“This is a very striking and significant result that essentially separates LIGHT from any of the other inflammatory cytokines that have been implicated in the process in severe asthmatics.”
Tag: T cells
Cecilia Lindestam Arlehamn wins WHAM Edge Award funding to study sex-based differences in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
Cecilia Lindestam Arlehamn, Ph.D., aims to shed light on how sex-based immune system differences may affect the development and progression of these neurodegenerative diseases in men versus women.
Disarming the Body’s Defenders
Study shows how certain cancers neutralize T cells to subvert the immune system and help tumors grow

WFIRM researchers create specific cancer organoid system to study bacterial effects on immunotherapy
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) researchers are using a tumor organoid system to examine the effects of metabolites secreted by bacteria on a specialized immunotherapy – immune checkpoint blockage, a promising cancer treatment development – to determine why some patients don’t respond or develop a resistance to the treatment over time.

Boot Camp for the Immune System
Researchers identify new mechanism that teaches immune cells-in-training to spare the body’s own tissues while attacking pathogens.
Helping the body make more insulin
Aresearch team is testing a protein block to suppress specific cells of the body’s immune system contribute to developing type 1 diabetes. If successful, the drug would diminish autoimmunity, preserving the body’s ability to naturally produce more insulin, the researchers said.
UCLA study identifies receptor that could alleviate need for chemo, radiation pre-T cell therapy
A research team led by UCLA’s Anusha Kalbasi, MD, has shown that a synthetic IL-9 receptor allows cancer-fighting T cells to do their work without the need for chemotherapy or radiation.
Haywire T cells attack protein in “bad” cholesterol
Detecting these T cells may lead to diagnostics to better detect heart disease—and disease severity.

Why Breakthrough COVID? Antibodies Fighting Original Virus May Be Weaker Against Omicron
If you’re wondering why after two vaccination doses and a booster shot, you still got sick from the omicron strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, one possible answer may have been found in a recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Yale Cancer Center Study Shows Stem-Like T Cells Could Aid Immunotherapy in Cancer Treatment
In a new study by Yale Cancer Center, researchers show stem-like T cells within certain lymph nodes could be natural cancer fighters.
Engineering CAR T Cells to Deliver Endogenous RNA Wakes Solid Tumors to Respond to Therapy
New study shows CAR T cells expressing RN7SL1 can activate the body’s natural immune cells against difficult-to-treat cancers
T cell response not critical for immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 or recovery from COVID-19
New research conducted in monkeys reveals that T cells are not critical for the recovery of primates from acute COVID-19 infections.
Discovery shows how tuning the immune system may enhance vaccines and ease disease
A metabolic control pathway that regulates T follicular helper cells offers targets for drugs to stimulate the adaptive immune response.
Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine
NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:
– Study Says Failure to Rid Amyloid Beta Protein from Brain May Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease
– Johns Hopkins Medicine Team Discovers Novel Mediator of Once Mysterious Chronic Itch – Study Suggests Molecular Changes in Tissue Microenvironment May Promote Colorectal Cancer
– Researchers ID Anti-Inflammatory Proteins as Therapy Targets for Nasal and Sinus Problem
– Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Receives NIH Award to Study Dangerous Pediatric Disease
How the Body Builds a Healthy Relationship with “Good” Gut Bacteria
Research published in Nature reveals insights into how the body maintains balance with “good” gut bacteria that allows these microbes to flourish in the intestine but keeps them out of tissues and organs where they’re not supposed to be.
Antiviral T cells safe and effective for treating debilitating complication common after stem cell transplants
A Phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that BK virus (BKV)-specific T cells from healthy donors were safe and effective as an off-the-shelf therapy for BKV-associated hemorrhagic cystitis (BKV-HC), a painful complication common after allogeneic stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia or lymphoma. The study was published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Story Tips from Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19
NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:
PREGNANT AFTER THE FIRST DOSE OF COVID-19 VACCINE — NOW WHAT?
STUDY SHOWS VACCINES MAY PROTECT AGAINST NEW COVID-19 STRAINS … AND MAYBE THE COMMON COLD
EXPANDED DASHBOARD TOOL RANKS ACCESSIBILITY OF STATE VACCINE WEBSITES

Story Tips from Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19
Coping with childhood anxiety amid returning to the classroom; new global tracker measures pandemic’s impact on education worldwide; Covid-19 drives innovation and evolution in patient care…

Researchers Identify Immune Cells that Contribute to Transplant Rejection
‘Tissue-resident memory T cells’, whose main function is to provide local protection against re-infection, contribute to chronic transplant rejection.

Balanced T cell response key to avoiding COVID-19 symptoms, study suggests
By analyzing blood samples from individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, researchers in Singapore have begun to unpack the different responses by the body’s T cells that determine whether or not an individual develops COVID-19. The study, published today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), suggests that clearing the virus without developing symptoms requires T cells to mount an efficient immune response that produces a careful balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules.

Insight About Tumor Microenvironment Could Boost Cancer Immunotherapy
A paper published today in Nature shows how chemicals in the areas surrounding tumors – known as the tumor microenvironment – subvert the immune system and enable cancer to evade attack. These findings suggest that an existing drug could boost cancer immunotherapy.
Scientists Find Key Function of Molecule in Cells Crucial for Regulating Immunity
Scientists discovered that the molecule AIM2 is important for the proper function of regulatory T cells and plays a key role in mitigating autoimmune disease. Treg cells are a seminal population of adaptive immune cells that prevents an overzealous immune responses.

Story Tips from Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19
Vaccines take time to work. After getting a COVID-19 vaccine, it takes a while for the immune system to fully respond and provide protection from the virus. For the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, it takes up to two weeks after the second shot to become appropriately protected.

A closer look at T cells reveals big differences in mild vs. severe COVID-19 cases
A big question on people’s minds these days: how long does immunity to SARS-CoV-2 last following infection?
Now a research team from La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), The University of Liverpool and the University of Southampton has uncovered an interesting clue. Their new study suggests that people with severe COVID-19 cases may be left with more of the protective “memory” T cells needed to fight reinfection.

Immunology study finds protein critical to T cell metabolism and anti-tumor immune response
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that a protein called NF-kappa B-inducing kinase (NIK) is essential for the shift in metabolic activity that occurs with T cell activation, making it a critical factor in regulating the anti-tumor immune response.

Weizmann Institute of Science and Colleagues Show How Cancer Cells Hurt Themselves to Hurt Immune Cells More
Melanoma is skilled at evading therapies, with its cells going so far as to starve in order to stop the immune cells that would eradicate them. A team from the Weizmann Institute, including Prof. Yardena Samuels; the Netherlands Cancer Institute; and the University of Oslo have revealed one of melanoma’s tricks – never before seen in human cells – and a therapeutic target.

New study points to a better way to ward off asthma triggers
While quick-acting inhalers and medications can reduce inflammation during an asthma attack, people with asthma have few tools to prevent the next attack from coming. Now researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered that blocking two immune molecules at the same time is key to preventing asthma attacks in a mouse model.
New Population of Immune Cells Could Play a Role in Multiple Sclerosis
Researchers uncover defining features of a subset of T-cells that may drive autoimmunity in MS, and could prove to be a new target for therapy.

T cells take the lead in controlling SARS-CoV-2 and reducing COVID-19 disease severity
A multi-layered, virus-specific immune response is important for controlling SARS-CoV-2 during the acute phase of the infection and reducing COVID-19 disease severity, with the bulk of the evidence pointing to a much bigger role for T cells than antibodies.

T cells can shift from helping to harming in atherosclerosis
At La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) researchers are dedicated to finding a way to stop plaques from forming in the first place. In a new study, LJI scientists show that certain T lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, that start out trying to fight the disease can end up increasing inflammation and making atherosclerosis cases even worse.

Boosting Immune Memory Could Reduce Cancer Recurrence
New study on how immune memory can be targeted and improve immunotherapy and prevent cancer recurrence.
Even in the worst COVID-19 cases, the body launches immune cells to fight back
SHAREInternational collaboration provides important piece of COVID-19 puzzleLA JOLLA—A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus. The study offers further evidence that a COVID-19 vaccine will need to elicit T cells to work alongside antibodies.

Paying the Price of Protection
A new Weizmann Institute model of autoimmune disease may solve some major outstanding riddles, including what causes T cells to attack and why only certain organs get the diseases

Mimicking Cancer’s Evasive Tactics, Microparticles Show Promise Against Transplant Rejection
Inspired by a tactic cancer cells use to evade the immune system, University of Pittsburgh researchers have engineered tiny particles that can trick the body into accepting transplanted tissue as its own, while leaving the immune system intact.
U-M Team Sheds New Light on the Role of Regulatory T Cells in Pancreatic Cancer
A multidisciplinary Michigan Medicine team is shedding new light on the role of regulatory T cells in pancreatic cancer — and, in mouse models, have uncovered a new potential target to improve immunotherapy approaches to the deadly disease.

Delivering TB Vaccine Intravenously Dramatically Improves Potency, Study Shows
Worldwide, more people die from tuberculosis than any other infectious disease, even though the vast majority were vaccinated. The vaccine just isn’t that reliable. But a new Nature study finds that simply changing the way the vaccine is administered could dramatically boost its protective power.

To kill tumors, activate this elite group of T cells
LJI’s new understanding of killer T cells inspires clinical studies of potential immunotherapies LA JOLLA, CA – Immunotherapies hold promise as a way to prompt a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. Yet immunotherapies only work in about…