PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Immune system fights infection with performance enhancement

2013-09-23
(Press-News.org) Researchers in Melbourne, Australia, have found that even our immune system is subject to performance enhancement, with our bodies giving immune cells the boost they need to ensure the best team is selected to fight infections.

The discovery could help in developing new treatments for blood diseases such as leukaemia and autoimmune diseases in which the body attacks its own tissues, such as in diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. It could also be used to enhance immune response to HIV and other chronic infections.

The finding, by researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, builds on the 55-year-old theory of 'clonal selection' proposed by Australian Nobel Laureate and former institute director Sir Macfarlane Burnet. The theory revolutionised scientists' understanding of the immune system and how it functioned.

Dr Axel Kallies, Mr Kevin Man and colleagues from the institute's Molecular Immunology division led the research, which was published today in the journal Nature Immunology.

Burnet's theory of clonal selection proposed a new model of how the immune system recognised and fought foreign invaders, stating that each immune cell was programmed to recognise a specific infectious agent. Only when the right cell came into contact with an invader would it be activated and stimulated to 'clone' itself, generating large numbers of identical cells to fight the infection."

Studying a type of immune cell called killer T cells, Dr Kallies and his research team showed how the body identified which cells were the most capable of fighting a particular infection. Killer T cells are responsible for killing virus- or bacteria-infected cells, tumour cells and other damaged cells in the body.

"We found that a protein called IRF4 is activated in killer T cell 'clones' that are best equipped to recognise and fight an infection," Dr Kallies said. "Burnet's clonal selection theory tells us that the best T cell clones are selected by the immune system and produced in large numbers but, until now, we didn't know how this was regulated and what happened at the molecular level. We discovered that IRF4 controls the mass production of 'elite' killer T cells, as well as ensuring their survival and enhancing their performance by allowing them to take up large amounts of sugar and other nutrients."

The research team found that IRF4 was produced at different levels depending on how well the killer T cell recognised and bound infected cells. "IRF4 was produced at the highest levels in cells that were the best at recognising the foreign invader," Dr Kallies said. "This is how the immune system guarantees that the best killer T cells survive, producing an 'army of clones' that maintain their killer function to fight the infection. Without sufficient IRF4, the immune system fails to mount a productive immune response."

Dr Kallies said IRF4 was already being investigated by pharmaceutical companies as a potential therapeutic target. "We are slowly peeling back the layers of how immune cells develop, become activated and function," Dr Kallies said. "Targeting the IRF4 pathway could help us to control immune cells. For example, blocking the pathway to diminish proliferation of immune cells when they are out of control, as happens in blood cancers such as leukaemia or in autoimmunity. We could also enhance the activation of IRF4 to rescue T cell clones that are not functional, as a way of boosting the immune response to overwhelming infections such as HIV."



INFORMATION:

The research was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council and the Victorian Government.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Climate change nothing new in Oz

2013-09-23
While we grapple with the impact of climate change, archaeologists suggest we spare a thought for Aboriginal Australians who had to cope with the last ice age. "The period scientists call the Last Glacial Maximum, or LGM for short, is the most significant climatic event ever faced by humans on this continent," Associate Professor Sean Ulm from James Cook University in Cairns said. Research recently published in the Journal of Archaeological Science sheds new light on the ways Aboriginal civilisation met the challenges of extreme climate change during the Last Glacial ...

Richness mapping and prediction of amphibians in Southern and Central China

2013-09-23
Systematic conservation planning is a multiple-objective process. Identification of important areas and species with high conservation priority is two of the research objectives. China is one of mega-biodiversity countries of the world. Along with rapid economic development and environmental degeneration, native and endemic species of China are confronting growing threats in the last two decades. It is an urgent agenda to set up relevant conservation policies, researches and decision supports so as to better reduce extinction risks of vertebrate animals of China. Amphibians ...

Encouraging outcomes for pediatric brain tumor patients treated with proton therapy

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013—When used to treat pediatric patients with intracranial malignant tumors, proton therapy may limit the toxicity of radiation therapy while preserving tumor control, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. Typically, central nervous system malignancies are treated with surgical resection and post-operative radiation therapy. Proton therapy, an external beam radiation therapy in which protons deliver precise radiation doses to a tumor, offers significant sparing of ...

Sulfasalazine does not reduce diarrhea for patients receiving pelvic radiation therapy

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013—Patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) for cancers in the pelvic region can experience diarrhea, a negative side effect of radiation treatment. Sulfasalazine, an oral tablet used to treat inflammation of the bowels, had been shown in a past trial of 31 patients to decrease diarrhea during pelvic RT (Killic 2001). Sulfasalazine does not reduce diarrhea, according to research presented today at the American Society of Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study also determined that the medication may be associated with a higher ...

Cisplatin combined with high-dose brachytherapy for advanced cervical cancer may be more beneficial

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013 — Adding the chemotherapy drug cisplatin to a treatment plan of radiation therapy (RT) and high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRB) for stage IIIB cervical cancer is beneficial, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study also indicated that the combined treatments produced acceptable levels of toxicity. The randomized, controlled trial studied a total of 147 women in Brazil with stage IIIB squamous cell cervical cancer. A stage IIIB classification indicates that ...

Proton therapy is a cost-effective treatment for pediatric brain tumor patients

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013—Proton therapy, an external beam radiotherapy in which protons deliver precise radiation doses to a tumor and spare healthy organs and tissues, is cost-effective in treating medulloblastomas, fast-growing brain tumors that mainly affect children, when compared to standard photon radiation therapy, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. The study used a first-order Monte Carlo simulation model to examine a population of 18-year old survivors of medulloblastoma brain ...

Adult cancer patients younger than 50 with limited brain mets have improved OS after SRS alone

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013—When treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), that is not combined with whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), adult brain cancer patients who were 50 years old and younger were found to have improved survival, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 55th Annual Meeting. Younger patients (under 50 years old) were also found to be at no greater risk of new brain metastases developing despite omission of WBRT. A highly advanced brain cancer treatment, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) utilizes ...

ASTRO/AUA joint guideline for RT after prostatectomy highlighted at ASTRO Annual Meeting

2013-09-23
Atlanta, September 22, 2013 – The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) will highlight the recently published Adjuvant and Salvage Radiotherapy After Prostatectomy: ASTRO/AUA Guideline during ASTRO's 55th Annual Meeting, September 22-25, 2013, in Atlanta. The guideline focuses on radiation therapy after prostatectomy for patients with and without evidence of prostate cancer recurrence, and is a joint effort between ASTRO and the American Urological Association (AUA). The 81-page document represents an intensive collaboration among experts in the radiation oncology ...

'Green future' development: Top 10 priorities for emerging economy countries

2013-09-23
Investments in green energy, education, networking opportunities and research top a list of 10 priorities for countries looking to move up the world's financial ranks, according to a leading US expert in innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and economic growth. Jerry Hultin, Senior Presidential Fellow of New York University, and President Emeritus of the Polytechnic Institute of NYU, says investments in life-long education and entrepreneurial spirit are the primary keys to a country's economic breakthrough. Mr. Hultin, also a former US Secretary of the Navy, who ...

Booster dose of new meningitis vaccine may be beneficial

2013-09-23
A study of 4CMenB, a new vaccine to protect against meningitis B bacteria (which can cause potentially fatal bacterial meningitis in children), shows that waning immunity induced by infant vaccination can be overcome by a booster dose at 40 months of age, according to a clinical trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The 4CMenB vaccine, an important breakthrough in the fight against childhood meningitis, was recently licensed in Europe and is being considered for approval in Canada and elsewhere. However, although it is known that immunizing infants ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

From octopus intelligence to smart artificial blood vessels: 2025 Schmidt Science Fellows to break new ground with interdisciplinary research

Experts challenge aspirin guidelines based on their undue reliance on a flawed trial

McGill discovery sheds new light on autism, intellectual disabilities

Cellular changes occur even below the hexavalent chromium limit

Study suggests a new way to curb social media’s body image toll

Plant doctor: An AI system that watches over urban trees without touching a leaf

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

Scientists: the beautiful game is a silver bullet for global health

Being physically active, even just a couple of days a week, may be key to better health

High-fat diet promote breast cancer metastasis in animal models

A router for photons

Nurses and AI collaborate to save lives, reduce hospital stays

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

[Press-News.org] Immune system fights infection with performance enhancement