientists. But biologists from UC San Diego and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands have uncovered important clues about this mechanism from a slime…
April 2, 2015
…smoke become even more resistant to killing by the immune system.
