Immune key to chronic viral infections discovered

Previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections discovered

2024-04-08

(Press-News.org) IMMUNE KEY TO CHRONIC VIRAL INFECTIONS DISCOVERED

Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. The finding, published today (9 April) in the journal, Immunity, may lead to earlier intervention and possibly prevention of some types of viral infections such as HIV or hepatitis.

One of the remaining mysteries of the human immune system is why a certain cell, called a B cell, which retains a memory for past infections – ensuring we fight off diseases we have experienced before – often only has a weak capacity to protect us from persistent infections.

Researchers from the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute have essentially solved this mystery by discovering how chronic viral infection induces a previously unknown immune B memory cell that does not produce high levels of antibody.

Importantly the research team, led by Professor Kim Good-Jacobson and Dr Lucy Cooper, also determined the most effective time during the immune response for therapeutics such as anti-viral and anti-cancer drugs to better boost immune memory cell development.

“What we discovered was a previously unknown cell that is produced by chronic viral infection. We also determined that early intervention with therapeutics was the most effective to stop this type of memory cell being formed, whereas late intervention could not,” Professor Good-Jacobson said.

According to Dr Cooper, chronic viral infections have been known to alter our ability to form effective long-term protective antibody responses, but how that happens is unknown.

“In the future, this research may result in new therapeutic targets, with the aim to reduce the devastating effect of chronic infectious diseases on global health, specifically those that are not currently preventable by vaccines,” she said.

“Revealing this new immune memory cell type, and what genes it expresses, allows us to determine how we can target it therapeutically and whether that will lead to better antibody responses.”

The research team are also looking to see whether this population is a feature of long COVID, which results in some people having a reduced capacity to fight off the symptoms of COVID infection long after the virus has dissipated.

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ above drinking water guidelines in global source water

2024-04-08

Per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances – commonly known as PFAS – are a group of over 14,000 human-made chemicals that have been popular since the 1950s for their diverse skills in resisting heat, water, grease and stains. They’ve been commonly found in household products like non-stick frypans, clothing, cosmetics, insecticides, and food packaging, as well as specialty industry products, like firefighting foam. But despite their broad skillset, the chemicals have a dark side: they’re known as ‘forever chemicals’ as once they’re in the environment – ...

How the moon turned itself inside out

2024-04-08

About 4.5 billion years ago, a small planet smashed into the young Earth, flinging molten rock into space. Slowly, the debris coalesced, cooled and solidified, forming our moon. This scenario of how the Earth's moon came to be is the one largely agreed upon by most scientists. But the details of how exactly that happened are "more of a choose-your-own adventure novel," according to researchers in the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who published a paper in Nature Geoscience. The findings offer important insights into the evolution ...

Climate change threatens Antarctic meteorites

2024-04-08

Using artificial intelligence, satellite observations, and climate model projections, a team of researchers from Switzerland and Belgium calculate that for every tenth of a degree of increase in global air temperature, an average of nearly 9,000 meteorites disappear from the surface of the ice sheet. This loss has major implications, as meteorites are unique samples of extraterrestrial bodies that provide insights into the origin of life on Earth and the formation of the Moon. Disappearing at an alarming rate By 2050, about a quarter of the estimated of 300,000 - 800,000 meteorites in Antarctica will be lost ...

New study highlights the benefit of touch on mental and physical health

2024-04-08

Through a large-scale analysis, researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience have uncovered the ways in which consensual touch can benefit a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. You might recognize the comforting feeling when someone offers you a hug at the end of a stressful day or strokes your shoulder when you’re feeling down. But the question remains: can touch really help you feel better, and does it matter who it’s from or how they touch you? To explore these questions, researchers from the Social Brain Lab at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the University Hospital ...

Wyss Institute’s AminoX project receives funding from Northpond Labs to accelerate innovation in protein-based therapeutics

2024-04-08

(BOSTON) — The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Northpond Ventures announced today that the VC firm’s affiliate Northpond Labs has signed an agreement to support the development of the AminoX project toward commercialization. This is the fourth Wyss project selected by Northpond Labs for additional funding. Established in 2020 with the involvement of Harvard’s Office of Technology Development, the five-year strategic research alliance created The Laboratory for Bioengineering Research and Innovation at the Wyss Institute through a $12 million commitment from Northpond Labs to support impactful research ...

How scientists are accelerating chemistry discoveries with automation

2024-04-08

A new automated workflow developed by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has the potential to allow researchers to analyze the products of their reaction experiments in real time, a key capability needed for future automated chemical processes. The developed workflow – which applies statistical analysis to process data from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy – could help speed the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs, and accelerate the development of new chemical reactions. The Berkeley Lab scientists who developed the groundbreaking technique ...

An inside look at how plants and mycorrhizal fungi cooperate

2024-04-08

For millions of years, underground fungi have lived in symbiosis with plant roots. Plants provide photosynthesized carbon, while fungi deliver water and nutrients. In order to do so, these organisms share space at cellular scale: fungi stretch a network of tendrils called arbuscules into a plant’s root cells, and both organisms rearrange their cells around this structure to facilitate sharing. Recently, researchers have been able to study both sides of this interaction up close, using RNA sequencing to understand gene expression: one of the first cross-kingdom spatially-resolved transcriptomics studies to date. This paper ...

Do opponents’ race, gender, and party impact US congressional fundraising?

2024-04-08

Donations for a political candidate can be motivated by support for that candidate or by opposition to the candidate’s opponent. New research published in Social Science Quarterly found that female Democrats and non-white male Democrats in the United States have a fundraising advantage when running against a white male Republican. Female Republicans or non-white male Republicans do not have this advantage when running against white male Democrats. To assess the impact that race, gender, and party ...

Preventive ablation of ventricular tachycardia avoids shocks and hospitalisation

2024-04-08

Berlin, Germany – 8 April 2024: The first randomised trial to investigate preventive ablation of a potential arrhythmogenic substrate associated with coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) in patients at high risk of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) reduces the risk of appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy and unplanned hospitalisation in patients with no previously recorded VAs. The late-breaking science is presented at EHRA 2024, a scientific congress of the European ...

Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Matt Kalaycio appointed Chair of Board of Directors for National Comprehensive Cancer Network

2024-04-08

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [April 8, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)—a nonprofit devoted to patient care, research, and education—is announcing the election of Matt Kalaycio, MD, FACP, as Chair of the Board of Directors, with Christopher H. Lieu, MD, elected as Vice-Chair, succeeding Dr. Kalaycio in the position he has held since 2022. “The exemplary leadership from our board of directors is invaluable as NCCN defines and advances high-quality, high-value, patient-centered cancer care around the world,” said NCCN Chief Executive Officer Crystal S. Denlinger, ...

First-in-human study of once-daily oral treatment for obesity that mimics metabolic effects of gastric bypass without surgery

Rural preschoolers more likely to be living with overweight and abdominal obesity, and spend more time on screens, than their urban counterparts

Half of popular TikToks about “food noise” mention medications, mainly weight-loss drugs, to manage intrusive thoughts about food

Global survey reveals high disconnect between perceptions of obesity among people living with the disease and their doctors

Study reveals distinct mechanisms of action of tirzepatide and semaglutide

Mount Sinai Health System to honor Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, for 18 years of leadership and service at annual Crystal Party  

Immune key to chronic viral infections discovered

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: