2020

A recent study by Liao et al., “comprehensively characterised the lung immune microenvironment of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from 3 severe and 3 mild COVID-19 patients and 8 previously reported healthy lung controls through single-cell RNA sequence combined with TCR-sequencing.”

Recent evidence suggest that Type I-interferons (T1-IFNs) IFN-α and IFN-β can activate of MAITs. However, this mechanism is not fully understood. Researchers from New Zealand aimed to investigate this and specifically focused on the role of T1-IFN-mediated activation of MAITs in the context of MR1-TCR activation.

The 2019 novel coronavirus (CoV) causes fatal pneumonia that has claimed over 1300 lives, with more than 52000 confirmed cases of infection by February 13, 2020, all in the span of just over a month. But, what is this virus? Is it a new virus altogether? Where did it come from?

Abadie et al., developed transgenic DQ8-Dd-villin-IL-15tg mice, which express the HLA-DQ8 [HLA associated with genetic predisposition to coeliac disease), as well as over-express IL-15 by both the lamina propria and IECs. These transgenic mice developed immunopathologies associated with coeliac disease, including villous atrophy after a gluten-rich diet.

Researchers from Brazil aimed to determine if small non-coding RNA molecules known as microRNAs (miRNA) are associated with NETs. miRNAs regulate cellular processes and can be detected both intra- and extra-cellularly, bound to protein or packaged in lipid-based carriers. They detected miRNA...

Researchers from Emory University and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US aimed to determine if individuals vaccinated with 2 doses of (97% of the cohort) MMR in childhood have waned mumps-specific antibody (Ab) and memory B cell (MBCs) responses. Rasheed et al., showed that Abs to mumps...

Researchers led by Prof Chen Dong from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) have demonstrated that increased body temperature critically regulates the differentiation  and pathogenicity of Th17, a subset of T cells which have been associated with inflammation and exacerbation of inflammatory diseases*.

Scientists from USA have recently reported on the first human phase I clinical trial that tested the safety of using CRISPR edited immune cells in patients with advanced cancer. CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing was used to enhance the natural ability of human T cells to fight cancer in three patients.

A study by Chng et al., used CYTOF and Luminex to determine cellular activation, phenotypic, memory and functional kinetics associated with acute (febrile), post-febrile and early convalescent DENV infection. As expected they showed that acute infection was associated with high levels of activation ...

Functional activity by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) contribute to an immunosuppresive micro-environment that inhibits killing of cancerous cells. TAMs have been associated with poor prognosis of cancer patients on immunotherapy. Thus a potential cancer therapeutic strategy...