8 September 2021 In a recent Pre-print, Keeton et al., examined the effect of prior infection with ancestral (D614G) or Beta variants on Ad26.COV2.S immunogenicity approximately 28 days...
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A potential new biomarker for Preeclampsia
3 September 2021 Preeclampsia (PE) is a devastating disorder which effects more than 3-5% of pregnancies worldwide and remains to be one of the leading causes of global maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Having previously observed aberrant expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR molecules in the syncytiotrophoblast of a subset of women with PE...
Reprogramming the Tumour Microenvironment – Improving Cancer Survival
Through the use of single-cell transcriptome, proteome, and immune cell analysis of the tumour microenvironment (TME), Hicks, et al., were able to show that that combination therapy elicits significant and sustained anti-tumour efficacy and complete responses by shifting the TME to a functionally inflamed landscape.
Does B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variant escape T cell immune responses?
In a recent preprint, Riou and colleagues aimed to provide an overall measure of immune evasion by assessing neutralizing antibody and T cell responses in 44 South African COVID-19 patients infected either with B.1.351 or infected before its emergence (‘first wave’).
Neutrophil dominance leads to protection from P. falciparum blood-stage merozoites
In an interesting study, researchers showed that neutrophils contribute significantly to IgG-mediated phagocytosis of blood-stage P. falciparum merozoites and protection against febrile malaria. These findings further elucidate neutrophil antibody-mediated immune mechanisms...
A novel pathway of immune and host cell evasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Researchers from the University of Maryland and the US National Institutes of Health have discovered a novel pathway of host cell manipulation and innate immune evasion by Mtb. They have shown that the Mtb limits activation of a host cell defense complex, the inflammasome.
Pre-clinical evaluation of a vaccine that induces both SARS-Cov-2 and yellow fever virus immunity.
Researcher aimed to develop a candidate SARS-Cov-2 vaccine that uses the YF17D vaccine as a vector to express a non-cleavable pre-fusion form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen (YF-S0).
Can neutrophils adopt antigen-presenting cell functions, and if so how?
We highlight recent research that investigated whether neutrophil conversion to neutrophil antigen presenting cells (nAPCs) requires the engagement of their Fcγ receptor, as well as exploration of the therapeutic potential of nAPCs. Using a murine model, authors demonstrated that uptake of antibody-antigen...
IUIS Webinar: HIV prevention- antibodies and vaccine development (part 2)
6 August 2021 Prof Lynn Morris presented results from the antibody-mediated prevention trial that tested the ability of VRC01 broadly neutralising Ab(specific for the HIV envelope protein CD4 binding site and has a wide coverage of HIV subtype B and C strains. Participants in the AMP trials received 10 doses of VRC01...
IUIS Webinar: HIV prevention- antibodies and vaccine development (part 1)
5 August 2021 Prof. Lynn Morris began her talk comparing the HIV and SARS-Cov-2 epidemics, at the peak of the HIV epidemic approximately annual mortality was 1.8 million deaths reported due to HIV/AIDS. Fortunately, HIV-associated mortality has drastically decreased due to the successful roll-out of anti-retroviral treatment.