Summary: Contrary to long-standing beliefs, T cells—key immune cells—have been discovered in the healthy brains of both mice and humans. These cells, previously thought to only enter the brain during disease, were most concentrated in a region that regulates hunger and thirst. The study suggests that T cells travel from the gut to the brain, … Read more
Melbourne [Australia], February 1 (ANI): Prolonged illnesses, such as cancer and persistent infections, can fatigue the immune system, causing its frontline defenders, T cells, to lose their ability to act efficiently. The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac) have discovered a unique type of … Read more
Cancer Vaccines: Coley’s Dream Coming True? Over a century ago, William Coley, an American surgeon, observed that infections sometimes caused tumors to shrink. This led him to develop a treatment using bacteria to trigger the immune system against cancer, a revolutionary idea at the time. Coley’s Insight: A Legacy for Cancer Research Coley’s pioneering work, … Read more
The seasonal influenza vaccine contains strains of viruses from distinct virus subtypes, but most people who are vaccinated will mount a strong immune response to one strain, leaving them vulnerable to infection by the others. Researchers have long wondered whether host genetics or prior exposure to virus strains impacts more on these variable responses. A … Read more