Researchers aimed to boost immune tolerance to the major cat allergen Fel-d-1 by using high doses of CpG to increase the anti‐inflammatory activity of allergen-specific immunotherapy. They specifically chose high doses of CpG because it promotes Tregs.
Uncategorized
The antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 501Y.v2 variant and vaccine implications
Multiple studies from South Africa suggest that current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines based on the unmutated virus could have reduced efficacy in protecting against infection by the 501Y.V2 variant. We still need to determine if current vaccines protect against severe COVID-19.
Do mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants reduce the functional activity of mRNA-vaccine elicited Abs?
Wang et al. demonstrated that mutations found in new SARS-Cov-2 variants can reduce the neutralisation potency of mRNA-COVID-19 vaccinee and convalescent plasma against SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-typed viruses.
IUIS/Immunopaedia-Frontiers Webinar on Immunoregulation and the tumor microenvironment
Prof. Ohashi presentation focused on PD-1 blockade, specifically why PD-1 based immunotherapies work for some cancers but not others. She began with an overview of PD-1...
Are current putative COVID-19 vaccines effective against the B.1.351 variants?
Webinar by SA government featuring talks by Professors Shabir Madhi, Glenda Gray and Salim Abdool Karim suggests lower efficacy against the ChAdOx1/nCoV-19 vaccine (22%) but moderate to good efficacy of the Ad26 Vaccine (57%) against the B.1.351 variant.
Phase 2a trial provides evidence for potential pancreatic cancer immunotherapy
Bockorny et al., demonstrated the utility of pembrolizumab, BL-8040 and chemotherapy against pancreatic cancer which resulted in better outcome (7/22 experiencing partial response) compared to immunotherapy without chemotherapy.
COVID-19 is associated with increased MAIT cell activation and cytotoxicity
Flament et al., studied the immune cell landscape with respect to the MAIT cells, in a total of 208 patients at various stages of COVID-19. Their findings suggest a relationship between the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection and MAIT cell activation/cytotoxicity.
Saliva viral load could be a potential correlate of severe COVID-19
Silva et al., found that saliva viral load was significantly higher in people with COVID-19 risk factors, correlated with increased disease severity, and was a stronger predictor of mortality over time compared to nasopharyngeal viral load.
Mutations in SARS-Cov-2 B.1.351 variant reduces vaccine induced Ab neutralisation
Wu et al. demonstrate that mutations in the B1.1.7 did not affect the neutralisation capacity of mRNA-1273-vaccine induced antibodies, however mutations in the B.1.351 variant drastically reduced the neutralisation capacity of vaccine-induced antibodies.
Immuno-metabolism and cognitive decline
Minhas et al. investigated whether an increase in PGE2 is associated with the development of age-associated maladaptive inflammation and cognitive decline. They focused their research on PGE2 because levels of PGE 2 are increased during neurodegenerative diseases and in monocytes from older (<65 yrs) compared to younger individuals (< 35 yrs).