Carbon nanofibers may mimic asbestosand not in a good way May 22, 2008
They're small enough that single cells try to absorb them, but large enough that they fail, which triggers an indefinite inflammatory response in macrophages, the cells tasked with engulfing foreign material ... Macrophages try to absorb any parts of the fiber that protrude, fail, and trigger an inflammatory response ... When examined at the cellular level, tangled nanofibers were safely ingested and stored in macrophages. (Ars Technica)
Whiplash heals faster with positive thinking May 17, 2008
The body usually tries to combat bacteria with a variety of disease-fighting immune cells, including macrophages. Normally, macrophages swallow bacteria and then release powerful digestive enzymes that destroy the invaders ... However, researchers at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and the University of British Columbia have found that TB bacteria produce a protective protein that neutralizes the macrophages' ability to kill them. (Globe and Mail)
How Tuberculosis Bacteria Hide And Multiply In The Human Body May 16, 2008
This discovery, published May 14 in the journal Cell Host and Microbe,describes the missing link between a TB protein and its newly discovered counterpart protein in the human body s white blood cells (macrophages). TB causes disease by infecting the body s macrophages ... Normally, macrophages engulf bacteria and then release powerful digestive enzymes that destroy the bacteria. (Science Daily)
New Study Shows How Genes Control Blood Proteins Important To Health May 12, 2008
As another example, the group identified variations in genes that influence "Macrophage inflammatory protein beta" (MIP-beta), a protein that may play a role in influencing how likely people with HIV infection will go on to develop AIDS. The identification of these genes could lead to a greater understanding of the diseases they are implicated in. "By identifying versions of genes that alter blood levels of important molecules we should be able to understand whether these molecules are important... (Science Daily)
Boston College biologists build a better mouse model for cancer research Apr 10, 2008
Cell line advance yields new finding on the role of defensive macrophage cells in cancer's spread ... The cell line enabled researchers to make a new discovery about metastatic cells, namely that these cells express properties of macrophages, tissue cells that usually protect organisms against invading microbes in the environment and bacteria that lead to infection and disease ... "We show that the metastatic cells have macrophage properties," said doctoral researcher Leanne Huysentruyt, the... (EurekAlert!)
Survival Mechanism Of T Lymphocytes Uncovered Mar 23, 2008
In case of an infection, another class of white blood cells, macrophages and dendritic cells, can activate the T cells by presenting small peptides derived from these infectious agents to specific receptor molecules that reside on the surface of T cells, the so-called T cell receptors ... In that work, the researchers focused on a completely different question, namely how the notorious pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis can survive within macrophages ... Several years ago, Jean Pieters and his... (Science Daily)
New Light Shed On Rheumatoid Arthritis And Other Inflammatory Diseases Mar 19, 2008
In addition, cells called macrophages produce TNF, but little is known about the effects of TNF on the macrophages themselves. In studies using human blood cells and mice, scientists examined the responses of macrophages during a two-day period after being stimulated with TNF. They found that macrophages secreted TNF and that then the TNF activated surface receptors on the macrophages themselves, spurring the cells into a low and sustained production of a protein called interferon-beta ... 22,... (Science Daily)
Policing Cells Demand ID To Tell Friend From Foe, Say Cell Engineers Mar 15, 2008
14, 2008) University of Pennsylvania scientists studying macrophages, the biological cells that spring from white blood cells to eat and destroy foreign or dying cells, have discovered how these policemen differentiate between friend and foe ... The knowledge suggests new ways science may be able to turn off rogue macrophages that are the root cause of the many inflammatory diseases ranging from atherosclerosis to arthritis and that provide the mechanism for tissue and organ rejection after... (Science Daily)
Function Of Molecular Switch Pinpointed In Severe Congenital Neutropenia Mar 10, 2008
When it works normally, GFI1 promotes the formation of neutrophils by blocking the development of macrophages, the default differentiation pathway. Specifically, GFI1 acts as a molecular switch to moderate the function of another gene, Colony Stimulating Factor-1 (CSF1), which tells marrow stem cells to form macrophage white blood cells instead of neutrophils ... Dr. Grimes and his colleagues discovered that GFI1's ability to act as a rate-limiting molecular switch is compromised by a genetic... (Science Daily)
Worldwide-distributed Clone Of Bacteria Responsible For Legionnaire's Disease Identified Feb 13, 2008
The bacteria that causes the disease -- Legionella pneumophila -- replicates inside macrophage, which are cells. (Aug. (Science Daily)
Scientists learning how the AIDS virus hides out in the body Feb 5, 2008
But University of Rochester scientists say it may be fairly straightforward to attack one of these reservoirs, blood cells called macrophages that HIV hijacks and turns into viral hideaways ... Macrophages, another type of immune cell, form the second pool ... "Up to now, nobody has really thought about how to eliminate the macrophage reservoir," said Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang, an HIV specialist at the National Institutes of Health. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Anti-parasite drug may provide new way to attack HIV Feb 1, 2008
Macrophages, on the other hand, are designed to roam the body engulfing and digesting dead tissue and bacteria ... Unlike most viruses in its family, HIV has the ability to infect both non-dividing macrophages and rapidly dividing T cells, a key to its deadliness ... So quickly do T cells self-destruct that the virus would lose its battle with the human immune system if it did not have long-lived macrophages to hide in during the early years of infection, Kim said. (EurekAlert!)
Gene predicts heart attack response and cardiac damage Jan 31, 2008
The protein, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), was found to activate an important cellular stress response enzyme called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is a key regulator of cellular energy balance and protects the heart from injury during a heart attack. (EurekAlert!)
How Ultrafine Particles In Air Pollution May Cause Heart Disease Jan 23, 2008
Red staining in sections of the aorta represents lipid (top row) and macrophage content (bottom row), which are part of the atherosclerotic plaque development. Exposure to ultrafine particles shows highest degree of plaques. (Science Daily)
Ginger extract inhibits LPS induced macrophage activation and function Jan 4, 2008
Macrophages play a dual role in host defence ... Inhibition of macrophage activation is one of the possible approaches towards modulating inflammation ... In the present study we examined the effect of ginger extract on macrophage activation in the presence of LPS stimulation. (BioMed Central)
Two Genes Are Important Key To Regulating Immune Response Jan 2, 2008
In healthy individuals, these dying or dead cells are spotted and then quickly ingested and removed by immune system "scavenger" cells such as macrophages. However, to prevent this type of clean-up from triggering a wider immune response, macrophages express the IL-10 cytokine in the presence of apoptotic cells ... Prior studies had already shown that CD36 a protein receptor lying on the surface of the macrophage was important for the recognition of apoptotic cells by macrophages. (Science Daily)
Researcher Seeks Clues To How Tuberculosis Infects Cells Dec 27, 2007
The researchers have discovered that unlike many bacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis does not react when immune system cells called macrophages initially make contact; but the bacterium's genes become activated minutes after the pathogen is enveloped by a macrophage and contained in one of its membrane-bound compartments called vacuoles ... It found that the two bacteria may each respond differently to the same stimuli and that BCG appears less capable of protecting itself once... (Science Daily)
Link Between Cellular Defense Processes Found, Showing How Cancer Cells Survive Dec 21, 2007
Certain phagocytes called macrophages that are on the prowl for germs use the TLR proteins on their surface to sense the presence of their prey. When the macrophage engulfs a germ and forms the depression that traps the microbe, TLR triggers a series of biochemical events that guide development of the phagosome ... The St. Jude team showed that when macrophages phagocytosed special beads carrying pieces of germs, there was a rapid movement of the autophagy-associated LC3 proteins to the... (Science Daily)
Cardiovascular Disease: New Ideas For Treatment Of Atherosclerosis Dec 16, 2007
15, 2007) Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the arterial blood vessels enhanced by the presence of immune cells known as macrophages. Macrophages migrate to the cholesterol-rich atherosclerotic plaques that form in the blood vessels and are the central component of atherosclerotic disease ... But now, Dianqing Wu and colleagues from Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, have discovered that the beta-3 form of PLC plays an important role in encouraging macrophage survival... (Science Daily)
Rogue Bacteria Involved In Both Heart Disease And Infertility Nov 23, 2007
Normally, when a pathogen invades human tissue, the immune response unleashes "killer cells" called macrophages, which stretch to engulf the attacker and destroy it with toxin-producing enzymes. Chlamydiae fight back, says Azenabor, His work shows that, as they are ingested, these two species of Chlamydia can manipulate the functions of protective cells like macrophages in creative ways ... One of the keys lies in the macrophages' cell walls, which store cholesterol and usually tightly control... (Science Daily)
Immune Cell Age Plays Role In Retinal Damage In Age-related Macular Degeneration Nov 8, 2007
The scientists discovered that specific immune cells called macrophages play a role in the disease process in older mice by failing to block the development of abnormal, leaky blood vessels behind the retina. But in younger mice, macrophages typically prevent abnormal blood vessel formation ... The scientists believe better understanding of how macrophages work may provide potential targets for therapies to slow or even reverse vision loss. (Science Daily)
Type 2 Diabetes: Inflammation, Not Obesity, Cause Of Insulin Resistance Nov 8, 2007
7, 2007) Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have discovered that inflammation provoked by immune cells called macrophages leads to insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes ... In research done in mouse models, the UCSD scientists proved that, by disabling the macrophage inflammatory pathway, insulin resistance and the resultant Type 2 diabetes can be prevented ... Macrophages, found in white blood cells in the bone marrow, are key players in the immune... (Science Daily)
Gene Behind Rheumatoid Arthritis Identified Nov 6, 2007
6, 2007) University of Manchester researchers have identified a genetic variant in a region on chromosome 6 that is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common inflammatory arthritis affecting 387,000 people in the UK.. Professor Jane Worthington and her team at the Arthritis Research Campaign (arc) Epidemiology Unit at the University investigated 9 genetic regions identified earlier this year as potentially harbouring DNA variants determining susceptibility to rheumatoid... (Science Daily)
Role Of A Key Enzyme In Reducing Heart Disease Identified Oct 31, 2007
According to Ghosh, the team focused their efforts on the examination of macrophage foam cells, which are responsible for storing large amounts of cholesterol and lead to the clogging of the arteries by forming plaques ... A macrophage foam cell contained fat droplets (green) that are surrounded by CEH (red) showing how this enzyme associates with fat and releases cholesterol to be picked up by HDL. The nucleus of the cell is stained blue. (Science Daily)
Legionnaire's bacterial proteins work together to survive Oct 24, 2007
The bacteria that causes itLegionella pneumophilareplicates inside macrophage, which are cells that are part of the immune system and eat cellular debris and toxins. Macrophages kill bacteria by transporting them in storage bubbles known as vacuoles to organelles that have enzymes to then break down the intruders ... What makes this pathogen special is that it can control transport of the vacuole formed after macrophages ingest the bacterium, Roy said. (EurekAlert!)
Protein May Link Obesity To Diabetes 2 Oct 23, 2007
22, 2007) Obesity increases the risk of developing diabetes, but nobody knows the details of why this is the case. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden have now identified a protein that may play a role in increasing the risk. (Science Daily)
How Gold Salts Ease Pain Of Arthritis And Other Inflammatory Diseases Oct 23, 2007
22, 2005) New research published in Arthritis Research & Therapy found that very early rheumatoid arthritis is characterised by a distinct profile of T cell, macrophage and stromal cell related cytokines. (Jul. (Science Daily)
Type 2 Diabetes: What Determines Susceptibility? Oct 23, 2007
One reason for this is thought to be the chronic inflammation characterized by macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue that. (Feb. (Science Daily)
Chemistry turns killer gas into potential cure Oct 16, 2007
Although the gas is lethal in large doses, small amounts can reduce inflammation, widen blood vessels, increase blood flow, prevent unwanted blood clotting and even suppress the activity of cells and macrophages* which attack transplanted organs ... Macrophage cells are part of the human bodys natural defence system. (EurekAlert!)
Gene Believed To Promote Long Life Linked To Cholesterol Flushing Oct 13, 2007
In the new MIT study, researchers found that low SIRT1 levels in mice lead to cholesterol buildup in cells such as macrophages, a type of immune cell, due to reduced activity of a protein called LXR (liver X receptor). LXR is responsible for transporting cholesterol out of macrophage cells ... When full of cholesterol, the macrophages can generate plaques that clog arteries. (Science Daily)
Nanoengineers mine tiny diamonds for drug delivery Oct 13, 2007
For their study, Ho and his team used living murine macrophage cells, human colorectal carcinoma cells and doxorubicin hydrochloride, a widely used chemotherapy drug. The drug was successfully loaded onto the nanodiamond clusters, which efficiently ferried the drug inside the cells. (EurekAlert!)
Ozone shuts down early immune response in lungs and body Sep 30, 2007
One of the key cells in the innate immune system is known as a macrophage, Greek for big eater ... But more significantly, ozone pre-exposure reduced the number of macrophages in the lung after secondary exposure to inhaled bacterial endotoxin ... The Duke team plans further studies on the mechanisms behind ozones ability to induce cell death in macrophages in the lungs. (EurekAlert!)
2007 Lasker Awards announced Sep 18, 2007
Although some speculated that these cells were macrophages, no one knew which component of the pool was responsible for initiating the reaction. As a postdoc in the lab of Zanvil Cohn, an expert on macrophages, Steinman decided to find out ... Upon culturing the pool of splenic cells, he noticed a rare cell type that on first glance resembled a macrophage. (The Scientist)
Dominant Cholesterol-metabolism Ideas Challenged By New Research Aug 17, 2007
During programmed cell death (apoptosis), PS is also expressed on the surface of apoptotic cells to signal macrophages to come and clean up the dead cells. Both the macrophages and apoptotic cells must express PS on their surfaces for this mechanism to work normally ... Therefore, Chimini also proposed that ABCA1 might be part of the molecular machinery involved in apoptosis and macrophage activity. (Science Daily)
HIV triggers the 'opposite of cancer' in the brain Aug 16, 2007
It could be that when HIV infects a type of white blood cell called a macrophage, the cell pumps out inflammatory chemicals to battle the infection that also, unfortunately, wipe out neurons. Or HIV could inflict its damage more directly. (Nature News Service)
Handicapping Tuberculosis May Be The Way To A Better Vaccine Aug 3, 2007
M. tuberculosis lives in the lungs, in immune cells called macrophages. A weapon in TB's arsenal is an enzyme called superoxide dismutase A, or sodA. This enzyme helps TB cover its tracks, so the macrophage doesn't know it's infected ... Jacobs and his team hypothesized that eliminating this enzyme's activity would give macrophages the opportunity to trigger apoptosis, thus prompting a more effective immune response. (Science Daily)
Taming the anthrax threat Aug 2, 2007
In mouse studies using DNA microarray technology, the U-M scientists were able to track which genes and enzymes play key roles in the bacterium that causes anthrax, while it sneaks inside the immune systems first-responder cells in the lungs, called macrophages, and begins to multiply ... Bergmans team focused on the mystifying step in anthrax infection when the bacteria pass unrecognized inside macrophages, the primary immune cells able to kill most bacteria ... To understand what happens in... (EurekAlert!)
Researchers Find Way To Starve TB Jul 25, 2007
TB bacilli are unusual in that they can survive in macrophages -- large immune cells that normally devour invading pathogens ... They found a suite of genes that contain the information required to make enzymes that degrade the cholesterol found in macrophage cell membranes ... In most infections, the macrophage is the enemy. (Science Daily)
Spicing up brain may help fight Alzheimers Jul 19, 2007
In their study, Dr. Milan Fiala, from the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and colleagues first show that immune cells called macrophages taken from patients with Alzheimers disease cannot efficiently eliminate amyloid and that this may be related to the abnormal regulation of certain genes. Treating these cells with an active substance found in turmeric, called bisdemethoxycurcumin, increases the production of some of the genes and enhances macrophage function,... (Newsweek)
Curry May Help Treat Alzheimer's, Researchers Say Jul 18, 2007
The research team extracted macrophage cells from Alzheimer patients which gobble up waste products in the blood like pathogens and amyloid beta. The team treated the macrophages with a drug derived from curcumin and found that the treated macrophages were better at ingesting amyloid beta. (Chosun Ilbo)
Inflammatory Factor Could Spur Male Infertility Jul 7, 2007
A team at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y., identified unusual levels of a substance called "macrophage migration inhibitory factor" (MIF) in semen samples obtained from infertile men. Reporting in the current issue of Molecular Medicine, the researchers theorize that identification of this factor could lead to tests for infertility as well as the development of a male contraceptive. (Health-Finder)
New Insight Into Male Infertility Jul 7, 2007
The chemical that is the cause of so much woe is known as macrophage migration inhibitory factor or MIF, a protein found in the immune system that seems to help sperm cells grow into strong swimmers and that's critical. Weak sperm do not survive long in the wild environment of the reproductive tract. (Time.com)
Key to male infertility Jun 30, 2007
Yousef Al-Abed, PhD, and his colleagues at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have isolated an immune substance called macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in semen samples from infertile and reproductively healthy men ... Scientists examining cardiac function during sepsis have identified macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) as a key factor in heart damage. (EurekAlert!)
PhytoLabs Inc. Announces Roaring Success in European Test Market Sales Jun 28, 2007
"Our research has shown that this extract is the most powerful, natural immune-stimulatory dietary supplement discovered to date with respect to macrophage activation," says Dr. David Pasco, Assistant Director at NCNPR. The results of this research were published in Planta Medica (Pugh et al, 2001 67(8): 737-742). The statements in the press release that relate to the company's expectations with regard to the future impact on the company's results from new products or actions in development are... (PR Newswire)
'Acquired' DNA Key To Certain Bacterial Infection Jun 20, 2007
Researchers announced the discovery of a mechanism by which Mycobacterium avium -- a bacterium which can result in serious lung infections and is prevalent in emphysema and AIDS patients among others -- infects tissue cells or "macrophages" and thus compromises the body's immunity ... Understanding the mechanism by how M. avium penetrates the macrophage and infects humans may eventually lead to interventions that can prevent, or at least, reduce the chance of infections, though Bermudez... (Science Daily)
Cigarette Smoking Impairs Ligament Healing, Researchers Find Jun 16, 2007
This initial response is followed by several days of inflammation, in which cells called macrophages flock to the injury site and secrete substances called cytokines and chemokines ... "Our studies also have shown a decreased macrophage response that may help explain why we see this delayed or decreased healing response," Wright says. (Science Daily)
Finding protection from tumor growth in unexpected places Jun 6, 2007
The related report by Shen et al, Mice with enhanced macrophage angiotensin-converting enzyme are resistant to melanoma, appears in the June issue of The American Journal of Pathology ... In an effort to tease out the role of ACE in immune modulation during cancer, Dr. Kenneth Bernsteins group at Emory University generated mice (ACE 10/10) that express ACE only in macrophages ... The resistance of ACE 10/10 mice to melanoma growth was confirmed using several different melanoma cell lines and... (EurekAlert!)
Scavenger Cells May Block Obesity, Study Shows May 23, 2007
Macrophages - the scavenger cells of the body's immune system - are known as troublemakers for the role they play in obesity, but Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found that the cells can also be saviors when it comes to metabolism. The researchers highlight the beneficial role of macrophages in combating the effects of a high-fat diet in mice in a study that will be published in the May 21 advance online edition of Nature ... "Macrophages have a reputation for being the... (Science Daily)
GM-CSF Autoantibodies in Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis May 10, 2007
8 issue)1 report that in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, neutrophil functions are impaired because of autoantibodies against granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Although this may be true, neutralizing GM-CSF autoantibodies are found at high levels in a small proportion (<5%) of healthy persons. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Indian scientists identify "villain" TB protein May 9, 2007
The protein, Early Secreted Antigen 6 (or ESAT6), binds itself onto receptors called TLR2 on the surface of macrophages, a type of white blood cell that attacks invading viruses and bacteria. This hinders the macrophage from producing "cytokines" -- proteins released by the cells of immunity system to kill the TB bacterium. (Xinhua)
Story ideas from the Journal of Lipid Research May 4, 2007
One hallmark of the disease is the presence of cells called macrophage foam cells, in which cholesterol accumulates. Scientists are now trying to understand how cholesterol builds up in these cells, especially in cellular organelles called lysosomes that are known for degrading cholesterol. (EurekAlert!)
Advanced Imaging Technology to Predict Heart Attacks Apr 13, 2007
Such plaque, when rich in macrophages or cells can rupture them, leading to a heart attack or stroke ... The research team used N1177, which is an iodinated nanoparticulate contrast agent to detect macrophages in an animal model with 64-slice CT. ... The animal model used had high-risk plaque with high levels of macrophages that was comparable to human coronary plaque in size and content. (HeartZine)
Association of TGFB1, TNFa, CCR2 and CCR5 gene polymorphisms in chronic renal insufficiency among Asian Indians with type-2 diabetes Apr 12, 2007
Transforming growth factor B1 (TGFB1) induces renal hypertrophy and fibrosis, and cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFa), chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and regulated upon activation and normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) mediate macrophage infiltration into kidney. Over expression of these chemokines leads to glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis. (BioMed Central)
CT imaging with use of novel contrast agent may predict heart attack in waiting Apr 10, 2007
High-risk plaque rich in macrophages or cells can rupture, eventually causing a heart attack or stroke ... A team of researchers led by Dr. Fayad tested an iodinated nanoparticulate contrast agent called N1177 for the detection of macrophages in an animal model with 64-slice CT. High-risk plaque in this animal model contained high levels of macrophages which are similar in size and content to human coronary plaques ... Researchers compared the enhancement of macrophage rich plaque after the... (EurekAlert!)
MRI Contrast Agent Can Detect Heart Attack In The Making Apr 5, 2007
In addition, the strength of the signal correlated with the presence of the macrophage cells in which cholesterol accumulated. The more cholesterol-filled cells in an area, the brighter the signal. (Science Daily)
New Approach To Studying How Cells Respond To Pathogens Apr 5, 2007
Sandia optical tweezer designer Thomas Perrod assists biologist Meiye Wu with sorting of macrophage cells in microfluidic devices using MISL technology. (Credit: Randy Wong). (Science Daily)
MRI Technique Could Predict Heart Attack Risk Mar 30, 2007
The strength of the imaging signal correlated with the presence of inflammatory macrophage cells, which form centers of cholesterol accumulation. "We target the inflammatory cells, macrophages," Fayad explained ... By doing so, "we get a sense of macrophage density in plaque and can come up with a risk assessment," he said. (MEDLINEplus)
Biosite Reports on Presentation of Preliminary Data From Sepsis Program Mar 28, 2007
"We are on track to launch a prospective multi-center clinical study in the second quarter of 2007 to validate the clinical utility of this panel and compile data needed for an FDA submission." The biomarkers on the panel, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), c-reactive protein (CRP), and macrophage inflammatory protein-3 (MIP-3), were selected from 150 biomarkers studied through the Biosite Discovery program. The panel incorporates Biosite's proprietary MultiMarker Index(TM) (MMX)... (Canada Newswire)
Inhibiting Blood To Save The Brain Mar 27, 2007
Fibrinogen activates macrophage cells in the brain called microglia, causing inflammation which damages myelin. The scientists sought to design a therapeutic strategy that would block the damaging effects of fibrinogen without affecting its beneficial blood coagulation. (Science Daily)
Enabling Nerve Regeneration Means Evicting The Cleanup Crew Mar 5, 2007
Macrophages are the immune cells that engulf and destroy the debris of damaged tissue to enable the healing process to begin. Their presence at the scene of damage is critical, but once their task is complete, it is just as critical that macrophages exit rapidly, ending the inflammatory process and making way for regrowth ... In fact, the continued presence of macrophages could damage tissue, compromising repair. (Science Daily)
GM-CSF Autoantibodies and Neutrophil Dysfunction in Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Feb 8, 2007
Background Increased mortality from infection in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis occurs in association with high levels of autoantibodies against granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). We tested the hypothesis that neutrophil functions are impaired in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and that GM-CSF autoantibodies cause the dysfunction. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Pancreas cancer vaccine hopeful Jan 23, 2007
The vaccine was constructed of lethally irradiated pancreatic cancer cells, engineered to include a granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene that recruits immune-system cells to seek and destroy microscopic cancers. The patients received additional infusion of the engineered cells at four-week intervals for three cycles, followed by a fifth infusion six months later. (Monsters and Critics.com)
JCI table of contents: January 2, 2007 Jan 3, 2007
It is caused by a buildup of fat (lipid)-containing macrophages (the rubbish-collecting cells of the immune system) in the arteries ... Complex macrophage and monocyte interactions at work in atherosclerosis ... Monocytes and macrophages are prominent cell types involved in the body's response to the development of atherosclerotic plaques a build-up of cholesterol and fatty material within arteries due to the effects of the inflammatory condition atherosclerosis. (EurekAlert!)
