News by Subject Biology

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have identified a rare, new cell in the immune system with 'Jekyll and Hyde properties.' These cells play a key protective role in immunity to infection but -- if unregulated -- also mediate tissue damage in autoimmune disorders. The findings should help us design more effective vaccines to prevent infections such as MRSA, and may also assist help us develop of new therapies for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Melbourne researchers have uncovered important differences between the male and female immune system which may explain why men are more susceptible to obesity and metabolism-related associated diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It has long been known that men are more likely than women to develop unhealthy obesity and related metabolic diseases, while women are more prone to certain autoimmune diseases such as arthritis. These findings suggested the male and female immune systems differ, but until now scientists weren't sure how.

Aggressive colorectal cancers set up an interactive network of checkpoints to keep the immune system at bay, scientists report.

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have made a breakthrough that may eventually lead to improved therapeutic options for people living with asthma. The researchers have uncovered a critical role for a protein (Caspase-11), which had previously never been implicated in the disease, and which may offer a promising target for drug designers.

In the event of a bone fracture, fatty acids in our blood signal to stem cells that they have to develop into bone-forming cells. If there are no blood vessels nearby, the stem cells end up forming cartilage. The finding that specific nutrients directly influence the development of stem cells opens new avenues for stem cell research. Biomedical scientists from KU Leuven and Harvard University published these results in Nature.

Preclinical research shows a pivotal role for cellular metabolism to regulate the fate decision of naïve CD4 T cells as they differentiate into either destructive Th17 cells that mediate chronic inflammation or regulatory Treg T cells, a decision that occurs very early in the activation of CD4 T cells. This opens a possibility that manipulating the cellular metabolism of T cells may provide a therapeutic intervention in chronic autoimmune disorders.