A Prize Tarnished Oct 7, 2008
Then, his lab discovered a "T cell growth factor" that turned out to be pivotal in sustaining the growth of T cells in culture, cells that are the target of HIV.. And finally, when AIDS came along, his prior experience with retroviruses put him in good stead, and his lab did identify and characterize the virus we now call HIV, even if the virus he wound up studying came from a sample sent to him by Luc Montagnier. (Forbes)
A fan's guide to this weekend's Samsung golf tournament Oct 4, 2008
t Cell phones are allowed, but organizers ask that they be set to silent or vibrate mode. t Cameras will be allowed today, during the pro-am. (Half Moon Bay Review, CA)
New Drug Target For Inflammatory Disease Discovered Sep 25, 2008
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. (June 5, 2008) Alcohol cuts the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by up to 50 percent, reveals new research. (Science Daily)
The Role of B Lymphocytes in Autoim... Sep 21, 2008
Yale researchers recently reported that B lymphocytes, which produce destructive autoantibodies, cause autoimmune disease in the absence of T cell activation ... In doing so, the mechanism in which T cells activate B cells to produce antibodies is completely bypassed ... In a vicious cycle, the activated B cells can go on to recruit T cells to participate in the autoimmune process. (Suite101.com)
Annie’s Mailbox: No need to put on airs for old friend Sep 21, 2008
Don t cell phone addicts realize they make the people they are with feel like a dime waiting on a dollar. What can I do. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
New 'Trick' Allows HIV To Overcome A Barrier To Infection Sep 9, 2008
8, 2008) Researchers have discovered a new 'trick' that allows HIV to overtake resting T cells that are normally highly resistant to HIV infection, according to a report in the September 5th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication ... Specifically, they show, binding of HIV to the receptor known as CXCR4 activates cofilin, a protein that disassembles actin microfilaments in the resting T cells ... Earlier studies had shown that HIV relies on two CD4 coreceptors on the surface of T... (Science Daily)
Universal flu vaccine tests start Sep 6, 2008
A specific type of immune cell, called a T cell, then learns to recognise and destroy cells containing the proteins the next time it encounters them. Tests. (BBC News)
New HIV/AIDS figures renew call for more awareness Aug 31, 2008
Her T cell count was below 200, an indication that her HIV had progressed to AIDS. A prostitute and crack addict, she had been living with the infection for a long time, probably years, without knowing it ... Doctors now report those with low amounts of T cell, the disease-fighting cells that the HIV virus attacks and kills, or any trace of viral load in addition to telling the state about new infections ... With the help of medication, Morrison said she has boosted her T cell count to above 700... (Florida Times-Union)
Nature Immunology Aug 29, 2008
How T cell cytotoxic activity is induced remains incompletely defined. Yasutomo and colleagues now show that Notch2 signals, in direct cooperation with the transcription factor CREB1, promote granzyme B expression. (Nature News Service)
Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis: New Guidelines Developed For Physicians Aug 26, 2008
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. . (Science Daily)
Drug-radiation Combo May Help Shrink Established Tumors Aug 26, 2008
The immune system's tumor-fighting T cells work best when maximally activated. Scientists have achieved this by blocking molecules that dampen the cells' activation, or by removing a population of regulatory T cells that block the killing ability of tumor-specific T cells ... This finding suggested that some quality of large tumors makes them resistant to T cell killing. (Science Daily)
How Rheumatoid Arthritis Causes Bone Loss Aug 22, 2008
18, 1999) The role of T cells in the crippling bone and cartilage deterioration characteristic of many diseases including arthritis and other inflammatory diseases has been unraveled for the first time by a ... 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. (Science Daily)
Brain Cells Called Astrocytes Undergo Reorganization And May Engulf Attacking T Cells Aug 22, 2008
21, 2008) When virally infected cells in the brain called astrocytes come in contact with anti-viral T cells of the immune system, they undergo a unique series of changes that dramatically reorganize their shape and function, according to researchers at the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Intriguingly, the new data indicate that astrocytes may defend themselves from attacking T cells by engulfing (gobbling up) the aggressors ... But... (Science Daily)
Antibody Drug Unleashes Tumor-Killer T Cells Aug 16, 2008
Here's how it works: The two-pronged protein is part of a fleet of such antibodies that Micromet calls BiTEs (bispecific T cell engagers), which like to stick to proteins on the surfaces of cancer cells and the immune system cells that coordinate and attack foreign invaders. Whereas the T cell prong remains the same in each BiTE, Micromet can change out the other end to target specific types of cancer blinatumomab specifically looks for lymphoma, for example ... When the cells are brought... (Scientific American)
Cancer and immunotherapy Q and A Aug 16, 2008
White blood cells called T cells can in fact control cancer for quite some time. Gradually, however, tumour cells get selected by a Darwinian process of survival of the fittest, so that they begin to shrug off T cells and immunotherapy becomes less effective ... One problem with immunotherapy is that as tumours become more advanced they become more "invisible" to the T cells because the cancer cells lack molecules for T cells to hang on to and stage their attack. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Novel Mechanism That Controls The Development Of Autoimmunity Discovered Aug 15, 2008
The scientists from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), both part of the NIH, studied immune system T cells specifically the helper T cell, an immune system component that helps other cells fight infection. They focused on the protein furin, an enzyme that plays an important role in the functioning of T cells ... Since the NIH scientists were unable to see what a mouse without... (Science Daily)
Why Gene Therapy Caused Leukemia In Some 'Boy In The Bubble Syndrome' Patients Aug 11, 2008
However, Adrian Thrasher and colleagues, at the Institute for Child Health, London, now report that 1 of the infants successfully treated in London also developed a form of leukemia known as T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). In the study, Thrasher and colleagues go on to show why that infant developed leukemia. (Science Daily)
Researchers Silence HIV in Mice Engineered to Be Like Humans Aug 8, 2008
The T cell gene codes for a protein that HIV uses to get into and infect a cell. The team hitched the RNA segments to an antibody a protein that specifically seeks out and attaches to T cells to deliver their cargo ... who was not involved in the research, noted that from his own work, using RNAi to treat T cells may allow patients to significantly reduce the dosage of the anti-HIV drugs up to 100-fold. (Scientific American)
AIDS Breakthrough? HIV Halted With RNAi In Mice Aug 8, 2008
Working in mice infected with HIV, a team used a method called RNA interference to knock down three genes in T cells, protecting them from the virus ... But scientists weren't sure how to deliver the siRNAs exclusively into relevant cell types within an organism ... In collaboration with Sang-Kyung Lee of Hanyang University, Shankar's lab overcame this obstacle, delivering siRNAs directly into T cells, which are targeted by HIV. The team used an apparatus analogous to a truck equipped with GPS... (Science Daily)
Rectal Gel Prevents Transmission Of AIDS-like Virus In Macaques Aug 7, 2008
Also, because HIV targets activated T cells, experiments should be done to check that the observed immune responses do not increase the likelihood of infection on later exposure before this approach can be tested in humans ... Cranage M, Sharpe S, Herrera C, Cope A, Dennis M, et al. Prevention of SIV rectal transmission and priming of T cell responses in macaques after local preexposure application of tenofovir gel. (Science Daily)
Novel method to create personalized immunotherapy treatments Aug 6, 2008
MONTREAL, QC and DURHAM, N.C. - August 5, 2008 Argos Therapeutics and Universit de Montral today announced the presentation of new information on Argos'process for developing dendritic cell-based immunotherapies for HIV. Results from the study demonstrate that loading monocyte-derived dendritic cells with combinations of HIV antigen RNA stimulates the expansion of HIV-specific T cells, which attack and kill HIV-infected cells ... "A key step in the durable control of HIV infection requires... (EurekAlert!)
Immunotherapy in high-risk pediatric sarcomas shows promising response Aug 1, 2008
"We need new therapies. While outcomes overall for these tumors have improved during the past 40 years, there has not been substantial improvement for patients with metastatic or recurrent disease. This study shows that immunotherapy is safe and well tolerated, and could ultimately be beneficial for this high risk population. Mackall calls the study a rational approach to improving treatment of ESFT and AR. "We now know that the immune system of patients recovering from chemotherapy is... (EurekAlert!)
Mindfulness meditation slows progression of HIV, study shows Jul 25, 2008
CD4+ T lymphocytes, or simply CD4 T cells, are the "brains" of the immune system, coordinating its activity when the body comes under attack ... The virus slowly eats away at CD4 T cells, weakening the immune system ... But the immune systems of HIV/AIDS patients face another enemy as well stress, which can accelerate CD4 T cell declines. (EurekAlert!)
HIV conquers immune system faster than previously realized Jul 19, 2008
Until now, scientists believed that the window of opportunity to intervene in the process of HIV-1 infection lay in the three to four weeks between transmission and the development of an established pool of infected CD4 T cells. HIV-1 cripples the immune system by invading and killing CD4 T cells, key infection-fighters in the body ... In measuring the levels of four products of CD4 T cell death during this period in these samples, they were able to track and establish a timetable of the virus's... (EurekAlert!)
Mobilizing White Blood Cells To The Lung: New Discovery Could Lead To An Improved Influenza Vaccine Jul 15, 2008
T Cell Response to Respiratory Virus Infections. Immunity, July 2008. (Science Daily)
Most Study Participants Understand Research Goals Jul 8, 2008
Among the 292 people in the IL-2 arm of the study, most said increasing the number of key immune system T cells was the most important reason for continuing in the study, followed by finding better HIV treatments for patients in their country ... In the non-IL-2 group, the top choice was finding effective treatments for HIV-positive people in their country, followed by finding HIV treatments for people in other countries and boosting their T cell counts. (MEDLINEplus)
Best treatment for MS may depend on disease subtype Jul 2, 2008
The U-M research team conducted the studies in mice that have a disease similar to MS: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis or EAE. The team found that different inflammatory chemicals, whose activity is linked to two different types of immune system T cells, could bring on the same paralysis and other MS-like signs ... U-M researchers Benjamin Segal and Mark Kroenke analyze data on individual immune system T cell responses ... They measured the activity of specific inflammatory agents that... (EurekAlert!)
Zinc Finger Proteins Put Personalized HIV Therapy Within Reach Jul 1, 2008
ScienceDaily (June 30, 2008) Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and collaborators are using minute, naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers to engineer T cells to one day treat AIDS in humans ... The Penn researchers and colleagues from Sangamo Biosciences (Nasdaq:SGMO), Richmond, CA, who developed the zinc finger technology, report in an advanced online issue of Nature Biotechnology the first steps towards the goal of using modified T cells from an... (Science Daily)
ATTACK OF THE CLONES Jun 29, 2008
Taking a simple blood sample from the patient, researchers isolated a single immune cell - the CD4+ T cell - cloned it in a laboratory and injected 5 billion copies of the infection-fighting cell back into the patient in a two-hour infusion. CD4+ T cells help other T cells to grow, particularly the CD8+ T cells - or "killer T cells" - that do the actual damage to the tumors ... (Yee had done experiments using infusions of just CD8+ T cells but found cloned CD8+ T can't survive in the body... (New York Post -- Opinions)
Washington Univ. awards $150,000 in Bear Cub Fund grants Jun 26, 2008
Linette will use his grant to make adoptive T cell immunotherapy a reality for patients with infectious diseases and cancer. The Bear Cub grant will help Moran's developed microelectrode to be fabricated, implanted in the sciatic nerves of rats and evaluated. (St. Louis Business Journal, MO)
Potential New Way To Block Inflammation In Autoimmune Disease Discovered Jun 25, 2008
While closely related to TNFR1, DR3 is expressed in T cells, a different kind of immune cell (a white blood cell that identifies and fights infection) than those that express TNFR1, Dr. Siegel said. The NIAMS group collaborated with a laboratory in Cardiff, Wales, which had generated genetically engineered mice deficient in DR3, as well as with a research group at the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which has developed mouse models of disease with strong T... (Science Daily)
Rapamycin delays growth of Wnt-1 tumors in spite of suppression of host immunity Jun 21, 2008
T cell depletion in spleen and thymus and reduction in T cell cytokine secretion were evident within 7 days of therapy. By day 20, splenic but not thymic T cell counts, and cytokine secretion recovered ... We determined whether adoptive T cell therapy enhances the anti-cancer effect using ex vivo generated Rapamycin-resistant T cells. (BioMed Central)
Man's Melanoma Thwarted by Immune Fix Jun 20, 2008
Yee and colleagues hunted for special immune system cells called CD4+ T cells in a blood sample provided by the melanoma patient ... "What we and others have thought might be important is that we need to give patients more of these cancer-fighting T cells which may be present in low frequency in most people," Yee says ... But Yee points out that his team has tried the same T cell approach on eight other patients, none of whom has had the same success. (WebMD)
Small success with immunotherapy in skin cancer study Jun 20, 2008
Researchers used a single infection-fighting cell from the man's immune system, CD4 T cell, copies of which were grown in a laboratory ... In recent experiments, Rosenberg and other researchers have focused on souping up a certain kind of immune system cell, the "killer T cells" that envelop and kill foreign agents ... The Hutchinson center scientists focused instead on specific helper T cells that are adept at locking onto a cancer cell and guiding the killer cells to their target. (Newsday)
New medical research could lead to skin cancer vaccine Jun 20, 2008
But she says this time they concentrated on CD4 T cells to boost general immunity. NAOMI HUNDER: One thing we found that we showed in the paper was that their immunity to multiple tumour antigens was increased after the T cell infusion, not just the one we were targeting, but at least two others it was also increased ... CHRISTOPHER PARISH: From what I can see they've taken just the normal white cells from s patient but then they've expanded out T cells that are against a particular molecule... (ABC Online)
Patient's Own Infection-Fighting T Cells Put Late-Stage Melanoma Into Long-Term Remission - Without Chemotherapy or Radiation Jun 19, 2008
Case is first to show safety and effectiveness of using cloned cells alone to kill tumors SEATTLE, June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers describe the first successful use of a human patient's cloned infection-fighting T cells as the sole therapy to put an advanced solid-tumor cancer into long-term remission ... Yee and colleagues removed CD4+ T cells, a type of white blood cell, from a 52-year-old man whose Stage 4 melanoma had spread to a groin lymph node and to a lung ... T cells specific to... (PR Newswire)
Patient, Heal Thyself: Body's Own Immune Cells Whack Late-Stage Tumor Jun 19, 2008
Pilot study marks first time that treatment with infection-fighting T cells alone takes out cancer ... The scientists say the successful experiment could pave the way for new treatments of advanced cancer that spare patients the side effects of chemotherapy, which kills healthy as well as malignant cells ... The researchers grew T cells (that target a specific protein, or antigen, on the tumor cells) in the lab until they had a population they believed was large enough to destroy the cancer. (Scientific American)
Melanoma Stopped in Patient With 5 Billion Copies of Own Cell Jun 19, 2008
Copies of an infection-fighting CD4 T cell were grown in a laboratory, and then used to attack the 52-year-old patient's tumor, the report said ... We were surprised by the anti-tumor effect of these CD4 T cells and its duration of response,'' said Cassian Yee, the senior author of the paper and an associate member of the clinical research division, in a statement ... The patient didn't receive any treatment other than the cloned infection-fighting T cells. (Bloomberg)
New Cellular Mechanism That Will Significantly Advance Vaccine Development Discovered Jun 19, 2008
" said LIAI scientist Shane Crotty, Ph.D., the lead researcher on the paper, "Selective CD4 T cell help for antibody responses to a large viral pathogen: deterministic linkage of specificities. " Alessandro Sette, Ph.D., a renowned vaccine expert and director of the LIAI Center for Infectious Disease, also was a key contributor on the study. Dr. Crotty said the team studied the smallpox vaccine, considered the "gold standard" of vaccines, and found some startling answers. "We expected one thing... (Science Daily)
Cell Surface Receptors Are All 'Talk' In T Cell Stimulation Jun 14, 2008
To reveal how these receptors communicate, Bunnell, assistant professor of pathology at Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of the immunology program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, formulated a fluorescent imaging technique that reveals the dynamic movements of proteins within living T cells ... T cells play an essential role defending the body against viruses and bacteria ... To mount these defenses, T cells must sense these pathogens via cell... (Science Daily)
Abatacept and infliximab improve clinical response over time in methotrexate-refractory RA patients Jun 14, 2008
The ATTEST (Abatacept or infliximab versus placebo, a Trial for Tolerability, Efficacy and Safety in Treating RA) trial compared abatacept (~10mg/kg), a selective T cell co-stimulation modulator, with infliximab (3mg/kg), a monoclonal antibody, plus methotrexate (as per each patient's usual dosage, mean dose 16. 3-16. (EurekAlert!)
Enhanced IL-10 production in response to hepatitis C virus proteins by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from human immunodeficiency virus-monoinfected individuals Jun 14, 2008
HCV-specific T cell proliferation was detectable in only one HIV/HCV-coinfected individual who demonstrated no HCV-induced IL-10 response. Conclusions. (BioMed Central)
TB Treatment For Elderly Likely Requires Boost To Immune Response Jun 13, 2008
Simulations of TB infection in an old mouse showed that increasing the number of infection-fighting white blood cells, called CD4 T cells, could be particularly effective at bolstering the mouse s immune response, which naturally slows with aging ... The macrophage activates specific molecules that make pieces of the bacteria visible to the infection-fighting T cells, which triggers an eventual T-cell response to come to the macrophage s aid ... So you have a delay before the T cells can see the... (Science Daily)
New Cancer Clue: MicroRNA Controls Expression Of Oncogenes Jun 11, 2008
Dr. Marcos Malumbres from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in Madrid, Spain and colleagues identified a miRNA-rich chromosomal region in mice that is frequently lost in T cell malignancies. This particular region encodes about 12% of all genomic miRNAs. (Science Daily)
New Hope For Rheumatoid Arthritis Sufferers: B Cells As Promising New Therapeutic Targets Jun 10, 2008
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. (May 13, 2008) Women who breast feed for longer have a smaller chance of getting rheumatoid arthritis, suggests a new study. (Science Daily)
Generex Biotechnology Presented Data At American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions Jun 9, 2008
Internationally renowned diabetes investigator Professor Paolo Pozzilli of the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy made a podium presentation of an abstract entitled ``Detection of T Cell Response to Insulin and GAD in Type 1 Diabetes Using the Ii-Key Hybrid Technique ... The study demonstrated that T cells from patients recently diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes responded differently to Ii-Key hybrid peptides derived from either the insulin or GAD... (Primezone Releases)
Silver Rings To Treat Arthritis Symptoms Validated Jun 5, 2008
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. (Mar. (Science Daily)
How Autoimmune Disease Occurs Jun 4, 2008
T cells known as suppressor cells are key to autoimmunity ... These T cells keep the B lymphocytes in check ... It's been shown that low suppressor T cell activity correlates with increased incidence of autoimmune disease there just aren't enough generals to keep the troops under control. (Suite101.com)
New Approach To Treating Autoimmune Disease Developed Jun 4, 2008
In healthy people, a small but crucial group of immune cells called regulatory T cells, or T-regs, keeps autoimmunity in check, but in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), one of the most common autoimmune disorders, too few of these cells appear in the diseased intestine, and the ones that do fail to function properly ... Relying on Eshhar s earlier work in which he equipped a different type of T cell to zero in on cancerous tumors, the team genetically engineered T-regs, outfitting... (Science Daily)
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Collaborators to Present Reovirus Research at ASGT Meeting May 30, 2008
An oral presentation entitled "Purging Lymph Node Metastases with Adoptive T Cell Therapy, Oncolytic Virotherapy and Immunotherapy" is scheduled to be presented on Saturday, May 31, 2008. In many cancers, disease spreads to other parts of the body via the lymph nodes. (Canada Newswire)
Regulatory B cells exist -- and pack a punch May 28, 2008
While the study of regulatory T cells is a hot area with obvious clinical applications, everyone has been pretty skeptical about whether regulatory B cells exist, said Thomas F. Tedder, Ph ... The B10 cells also can affect the function of T cells, which are immune system cells that generally boost immune responses by producing cytokines ... T cells also attack tumors and virus-infected cells. (EurekAlert!)
Cancer vaccine target pinpointed May 24, 2008
"Vaccines work by triggering an army of immune cells, called T cells, to attack potentially dangerous foreign molecules, like those found on pathogens. "Dendritic cells are the messengers, telling the T cells who to attack. "Vaccines will carry a sample of the offending molecule and deliver it to DNGR-1 on the dendritic cells, which in turn will present the molecule to the armies of T cells and instruct them to attack.". (BBC News -- Health)
New Hope For HIV Vaccine: Unique HIV Vaccine Formula Elicits Strong Immune Responses May 24, 2008
In light of these initial findings, additional assays on volunteers samples were done by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, independently confirming the presence of long lasting and high quality T cell responses against HIV antigens. . (Science Daily)
Abnormal 'editing' of gene messages may be a cause of lupus May 20, 2008
D., assistant professor of internal medicine and senior author, said that in systemic lupus erythematosus, the normal editing process goes awry, causing a shift in the balance of proteins that results in impaired functions in T cells, a type of white blood cell involved in the regulation of immune functions. Impaired T cell function is a hallmark of lupus, a complex chronic autoimmune disorder that can range from a benign skin disorder to severe, life-threatening multisystem disease ... The... (EurekAlert!)
Immune Cells Kill Foes By Disrupting Mitochondria Two Ways May 18, 2008
ScienceDaily (May 17, 2008) When killer T cells of the immune system encounter virus-infected or cancer cells, they unload a lethal mix of toxic proteins that trigger the target cells to self-destruct. A new study shows T cells can initiate cellular suicide, also known as programmed cell death or apoptosis, by a previously unrecognized pathway that starts with the destruction of a key enzyme in mitochondria, the power plant of the cell ... The study, from the lab of Judy Lieberman, a senior... (Science Daily)
Scientists Get Inside A Long-suspected HIV Hideout In Humans May 16, 2008
Two other types of cells, macrophages and the latently infected CD4+ T cell, have previously been shown to be reservoirs of HIV. With the BYU-Johns Hopkins study, FDCs conclusively join the list ... So when you try to get them to release those arms so we can separate the different cells, they don t like to do that and the cell can get destroyed in the process. (Science Daily)
St. Jude study shows how T cell's machinery dials down autoimmunity May 13, 2008
A St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital study shows that T cells, the bodys master immune regulators, do not use simple on/off switches to govern the cellular machinery that regulates their development and function ... Such subtle adjustment enables T cells to modulate their development and function, including avoiding autoimmunity ... Our findings hint that this delayed onset could be explained by subtle defects in the molecular controls on T cells. (EurekAlert!)
Lady Washington expected tonight May 8, 2008
By , Staff Writer Thursday, May 08, 2008. Kari Thoresen, left, and Jennifer Clark polish the brass compass onboard the Hawaiian Chieftain this morning after the tall sailing ship arrived at the Coos Bay Boardwalk docks around midnight. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
No comments posted. May 8, 2008
The World Link: Lady Washington expected tonight. Lady Washington expected tonight. (Coos Bay-North Bend The World, OR)
HIV drug resistance target find May 2, 2008
ITK is involved in activating a type of immune cell called a T cell in the presence of infection ... HIV works by infecting T cells, taking them over so they can replicate and create large quantities of the virus, compromising the whole immune system. (BBC News -- Health)
Duke doctors offer a sliver of hope Apr 21, 2008
Infants with low-functioning thymus glands often see T cell function improve with age ... Donated thymus tissue could help Jayla generate T cells that fight infections ... Immunity jump startThe thymus, which actually begins its work training T cells while the fetus is developing, is largest and most active in newborns. (News & Observer)
Immunotherapy: Enlisting The Immune System To Fight Cancer Apr 19, 2008
CTLA-4 blockade for hormone refractory prostate cancer: dose-dependent induction of CD8+ T cell activation and clinical responses ... Researchers monitored T cell activation and toxicity ... Dendritic and T cell functions in patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer treated with GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer and ipilumumab. (Science Daily)
Transcriptional regulation by Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 during T cell activation Apr 16, 2008
Recently, we have shown that PARP-1 is activated during T cell activation. However, the proposed role of PARP-1 in reprogramming T cell gene expression upon activation remains largely unexplored ... In the present study we use oligonucleotide microarray analysis to gain more insight into the role played by PARP-1 during the gene expression reprogramming that takes place in T cells upon activation with anti-CD3 stimulation alone, or in combination with anti-CD28 co-stimulation. (BioMed Central)
T-cell Multiplication Unexpectedly Delayed After Infection Apr 15, 2008
14, 2008) In a surprising outcome that overturns the conventional wisdom on the body's immune response to infection, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that T cells do not begin proliferation until up to three days after infection ... Until now, it was generally believed that memory T cells, lymphocytes that recognize pathogens from previous infections, begin cell division at a far earlier point than na ve T cells, fresh cells that respond to new infections ... The new... (Science Daily)
Embryonic Stem Cells May Help Overcome Rejection Apr 13, 2008
Dr Paul Fairchild, explains: "Our work provides hope that the immune system may be persuaded to accept tissues derived from ES cells more readily than has been the case for tissues and organs from conventional sources. It appears that ES cell-derived tissues contribute to their own acceptance by creating an environment conducive to T cell regulation, which may one day be harnessed therapeutically." ... enlarge Tissues derived from ES cells (blue) which have been accepted by recipient mice by... (Science Daily)
