New Technique Uses Immune Cells to Deliver Anti-Cancer Drugs

Pennsylvania: Many groups are working to discover new, safer ways to deliver drugs that fight cancer to the tumor without damaging healthy cells. Others are finding ways to boost the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. For the first time, researchers at Penn State have combined the two approaches by conjugating biodegradable polymer nanoparticles encapsulated with chosen cancer-fighting drugs into immune cells to create a smart, targeted system to attack cancers of specific types.

Nanodiscs deliver personalized cancer therapy to immune system

Ann Arbor: Researchers at the University of Michigan have had initial success in mice using nanodiscs to deliver a customized therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of colon and melanoma cancer tumors. "We are basically educating the immune system with these nanodiscs so that immune cells can attack cancer cells in a personalized manner," said James Moon, the John Gideon Searle assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering.

First time flu infection may affect lifetime immunity

NHS: "A person's chances of falling ill from a new strain of flu are at least partly determined by the first strain they ever encountered, a study suggests," BBC News reports. Researchers created a modelling study, based on historic data, which aimed to look at the reasons why past flu epidemics of influenza A – commonly referred to as "bird flu" – have affected different age groups. It seems it comes down to the strains that were circulating when you were born.

Immune system uses gut bacteria to control glucose metabolism

Oregon: Researchers at Oregon State University and other institutions have discovered an important link between the immune system, gut bacteria and glucose metabolism – a “cross-talk” and interaction that can lead to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome when not functioning correctly.
The findings, published today in Nature Communications, are one example of how different mammalian systems can affect each other in ways not previously understood. A better understanding of these systems, researchers say, may lead to new probiotic approaches to diabetes and other diseases.

Tick-tock: immune T cells know when their time’s up

Scimex: An Australian research team has revealed that the immune cells enlisted to fight infections in our body are under the control of two internal ‘clocks’, upending previous theories on how immune responses are regulated. The team discovered that during an immune response the clocks allocate a certain amount of time in which the cells can divide, as well as prescribing the cells’ lifespan. The finding sheds new light on how the body controls immune responses, as well as explaining how cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma maybe caused by errors in this system.

what are antibodies and why are viruses like dengue worse the second time?

TheConversation: Our immune system is like a highly trained army. It fends off invading pathogens, usually very effectively. The problem is that sometimes it makes mistakes and attacks us. This can result in allergies, autoimmune diseases or just misfires in the immune system’s attack of invading cells.
But there’s another way the immune system can fail us – by throwing down the welcome mat for viruses on their second invasion.

How statins aid the immune system

Karolinska Institute: Statins protect against cardiovascular disease in more ways than previously thought. In a study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet are able to show the immunological effects of statins, and present a new hypothesis on why satins are effective at preventing heart attacks. The study is published in The Journal of the American Heart Association . Atherosclerosis can lead to a number of serious medical conditions, such as heart attack, stroke and intermittent claudication. These and other cardiovascular diseases are on the increase around the world, and are the leading causes of death in the west. Johan Frostegård, professor at KI’s Institute of Environmental Medicine, has had a long-standing interest in atherosclerosis and the possible underlying causes of this chronic inflammation. Atherosclerosis is visible on the blood vessel walls as plaque consisting of accumulated dead cells and oxidised (rancid) LDL cholesterol (the so-called “bad” cholesterol) and two types of immune cell, T cells and dendritic cells, which are the key players in this chronic inflammation.

Immune cells can regulate blood pressure

Karolinska Institute: Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that the human immune system has a hitherto unknown role – blood pressure regulation. Collaborating with colleagues from Canada, they have found that a special kind of immune cell called acetylcholine-producing lymphocytes can regulate blood pressure in laboratory mice. The study, which is published in Nature Biotechnology , could open the way for new forms of treatment for hypertension.

Immune system

NIH. US: The immune system is a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body from infection. The human body provides an ideal environment for many microbes, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and the immune system prevents and limits their entry and growth to maintain optimal health.

Immune system

The defense system of the human body is made up of entire organs and vessel systems like the lymph vessels, but also of individual cells and proteins. The inner and outer surfaces of the body are the first barriers against pathogens (germs). These surfaces include the skin and all mucous membranes, which form a kind of mechanical protective wall. Several things support this protective wall: