Immunotherapy Weekly articles from May 2004

Immunotherapy Weekly archives from May 2004

CXCR4 expressed in DCIS of the breast and atypical ductal hyperplasia.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CXCR4 is expressed in DCIS of the breast and atypical ductal hyperplasia, and may play a key role in the development of these malignancies. "Recent evidence attributed important influence to...

Radiolanthanides show promise in targeted cancer immunotherapy.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of radiolanthanides have significant antitumor effects in mice. "[superscript]149Pm, [superscript]166Ho, and [superscript]177Lu possess a range of half-lives and...

Recombinant ricin A chain may be useful as anticancer immunotoxin.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recombinant version of ricin A chain (RTA) may be useful for anticancer immunotherapy. "Ricin and its A chains can be used to conjugate with monoclonal antibodies to prepare immunotoxins,"...

Whey proteins and enzymatic digests have immunomodulatory activity.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Whey proteins and their enzymatic digests have significant immunomodulatory activity. In a recent study from Canada, the "[i]mmunomodulating properties of commercial whey protein products and their...

Formulation reduces immunostimulatory meningococcal vaccine components.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A LTK63 mucosal adjuvant and the trimethyl chitosan delivery system allow the reduction of components that induce antibody responses to the CRM-MenC conjugate vaccine. "Previous work had shown that...

Antibodies that recognize HIV coreceptor-binding site on gp120 studied.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists describe the structural basis of tyrosine sulfation and V[subscript]H-gene usage in antibodies that recognize the HIV type 1 coreceptor-binding site on gp120 in a recent issue of the...

Attenuated SIV vaccine provides early protection against viral infection.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vaccination with attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus provided early protection against pathogenic viral infection at a mucosal challenge site. "Atraumatic application of attenuated...

Epitope mimic for human HIV-neutralizing antibody 2G12 synthesized.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have synthesized a template-assembled oligomannose cluster as an epitope mimic for human HIV-neutralizing antibody 2G12. According to published research from the United States, "The...

HIV synthetic peptide-cocktail prevents SHIV transmission.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An HIV synthetic peptide-cocktail prevented SHIV transmission in rhesus macaques. "An effective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) should not only protect from infection and...

Low-dose mucosal SIV challenge has same kinetics as high-dose challenge.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Repeated low-dose mucosal simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac239 challenge results in the same viral and immunological kinetics as high-dose challenge. According to published research from the...

Nasal vaccine controls SHIV viremia and disease progression in primates.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IL-2-augmented DNA-modified vaccinia virus Ankara nasal vaccination controlled simian/human immunodeficiency virus viremia and disease progression in nonhuman primates. According to recent research...

Nasal lavage may help allergy sufferers.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Last summer, Bill Schroeder's extreme allergies, inflammation, and infection of his sinuses kept him from tending his beloved garden in rural Wisconsin. This year, Schroeder has already begun to...

weather.com launches online pollen forecast.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- weather.com announced the launch of PollenCast, its first pollen forecast, which was developed by a team of expert meteorologists at The Weather Channel as part of expanded allergy content located...

Optimal occlusion time for atopy patch test determined for children.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The optimal occlusion time for the atopy patch test (APT) has been determined for pediatric patients. The APT "is a valuable additional tool in the diagnosis of food allergies in children with...

Mycobacterium vaccae induces regulatory pulmonary CD11c+ cells in mice.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exposure to a ubiquitous strain of mycobacteria triggers the production of regulatory pulmonary CD11c+ cells in allergic mice. "The hygiene hypothesis proposes that common, harmless microorganisms,...

Eosinophil-produced MIF plays key role in allergic rhinitis.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Eosinophil-produced MIF is involved in the development and subsequent symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Scientists in Japan conducted a study "to assess the potential role of macrophage migration...

Researchers go fishing, pull out antigens.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have developed a method for finding the molecular targets of the immune system, known as antigens. The method extends a widely used...

Current concepts and future prospects for Alzheimer disease vaccines.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers review current concepts and future prospects for Alzheimer disease vaccines in a recent issue of the journal Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. "Alzheimer disease (AD) is the...

CLEAR II registry launched.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ENZN) announced a major new initiative to build upon the value of its CLEAR (Collaborative Exchange of Antifungal Research) patient registry with the launch of CLEAR II....

Heat shock protein promotes presentation of antigens to immune system.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recombinant human heat shock protein 60 (HuHsp60) facilitates the presentation of antigenic proteins to the immune system. According to a study from England, "Cross-reactive T cell recognition of...

Role of costimulatory molecules in allergy and asthma reviewed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists review the role of costimulatory molecules in allergy and asthma in a recent issue of Springer Seminars in Immunopathology. "Activation and differentiation of T cells play a critical...

Xolair forecasted to lead the growth of the asthma drug market in 2012.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Decision Resources, Inc., forecasts that Genentech/Novartis/Sankyo/Tanox Biosystems' Xolair will lead the growth of the asthma market with major-market sales of $3.3 billion in 2012. According to...

Bordetella holmesii bacteremia is a problem in asplenic patients.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bordetella holmesii bacteremia is a newly recognized clinical entity among asplenic patients. "Bordetella holmesii is a recently identified Gram-negative bacterial species associated with...

PhotoPoint company reports progress during 2003, including lower net loss.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Miravant Medical Technologies (MRVT), a pharmaceutical development company specializing in PhotoPoint photodynamic therapy (PDT), announced consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and the...

NeoRx sells Pretarget intellectual property, announces resignation of VP.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoRx Corp. (NERX), a cancer therapeutics development company, announced that it has executed an agreement with privately held Aletheon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for the sale and transfer of NeoRx's...

Company reports advancements in several pipeline programs at AACR meeting.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL) presented preclinical data highlighting progress made in the development of several pipeline programs at the 95th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer...

Phase I healthy volunteer trial of HYB2055 completed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hybridon, Inc., (HBY) has completed a phase I trial of HYB2055 in healthy volunteer subjects. In this trial, this drug candidate was safe and biologically active. HYB2055 is a second-generation...

DNA vaccines encoding ras epitopes and B7.1 reduced tumor burden in rats.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- DNA vaccines encoding mutated ras epitopes and the costimulatory molecule B7.1 reduced adenocarcinoma tumor burden in rats. "1-Methyl-1-nitrosourea (MNU), a well characterized carcinogen, was used...

Dendritic cell subsets induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell responses.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dendritic cell subsets generated from CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors can be transfected with mRNA and induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell responses. "Human dendritic cells (DCs) generated in...

P-glycoprotein-derived peptides inhibited multidrug resistance of tumors.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immunization with synthetic P-glycoprotein-derived peptides inhibited multidrug resistance of tumors. "Overexpression of the membrane glycoprotein (P170) represents the most common multidrug...

RNA-transfected cells induce responses against viral and tumor antigens.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- RNA-transfected CD40-activated B cells induce functional T-cell responses against viral and tumor antigen targets. "Vaccination with antigen-presenting cells (APCs) engineered to mimic mechanisms...

Office spirometry testing improves early detection of COPD, study shows.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Spirometry testing in a primary care setting significantly improves early identification of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), says a study published in the April issue of Chest, the...

Agreement signed for HIV molecular diagnostics.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EraGen Biosciences, a rapidly growing life science company driving a new era in genetic diagnostics and drug discovery, announced they have entered into a collaboration agreement with Emory University...

Immunomodulatory activity of Vernonia kotschyana extract characterized.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The immunomodulatory activity of a Malian medicinal weed have been characterized. "The roots from Vernonia kotschyana Sch. Bip. ex Walp. (Baccharoides adoensis var. kotschyana (Sch. Bip. ex Walp.)...

Gene discovered that predisposes people to gastrointestinal disorder.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have isolated a gene that predisposes people to Crohn disease. "Isolating this gene is a critical step towards improved diagnosis of this disease and...

Halozyme signs manufacturing agreement with Avid Bioservices.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., (HZYM), a therapeutically driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes, announced it has signed a...

Steroid-linked taxol analogues cytotoxic to cancer cells in vitro.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Steroid-linked taxol analogues cytotoxic to breast and ovarian cancer cells in vitro. "The female steroid hormone 3,17beta-estradiol (2) was selected as an agent to target taxol (1) to estrogen...

Hormone replacement therapy after melanoma does not adversely affect prognosis.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hormone replacement therapy after melanoma does not adversely affect prognosis. "A total of 206 women were followed for a minimum of 5 years after primary melanoma surgery to establish if hormone...

Epitope from Epstein-Barr virus protein elicits sustained immune response.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel immunodominant HLA-B*0702-associated epitope derived from an Epstein-Barr virus helicase-primase-associated protein elicited a sustained CD8+ T-cell immune response. "Generation of a...

Avastin maker reports increase of 28% in product sales.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genentech, Inc., (DNA) announced total product sales of $763.7 million for the first quarter of 2004, a 28% increase over product sales in the first quarter of 2003. Sales for Avastin (bevacizumab)...

ImmuneRegen BioSciences parent company announces 2-for-1 forward stock split.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IR Biosciences Holdings, Inc., (IRBO) announced that its board of directors approved a 2-for-1 forward stock split of its common stock. Each share of the company's common stock held by each...

Immunotherapy company files for IPO, raises $44M in private placement.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Favrille, Inc., has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of its common stock. All the shares are to be sold by the company....

Board recommends dosing of final two patients in VRX496 trial.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- VIRxSYS Corporation announced that the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) unanimously recommended that the remaining two patients in the company's phase I trial be dosed using VRX496...

Early anti-EBV cytotoxic immune response impaired in HIV patients.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The early cytotoxic response to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is impaired in HIV patients. According to recent research from France, "[i]mmunodeficiency related to HIV may increase the incidence of...

Study evaluating Resurgex in immunocompromised patients completed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Millennium Biotechnologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Millennium Biotechnologies Group, Inc., (MBTG) announced the completion of its 6-month clinical pilot study "Evaluating the Effects of...

HAART-induced recovery of HIV-specific immunity described.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The recovery of HIV-specific immune activity in HAART-treated patients has been elucidated. According to recent research from Canada, the "extent to which highly active antiretroviral therapy...

Astrocyte-induced matrix remodeling may mediate HIV-related neurodegeneration.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Astrocyte-induced matrix remodeling may help mediate HIV-related neurodegeneration. According to neurovirologists in France, "[c]hanges in the fine balance between matrix metalloproteinases and...

Early IL-2 treatment increases CD4 cell count in HIV patients.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exogenous IL-2 therapy can augment CD4 cell counts in HIV patients undergoing antiretroviral treatment. "Early treatment intervention during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a...

Pre-HAART IL-7 levels linked to long-term CD4 cell count.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin (IL)-7 levels prior to HAART initiation are correlated with long-term CD4 cell recovery. "Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV patients generally increases the CD4 cell...

Analysis of Haemophilus influenzae infections after vaccination reported.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists report results of an analysis of invasive Haemophilus influenzae infections after extensive vaccination against H. influenzae type b in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology....

HealthSuite Partners to provide disease management for mid-west health plan.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Disease management (DM) companies QMed, Inc., (QMED) AirLogix, and Alere Medical announced the formation of an equally-owned company called HealthSuite Partners, in conjunction with the signing of an...

Researchers discover a surprising link between inflammation and anemia.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients with inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, chronic infections and some types of cancer often become anemic - a condition called anemia of chronic disease (ACD). While ACD rarely kills...

Pre-emptive use of lamivudine prevents hepatitis B in breast cancer.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preemptive use of lamivudine prevents reactivation of hepatitis B infection in breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. According to recent research from Taiwan,...

Hepatitis B vaccine decreases hepatitis B incidence in cohort of drug users.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The incidence of hepatitis B infection has progressively decreased in a cohort of drug users followed over a period of 15 years due to anti-HBV vaccination. According to recent research from Italy,...

CD30 mediates T-cell inhibition by Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Suppression of T-cell proliferation by Hodgkin disease tumor cells is mediated by CD30. This molecule "is expressed on Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg (H-RS) cells, the tumor cells in Hodgkin disease,"...

Protein from Ancylostoma ceylanicum shows promise as hookworm vaccine.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recombinant Ancylostoma-secreted protein (ASP)-2 from Ancylostoma ceylanicum shows promise as a hookworm vaccine. According to recent research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases,...

DNA vaccine expressing L1 protein protects against papillomavirus challenge.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A single vaccination with a vesicular stomatitis virus vector expressing high levels of L1 protein provided complete protection from papillomavirus challenge. "We generated an attenuated,...

INEGY approved in Germany for treatment of elevated cholesterol.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals announced the regulatory approval of INEGY (ezetimibe/simvastatin) in Germany for the treatment of elevated cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia). According to...

IL-1beta genotype significantly influences hypertension risk in Chinese men.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin (IL)-1beta genotype significantly influences hypertension risk in Chinese men. IL-1beta "is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine in a broad spectrum of physiological processes,"...

Preclinical study points to development of glucosylceramide.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enzo Biochem, Inc., (ENZ) scientists recently presented results of a preclinical study in an animal model system evaluating one of the company's new immunomodulatory agents, glucosylceramide (GC), as a...

Characteristics of children who leave WIC program identified.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have identified the characteristics of children who drop out of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. According to published research from the United States, "Maintaining...

Akt is a neutral amplifier for T-cell activation and Th cell differentiation.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Akt acts as a neutral amplifier of T-cell activation and Th cell differentiation. "Both CD28 and its relative, inducible costimulator (ICOS), have a binding motif for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase...

Anti-LDL antibody repertoire is altered during hypercholesterolemia.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The anti-LDL antibody repertoire is altered during hypercholesterolemia. In a recent study, scientists in Brazil "analyzed the antibody repertoire from normo- and hypercholesterolemic subjects to...

Antigen-specific regulatory T-cell function reviewed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The function of antigen-specific Tr cells has been reviewed. "In addition to the well-established role of natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Tr) cells in the maintenance of tolerance to self-antigens,...

Apoptosis may be immune response to HSV infection.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Apoptosis may be an immune response to herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. Acute HSV infection "causes apoptosis in the adrenal cortex and myenteric plexus of the gut, ovary, pituitary gland, and...

B lymphocytes produce normal signals despite hepatitis C virus infection.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- B lymphocytes produce normal signals despite hepatitis C virus infection. "To clarify whether some of the functions of B lymphocytes could be affected during hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection,...

Concomitant helper response promotes action of CD8+ memory cytotoxic T cells.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Concomitant helper response rescues otherwise low avidity CD8+ memory CTLs to become efficient effectors in vivo. "This report seeks a means of maximizing memory CD8 T cell responses to peptide...

Effects of IL-12 and -15 on neonatal NK cell activity characterized.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The effects of IL-12 and -15 on cord blood NK cell activity have been characterized. "Both deficient natural killer (NK) cell effector function and increased propensity to apoptosis of neonatal NK...

Endomorphins expressed by some immune cells.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Endomorphin (EM)-1 and -2 are expressed by some immune cells. According to published research from England, EM-1 and -2 "have been widely reported in the cells of the central nervous system (CNS),...

Genetic trick adapted from viruses makes gene-therapy vectors more versatile.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A genetic trick used by viruses to replicate themselves has been adapted for laboratory use to build complex protein structures required by immune system cells, according to investigators at St. Jude...

Mast cells have protective role during urinary bladder infections.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surprisingly, mast cells have protective activity during urinary bladder infections. "Bacterial infections of the urinary bladder are very common, and the role of mast cells in these infections is...

Origin and maturation of CD11b+Gr-1+ iMacs elucidated.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The development of CD11b+Gr-1+ iMacs has been elucidated. "CD11b[superscript]+Gr-1[superscript]+ inhibitory macrophages (iMacs)" have been "implicated in profound depression of T-cell functions...

Phagemid system aids estimation of combinatorial antibody libraries.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel phagemid facilitates the estimation of combinatorial antibody library size. In a recent study, immunologists in South Korea developed a phagemid system "for the generation of combinatorial...

Potentially autoreactive NK cells present in healthy individuals.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel population of potentially autoreactive NK cells has been identified. "Killer-inhibitory receptors (KIR) are receptors for self-HLA class I molecules, which are expressed on natural killer...

Reducing affinity between antigen and B-cell receptor improves presentation.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reducing the affinity between antigen and B-cell receptor (BCR) can improve antigen presentation. The BCR "enables antigen-specific B cells to bind, internalize and target antigens for processing...

Role of regulatory T cells in transplantation tolerance examined.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel hypothesis for the role of regulatory T cells in post-transplant tolerance has been proposed. According to researchers in England, "[e]mpirical studies attempting to explain tolerance to...

TGF-beta plays role in immune escape by AK-5 tumor cells.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is involved in immune escape by AK-5 tumor cells. TGF-beta1, "a multifunctional cytokine secreted by various cell types has been implicated in diverse...

TNF-alpha and IL-4 induce fractalkine expression by fibroblasts.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- TNF-alpha and IL-4 induce fractalkine expression by stimulated fibroblasts. According to researchers in Japan, the "CX3C chemokine, fractalkine (FKN, CX[subscript]3CL1), has multiple functions and...

Treatment for chronic immune-mediated polyneuropathy reviewed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Treatment options for patients with chronic immune-mediated polyneuropathies have been reviewed. According to recent research published in the journal Revue Neurologique, "Chronic immune-mediated...

Utility of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy reviewed.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The utility of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy has been reviewed. IVIG "is generated from the plasma of more than 10,000 healthy subjects," scientists in Israel explained. "Originally IVIG was...

Generex reports advance in cancer immunotherapy.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Generex Biotechnology Corp. (GNBT) announced its recent report at the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida, on a novel approach to cancer vaccination developed by scientists and...

Interleukin-1 could be targeted for treating herpes-related stromal keratitis.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin-1 could be targeted for treating herpes-related stromal keratitis. "Ocular infection with HSV may result in the blinding immunoinflammatory lesion stromal keratitis (SK). This represents...

Elderly patients demonstrate blunted response to influenza vaccination.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Elderly patients demonstrate a blunted response to influenza vaccination. According to recent research from the United States, "The objective of this study was to analyze the changes in the type 1 T...

Neuraminidase-deficient influenza virus is potential vaccine vector.
May 5, 2004... 2004 MAY 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have characterized a neuraminidase-deficient influenza A virus that is a potential gene delivery vector and a live vaccine. "We recently identified a packaging signal in the...