Allergy cells’ hidden secret

Mast cells trap and use living neutrophils during allergic reactions

12-Aug-2024 - Known for their role in allergic reactions, mast cells have long been recognised as key players in our immune system. When they encounter allergens, they release chemicals that trigger typical allergy symptoms such as tissue swelling and inflammation. Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute ...

Covid-19: New energy for flagging immune cells

Hope for new treatment options

29-Jul-2022 - In severe Covid-19 patients, the metabolism produces insufficient amounts of certain energy-rich compounds called ketone bodies. However, these energy carriers are needed by two important cell types in the immune system in order to fight the virus effectively. Perhaps this finding explains why ...

Immune Cells Forget (Cell) Culture Shock

The results pave the way to new macrophage-based cell therapies

28-Feb-2022 - A recent study shows that certain immune cells can restore their normal functions when introduced back into the body, even after being multiplied in the laboratory to large numbers – the results pave the way to new cell therapies. Macrophages are immune cells crucial for immune response, tissue ...

New sepsis therapy approaches with evolution of signaling molecules

Protein engineering extends immune cell vocabulary

25-Jan-2019 - Small infections can be fatal: Millions of people die each year from sepsis, an overreaction of the immune system. A new immune signaling molecule, designed by a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), now provides the basis for potential new approaches in sepsis therapy. The ...

The sweet side of reproductive biology

Sugars that can modulate the immune system

21-Nov-2018 - At present, sugar is under general suspicion of being responsible for many widespread diseases and health problems of mankind, especially in the industrial nations. These are mostly sugars made from glucose or fructose, like our household sugar sucrose. However, sugar is more than just a pure ...

Why malaria parasites are faster than human immune cells

25-Jul-2018 - Malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium move ten times faster through the skin than immune cells, whose job it is to capture such pathogens. Heidelberg scientists have now found a reason why the parasite is faster than its counterpart. They did this by studying actin, a protein that is ...

Colorectal cancer risk factors decrypted

Connection between obesity and tumor growth

17-Jul-2018 - According to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer type in men and the second most common in women. Eight out of top ten countries in the world with the highest rates of incidence of colorectal cancer are EU ...

A new kind of vaccine based on spider silk

14-Jun-2018 - To fight cancer, researchers increasingly use vaccines that stimulate the immune system to identify and destroy tumour cells. However, the desired immune response is is not always guaranteed. In order to strengthen the efficacy of vaccines on the immune system - and in particular on T ...

Immune Cells Also Attack Neurons Directly

New Findings on Multiple Sclerosis

24-Sep-2010 - Researchers in Germany have gained new insight into how the immune system causes damage associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neuroinflammatory disorder. Using imaging tools which enable investigation of processes in living organisms, they were able to show a direct interaction ...

The immune system's guard against cancer

09-Apr-2010 - The human body has developed various mechanisms, through which it can protect itself against newly-developing cancer cells. For instance, killer-cells recognize and destroy altered cells in our organs every day. Once tumours have developed, they may be inhibited in growth by messenger substances ...