StemCell Therapy

A gene mutation may explain theuncontrolled, inflammatory immune response seenin autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseaseslikemultiple sclerosis, scientistsat the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) report. Its a discovery that, they said, appears tobe a big step in the right direction.

According to the study, published in the journalScience Immunology, alterations in theFOXP3 geneaffect specificimmune cells called regulatory T-cells, or Tregs. Those mutations hamper Tregs in performing a crucial regulatory role, leading to a loss of control over the immune systems response to a perceived threat.

We discovered that this mutation in the FOXP3 gene affects the Treg cells ability to dampen the immune response, which results in the immune system overreacting and causing inflammation, Ciriaco Piccirillo, the studys lead author andan immunologist in the Infectious Diseases and Immunity, Global Health Program, at the RI-MUHC, said in a news release.

Tregs are known to be the immune system playersresponsible for keeping other immune cells under control, preventing them from attacking the hosts own tissues, while maintaining a properimmune response against harmful agents. The normal activity of Treg cells is essential for preventing excessive immune reactions.

TheFOXP3 gene is also well-known, and documented, to be essentialfor proper Treg cell function. However, the mechanisms by whichFOXP3 gene is involved in Treg cell activities are still poorly understood.

In the study, Suppression by human FOXP3+ regulatory T cells requires FOXP3-TIP60 interactions, the research team in collaboration with researchers at University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Teikyo University School of Medicine in Japan evaluated the impact of aFOXP3 gene mutation in autoimmunity response.

Taking advantage of cutting-edge technology, the team studiedsamples from two patients carrying a common FOXP3 gene mutation, which caused a genetic immune disorder called IPEX. Interestingly, the researchers found that this genetic variant did not reduce the number of Treg cells or the levels of FOXP3 protein. Instead, the mutation altered the way Tregs could suppress other immune cells to prevent overactivation.

What was unique about this case of IPEX was that the patients Treg cells were fully functional apart from one crucial element: its ability to shut down the inflammatory response, saidPiccirillo.

Understanding this specific mutation has allowed us to shed light on how many milder forms of chronic inflammatory diseases or autoimmune diseases could be linked to alterations in FOXP3 functions, addedKhalid Bin Dhuban, the studys first author and a postdoctoral fellow in Piccirillos laboratory.

The team developed a compound capable of restoring Treg cells ability to control the immune system in the presence of this specific FOXP3 gene mutation. Tested in animal models of colitis and arthritis, twochronic inflammatory diseases, the compound reduced inflammation and restored normal Treg function.

Researchers now plan to developsimilar drugs that may be of use inother diseaseswhere Treg cells are known to be defective, including multiple sclerosis,type 1 diabetes, and lupus.

Currently, we have to shut down the whole immune system with aggressive suppressive therapies in various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, said Piccirillo. Our goal is to increase the activity of these Treg cells in certain settings, such as autoimmune diseases, but we want to turn it down in other settings, such as cancer.

This discovery gives us key insights on how Treg cells are born and how they can be regulated, Piccirillo added. With this discovery, we are taking a big step in the right direction.

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FOXP3 Gene Mutations May Explain Immune System Excitability in MS and Other Diseases - Multiple Sclerosis News Today

(Reuters Health) - Children whose parents separate and are not on speaking terms may be more vulnerable to catching colds as adults than kids whose parents stay together or go through an amicable breakup, a recent study suggests.

"There is evidence that children whose parents divorce are at increased risk for illness both during their childhood and as adults," said lead study author Michael Murphy, a psychology researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

"However, our study indicates that parental separation itself may not account for this increased risk," Murphy said by email. "This is important because parental divorce is a common experience, affecting more than a million children annually in the United States alone."

For the study, researchers quarantined 201 healthy adults, exposed them to a virus that causes a common cold and monitored them for five days to see how their immune systems reacted and if they developed a respiratory illness.

Adults whose parents lived apart and never spoke during their childhood were more than three times as likely to develop a cold as participants who grew up in two-parent households, the study found. However, adults whose parents separated but communicated with each other were no more likely to catch a cold than people who came from intact families.

People whose parents separated and stopped speaking were 3.3 times more likely to develop a cold than people whose parents remained together during their childhood, the study found. These people also had higher levels of a marker of inflammation, which might help explain why they were more susceptible to catching a cold, the researchers speculate.

Participants in the study were about 30 years old on average, and 92 of them, or 46 percent, reported that their parents had divorced or separated during their childhood. Among the people with separated parents, 51 said their parents weren't on speaking terms.

All of them were given nasal drops containing rhinovirus 39 (RV39), a virus that causes the common cold.

Then, for the next five days, researchers collected nasal secretions to check for evidence of the virus and inflammation as well as to assess how much mucus people produced and how congested they were.

Overall, 149 participants, or 74 percent, developed an infection with RV39 and 60 people met the criteria for a cold based on having both an infection and objective symptoms, researchers report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Limitations of the study include its reliance on participants to accurately recall and report on whether their parents communicated after a separation, the authors note. Even though researchers accounted for a number of factors that can influence the odds of catching a cold such as medical and psychiatric history and prescription use, it's still possible something other than divorce or parents' communication influenced the results.

"Although it's natural to suggest there's a causal process in play here from early parental divorce to later health, it's just as likely that the children of adults who never spoke with each other after their separation share many of the same personality dispositions as their parents - perhaps hostility, addiction or depression - and it is these variables that actually place the young adults at greater risk for colds," David Sbarra, a psychology researcher at the University of Arizona who wasn't involved in the study, said by email.

Even so, the findings add to growing evidence linking divorce-related stress to an increased risk of physical health problems, said Sharlene Wolchik, a psychology researcher at Arizona State University who also wasn't involved in the study.

"The good news is that we know a fair amount about the protective factors that reduce this risk," Wolchik said by email. "When divorce is followed by a new family structure in which parents have high quality relationships with their children, children spend sufficient time with each parent so their relationships can be meaningful and children are not directly or indirectly exposed to conflict between the parents, children can be resilient and thrive despite the stress of divorce."

SOURCE: bit.ly/2u2zLwn Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online June 5, 2017.

(The story refiles to correct journal name in paragraph 10)

The Trump administration on Friday named Georgia public health Commissioner Dr Brenda Fitzgerald to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Eli Lilly and Co won a years-long patent dispute with Actavis on Friday after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the generic drugmaker's versions of Lilly's top-selling cancer drug Alimta directly infringe on certain Lilly patents in Britain, France, Italy and Spain.

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Nasty parental divorce may leave a mark on adult immune system ... - Reuters

Colon cancer. Uterine cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Whatever the tumor, the more gene mutations lurking inside, the better chance your immune system has to fight back.

That's the premise behind the recent approval of a landmark drug, the first cancer therapy ever cleared based on a tumor's genetics instead of the body part it struck first. Now thousands of patients with worsening cancer despite standard treatment can try this immunotherapy -- as long as genetic testing of the tumor shows they're a candidate.

"It's like having a lottery ticket," said Johns Hopkins oncologist Dr. Dung Le, who helped prove the new use for the immunotherapy Keytruda. "We've got to figure out how to find these patients, because it's such a great opportunity for them."

Today, doctors diagnose tumors by where they originate -- breast cancer in the breast, colon cancer in the colon -- and use therapies specifically tested for that organ. In contrast, the Food and Drug Administration labeled Keytruda the first "tissue-agnostic" treatment, for adults and children.

The reason: Seemingly unrelated cancers occasionally carry a common genetic flaw called a mismatch repair defect. Despite small studies, FDA found the evidence convincing that for a subset of patients, that flaw can make solid tumors susceptible to immunotherapy doctors otherwise wouldn't have tried.

"We thought these would be the hardest tumors to treat. But it's like an Achilles heel," said Hopkins cancer geneticist Bert Vogelstein.

And last month FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told a Senate subcommittee his agency will simplify drug development for diseases that "all have a similar genetic fingerprint even if they have a slightly different clinical expression."

It's too early to know if what's being dubbed precision immunotherapy will have lasting benefits, but here's a look at the science.

Who's a Candidate?

Hopkins estimates about 4 percent of cancers are mismatch repair-deficient, potentially adding up to 60,000 patients a year. Widely available tests that cost $300 to $600 can tell who's eligible. The FDA said the flaw is more common in colon, endometrial and gastrointestinal cancers but occasionally occurs in a list of others.

"Say, 'have I been tested for this?'" is Le's advice for patients.

Mutations and More Mutations

Most tumors bear 50 or so mutations in various genes, Vogelstein said. Melanomas and lung cancers, spurred by sunlight and tobacco smoke, may have twice as many. But tumors with a mismatch repair defect can harbor 1,500 mutations.

Why? When DNA copies itself, sometimes the strands pair up wrong to leave a typo -- a mismatch. Normally the body spell checks and repairs those typos. Without that proofreading, mutations build up, not necessarily the kind that trigger cancer but bystanders in a growing tumor.

The Plot Thickens

Your immune system could be a potent cancer fighter except that too often, tumors shield themselves. Merck's Keytruda and other so-called checkpoint inhibitors can block one of those shields, allowing immune cells to recognize a tumor as a foreign invader and attack. Until now, those immunotherapies were approved only for a few select cancers -- Keytruda hit the market for melanoma in 2014 -- and they work incredibly well for some patients but fail in many others. Learning who's a good candidate is critical for drugs that can cost $150,000 a year and sometimes cause serious side effects.

In 2012, Hopkins doctors testing various immunotherapies found the approach failed in all but one of 20 colon cancer patients. When perplexed oncologists told Vogelstein, "a light bulb went off."

Sure enough, the one patient who fared well had a mismatch repair defect and a "mind-boggling" number of tumor mutations. The more mutations, the greater the chance that at least one produces a foreign-looking protein that is a beacon for immune cells, Vogelstein explained.

It was time to see if other kinds of cancer might respond, too.

What's the Data?

The strongest study, published in the journal Science, tested 86 such patients with a dozen different cancers, including some who had entered hospice. Half had their tumors at least shrink significantly, and 18 saw their cancer become undetectable.

It's not clear why the other half didn't respond. Researchers found a hint, in three patients, that new mutations might form that could resist treatment.

But after two years of Keytruda infusions, 11 of the "complete responders" have stopped the drug and remain cancer-free for a median of eight months and counting.

Catherine "Katie" Rosenbaum, 67, is one of those successes. The retired teacher had her uterus removed when endometrial cancer first struck, but five years later tumors returned, scattered through her pelvis and colon. She tried treatment after treatment until in 2014, her doctor urged the Hopkins study.

Rosenbaum took a train from Richmond, Virginia, to Baltimore for infusions every two weeks and then, after some fatigue and diarrhea side effects, once a month. Then the side effects eased and her tumors started disappearing. A year into the study she was well enough to swim a mile for a Swim Across America cancer fundraiser.

"Nothing else had worked, so I guess we could say it was a last hope," said Rosenbaum, who now wants other patients to know about the option.

2017 Associated Press under contract with NewsEdge/Acquire Media. All rights reserved.

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Landmark Cancer Drug Spurs Immune System | Sci-Tech Today - Sci-Tech Today

Scientists now know how respiratory syncytial virus evades the immune system, a discovery that could potentially lead to a vaccine or treatment.

By age two, most children have been infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which usually causes only mild cold symptoms. But people with weakened immune systems, including infants and the elderly, can face serious complications, including pneumonia andin some casesdeath.

We solved the structure of a protein that has eluded the field for quite some time, says Daisy Leung, assistant professor of pathology and immunology, and of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, co-senior author of the study in Nature Microbiology.

Now that we have the structure, were able to see what the protein looks like, which will help us define what it does and how it does it. And that could lead, down the road, to new targets for vaccine or drug development.

Each year in the United States, more than 57,000 children younger under 5 stay in the hospitaldue to RSV infection, and about 14,000 adults older than 65 die from it.

There is no approved vaccine for RSV and treatment is limitedthe antiviral drug ribavirin is used only in the most severe cases because it is expensive and not very effectiveso most people with RSV receive supportive care to make them more comfortable while their bodies fight off the virus.

For people with weakened immune systems, though, fighting RSV can be tough because the virus can fight back. Scientists have long known that a non-structural RSV protein is key to the viruss ability to evade the immune response. However, the structure of that protein, known as NS1, was unknown. Without seeing what the protein looked like, scientists were unable to determine exactly how NS1 interfered with the immune system.

Its an enigmatic protein. Everybody thinks it does many different things, but weve never had a framework to study how and why the protein does what it does, says co-senior author Gaya Amarasinghe, an associate professor of pathology and immunology.

The researchers used X-ray crystallographya technique that involves crystallizing the protein, bouncing X-rays off it, and analyzing the resulting patternsto determine the 3D structure of NS1. Then, in a detailed analysis of the structure, they identified a piece of the protein, known as the alpha 3 helix, which might be critical for suppressing the immune response.

To test their hypothesis, they created different versions of the NS1 protein, some with the alpha 3 helix region intact, and some with it mutated and then tested the functional impact of helix 3 and created a set of viruses containing the original or the mutant NS1 genes, and measured the effect on the immune response when they infected cells with these viruses.

The viruses with the mutated helix region did not suppress the immune response while the ones with the intact helix region did.

One of the surprising things we found was that this protein does not target just one set of genes related to the immune response, but it globally modulates the immune response, says Amarasinghe, also an associate professor of molecular microbiology, and of biochemistry and molecular biophysics.

The findings show that the alpha 3 helix region is necessary for the virus to dial the bodys immune response down. By suppressing the immune response, the virus gives itself a better chance of surviving and multiplying, or in other words, of causing disease.

RSV usually can only cause disease in people whose immune systems are already weak, so a vaccine or treatment that targets the alpha 3 helix to prevent immune suppression may be just what people need to be able to successfully fight off the virus.

Other researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and Georgia State University are coauthors of the study.

Support for the work came from the National Institutes of Health; the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the Department of Defense; the National Science Foundation; the Childrens Discovery Institute; and the American Heart Association.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis

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How this common virus evades the immune system - Futurity - Futurity: Research News

Lung transplants are difficult and risky. Only about 20 percent of organ donors have lungs that are usable; just over half of those patients fortunate enough to receive a donation survive through five years.

Researchers at the University of Virginia think they can improve outcomes for lung transplant patients. The university recently received more than $8.6 million in federal grants for a series of projects meant to take on the problem on multiple fronts.

Dr. Irving Kron and Victor Laubach are spearheading research into ex-vivo lung perfusion, or the use of therapy to rehabilitate donor lungs that may be considered unsuitable because of a donors medical conditions or complications during transportation of the organ.

Lungs are especially sensitive, said Laubach, a molecular physiologist at UVa, and the lungs of most multi-organ donors cant be used because they are badly damaged when the brain is deprived of oxygen. By attaching the donor lungs to a ventilator and treating it with drugs to prevent inflammatory injury and infections, doctors can make lungs suitable for transplants.

We are using that platform to treat those lungs to recondition them and improve their chances of becoming transplantable, Laubach said. If we do that, well significantly increase the donor pool.

Researchers at UVa envision the Medical Center becoming a hub for donor lungs that can be treated and made suitable for transplants.

Dr. Christine Lau is leading a trial of the anti-inflammatory drug regadenoson commonly used in stress tests in heart patients on donor lungs. Experiments on animals have shown that when the drug is pumped into lungs prior to a transplant, it reduces the patients inflammatory response one of the main causes of injury in patients.

[A transplant] causes your immune and inflammatory system to be up in arms, Lau said. What this drug does is shuts down those reactions.

Participation in the trial is completely mandatory, Lau said, but she estimates that more than 90 percent of lung transplant patients at UVa would be eligible for it.

Dr. Sasha Krupnicks research focuses on the patients specifically on suppressing the immune cells that attack the transplanted lung that are less harmful than the current approach.

Currently, transplant patients receive a cocktail of drugs that suppress the entire immune system, putting them at higher risk of infection. Krupnick is experimenting with the use of cells or antibodies that focus on the problem actors in a patients immune system.

What weve discovered is that when we transplant an organ, theres a certain cell population that infiltrates the organ and produce nitric oxide, Krupnick said. If harnessed in the right way, they can kill the harmful T cells.

Ideally, patients would receive an injection before the procedure, reducing the need for drug treatments afterward. Most patients would be off the drug regimen 10 days after the transplant, Krupnick said.

UVa researchers also are hoping to prevent the injuries that go undetected immediately after lung transplant surgery. Many patients go one to two years after the procedure before showing signs of reperfusion injuries, which are typically caused by the bodys rejection of the new organ.

The tools surgeons currently have are fairly crude; it comes down to a chest X-ray, Laubach said. This new grant we have is going to enable us to use new imaging probes.

Using SPECT (short for single photon emission tomography) imaging, doctors should be able to detect these problems and intervene more quickly, which could save lives, Laubach said.

Laubachs team also is planning to use imaging to look at the causes of these injuries, and to get a better understanding of why the body so often rejects transplants.

By looking at all phases of the lung transplant process, UVa researchers are hoping they can make it less difficult for surgeons and less risky for patients. It will take a team effort to make that happen, Laubach said.

We have probably one of the best lung transplant research programs in the country, if not the best, he said. The collaborations have allowed this to happen.

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UVa researchers working on lung transplants get $8.6M boost - The Daily Progress

The term 'beer belly' has a whole new meaning thanks to researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS), who have developed a probiotic beer that boosts the immune system and promotes a healthy stomach.

The new invention was a daunting task according to the inventor, who says that hops used in beer createan inhospitable environment for probiotics.

"The health benefits of probiotics are well known. While good bacteria are often present in food that have been fermented, there are currently no beers in the market that contain probiotics. Developing sufficient counts of live probiotics in beer is a challenging feat as beers contain hop acids that prevent the growth and survival of probiotics," said ChanMei Zhi Alcine,the undergraduate researcher at NUS who picked probiotic beer as her final-year project - and claim to a Nobel Prize if beer connoisseurs have their way.

The healthy brew is made with the probiotic strain Lactobacillus paracasei L26, which regulates the immune system and neutralizes toxins as well as viruses. The strain also gives the suds a sharp, tarty flavor.

"For this beer, we used a lactic acid bacterium as a probiotic micro-organism. It will utilize sugars present in the wort to produce sour-tasting lactic acid, resulting in a beer with sharp and tart flavours. The final product, which takes around a month to brew, has an alcohol content of about 3.5 per cent," explained Chan.

Her supervisor - Dr. Liu Shao Quan - added that the project is the perfect marriage of the craft beer movement with health-food trends.

"The general health benefits associated with consuming food and beverages with probiotic strains have driven demand dramatically. In recent years, consumption of craft or specialty beers has gained popularity too. Alcine's invention is placed in a unique position that caters to these two trends. I am confident that the probiotic gut-friendly beer will be well-received by beer drinkers, as they can now enjoy their beers and be healthy."

When those healthy ales hit shelves is up to the researchers, whohave patented probiotic beer to protect their recipe. So it looks like Chain's post-graduate project willbe raking in the dough with her healthy suds.

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This Probiotic Beer Boosts The Immune System, Promotes Stomach ... - Civilized

Two researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a sour beer that is infused with a probiotic strain of bacteria, Lactobacillus paracasei L26.

L. paracasei is known to neutralize toxins and viruses, and help regulate the human immune system. It is already incorporated into a variety of dairy products to help improve gut-health.

Chan Mei Zhi Alcine, a student in the Food Science and Technology Program at NUS said she regularly consumes dairy-based probiotic beverages, and wanted to apply similar techniques to brewing a gut-friendly beer flavor.

The health benefits of probiotics are well known. While good bacteria are often present in foods that have been fermented, there are currently no beers in the market that contain probiotics, said Alcine in a university release.

With the help of Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan, the duo spent nine months perfecting their recipe and ensuring they had the optimal amount of live probiotics in the beer.

They isolated the L. paracasei bacterium from human intestines and grew the probiotic, as well as the yeast, in pure cultures.

The team altered some aspects of the conventional brewing and fermentation processes to successfully create the beer with the live probiotic.

The final result was a sour beer with an alcohol content of 3.5 percent. It takes about a month before it is ready to drink.

For this beer, we used a lactic acid bacterium as a probiotic micro-organism. It will utilize sugars present in the wort to produce sour-tasting lactic acid, resulting in a beer with sharp and tart flavors, said Alcine.

But, as she also explained, developing sufficient counts of live probiotics in beer proved to be challenging because the hop acids in beer prevent probiotics from growing and surviving.

Alcine and Shao Quan have filed for a patent to protect the sour beer recipe. The duo believes they hit a sort of sweet spot in the market according to Shao Quan, food and beverage products containing probiotics have increased in recent years, and a similar trend has been seen with a boost in craft and specialty beer flavors. The sour beer they developed could be an attractive option for consumers in both groups.

But further researcher may be needed to test how effective the live probiotics in the beer are for gut and immune health before they can market it as a gut-friendly beer.

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Probiotic Beer Aims to Boost Immune System - Laboratory Equipment

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Mavenclad Reduces MS Relapses by Reseting the Immune System - Multiple Sclerosis News Today

June 29, 2017 Killer T cells surround a cancer cell. Credit: NIH

Cancer hides in plain sight of the immune system. The body's natural tumor surveillance programs should be able to detect and attack rogue cancer cells when they arise, and yet when cancer thrives, it does so because these defense systems have failed. A team of investigators led by Niroshana Anandasabapathy, MD, PhD, at Brigham and Women's Hospital have uncovered a critical strategy that some cancers may be using to cloak themselves - they find evidence of this genetic program across 30 human cancers of the peripheral tissue, including melanoma skin cancer. Their results are published June 29 in Cell.

"Our study reveals a new immunotherapy target and provides an evolutionary basis for why the immune system may fail to detect cancers arising in tissues," said corresponding author Anandasabapathy, of BWH's Department of Dermatology. "The genetic program we report on helps the immune system balance itself. Parts of this program prevent the immune system from destroying healthy organs or tissues, but might also leave a blind spot for detecting and fighting cancer."

The authors studied immune mononuclear phagocytes - a group of disparate cells that act as the "Pac man" of the immune system. When these cells detect foreign invaders and dying normal tissues, they devour or engulf their components. These cells then present these components on their surface teach T cells to maintain tolerance to healthy tissues, or to fight infections and pathogens. Despite differences in function, all immune mononuclear phagocytes found in the skin- (a peripheral tissue like lung and gut) share a common set of genetic programming, which is further enhanced when they enter the tissue. This program is conserved in fetal and adult development, and across species. And, the research team reports, is co-opted by multiple human cancers of tissue.

The team finds that this program is prompted by an "instructive cue" from interferon gamma - a molecule that plays a critical role in regulating immunity. The authors find IFN-gamma for mononuclear phagocytes in development but that IFN-gamma and tissue immune signatures are much higher in skin cancer than in healthy skin. Having an immune response measured by IFN-gamma and tissue signatures correlated with improved metastatic melanoma survival outcomes, making these signatures potential biomarkers for cancer survival.

The authors reasoned such a program might contain key molecules that help the immune system reduce inflammation, but that might also leave a blind spot to cancer detection. One of the key genes the researchers detected is suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2). When this gene was turned off in a mouse model, the immune system was able to robustly detect and reject cancer in models of melanoma and thymoma (cancer of the thymus). They also observed improved vaccination responses, and heightened auto-inflammation suggesting this gene normally dampens auto-inflammatory responses and contracts protective immunity.

"Our research suggests that these cancers are co-opting tissue-specific immune development to escape detection, but we see that turning off SOCS2 unmasks them," said Anandasabapathy. "This sheds new light on our understanding of how the immune system is programed to see cancers and also points the way toward new therapeutic targets for treating cancers that have these signatures."

Explore further: Researchers identify key mutation that suppresses the immune system in melanoma

More information: Nirschl CJ et al. "IFN-gamma-dependent tissue immune homeostasis is co-opted in the tumor microenvironment" Cell DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.06.016

Journal reference: Cell

Provided by: Brigham and Women's Hospital

University of California, Irvine researchers have identified a specific mutation that allows melanoma tumor cells to remain undetected by the immune system. The finding may lead to the development of better immunotherapies ...

Targeting a molecule called B7-H4which blocks T-cells from destroying tumor cellscould lead to the development of new therapies that boost the immune system's ability to fight cancer, according to a review published ...

(HealthDay) -- Growth of the deadly skin cancer melanoma may be triggered by the immune system turning on itself, according to a new study that also identified the mechanism that causes this to happen.

Internal conflict between cell types explains why the immune system struggles to recognize and attack pancreatic cancer. Curbing this infighting has the potential to make treatment more effective, according to a study led ...

Researchers from Mayo Clinic have quantified the numbers of various types of immune cells associated with the risk of developing breast cancer. The findings are published in a study in Clinical Cancer Research.

A new step in cancer immunotherapy: researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute and University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital show that even if one's own immune cells cannot recognize and fight their tumors, someone ...

Cancer hides in plain sight of the immune system. The body's natural tumor surveillance programs should be able to detect and attack rogue cancer cells when they arise, and yet when cancer thrives, it does so because these ...

An immune-related protein deployed between neighboring cells in Drosophila plays an essential role in the cell degradation process known as autophagy, according to new research by Eric H. Baehrecke, PhD, at UMass Medical ...

New findings from mouse models reveal that the type of immune response that helps maintain healthy metabolism in fatty tissues, called type 2 immunity, also drives obesity-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). ...

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and international colleagues have discovered a genetic cause and potential treatment strategy for a rare immune disorder called CHAPLE disease. Children with the condition ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital immunologists have discovered how immune cells called T cells become "exhausted"unable to do their jobs of attacking invaders such as cancer cells or viruses. The finding is important ...

An enzyme implicated in autoimmune diseases and viral infections also regulates radiation therapy's ability to trigger an immune response against cancer, Weill Cornell Medicine scientists found in a new study. Their discovery ...

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New insights into why the immune system fails to see cancer - Medical Xpress

TAMPA (FOX 13) - In 2014, at the age of 41, Barbara Popoli was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer,or IBC.

"The first doctor that saw me actually went pale and he excused himself from the room," she remembered. "It was already inoperable and it had spread to 20 lymph nodes."

It was a shock since Barbara had never heard of IBC. It began with swelling in her breast and arm.

"And the skin started to get pink and the texture of my skin started to change and instead of feeling smooth like a tomato it started to feel rough and dimply like the outside of an orange," she continued.

Even more dismal were her odds of survival.

"I have never met so many people who have passed so quickly. Anywhere from 60 to 80 percent pass away within just a couple of years after having it," she said.

After a year and a half of traditional treatments including chemo, immunotherapy, and radiation, she joined a clinical trial at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The experimental therapy helps restore immune cells that fight the cancer.

"I think this is a big deal for patients because we've identified that there is a deficit in this cell type so we're actually offering a specific therapy to correct that particular defect," explainedDr. Brian Czerniecki, who is heading up the study at Moffitt.

The defect that may also be present in other breast cancers, including DCIS, lies in T-cells called CD-4'S.

"We identified people who didn't have a complete response to therapy, have a loss of a particular type of immune cell called the CD4 cell, the same cell that the AIDS virus attacks," he said.

To fix the problem, a large catheter inserted in the neck is connected to a blood-filtering machine. A bag collects white blood cells that are then transformed and multiplied into over a hundred million cancer-fighting cells.

Treatments consist of injections of 20 million cells into a lymph node in the groin. So far, results are promising.

"Everyone to date, so far, their immune response has boosted up to where almost to the point where healthy women are walking around," Dr. Czerniecki said.

Side effects are flu-like symptoms, usually lasting about 24 hours. The side effect means the immune system is responding to the therapy.

Barbara hopes it's enough to keep her cancer from coming back.

"There's not a lot of options for us except chemo," she continued. "If we can stop it and let people get back to a healthy life, it's going to be amazing."

Read the rest here:
Experimental therapy uses immune system to fight breast cancer - FOX 13 News, Tampa Bay

Your immune system is the mechanism that your body uses to defend itself from viruses, bacteria, and many types of diseases.Sometimes, it tends to get weak: a poor diet, stress, or some kind of illness can all prevent it from performing its basic functions.

Your immune system is your defense, your immune response to certain external agents that can come inside of you and harm you. It is made up of a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect your body. You definitely know it, these protective cells are what are called leukocytes or white blood cells. They are in charge of attacking those organisms that causes sicknesses. These cells are found in the thymus, spleen, and bone marrow. They are called lymphatic organs.

If for whatever reason you have a lowered level of leukocytes at any given moment, you will not be able to take onthose external elements that make you sick.So it is important that you are aware of certain kinds of signals so that your doctor can immediately determine the origin of this weakness and you can take it on. So, lets take a look at the signs of aweakened immune system.

It is veryis true that fatigue can have a lot of causes.But when they are continuous, when you wake up in the morning for example and feel exhausted,when you end up tired from the smallest things, when the difference in temperature causes you to get depressed or nausea, etc This are all symptoms to keep in mind.

Urinary tract infections, stomach problems, inflamed and red gums, experiencing diarrhea oftenare examples that your immune system is not handling the external agents that come in your body like it should. It is not producing the proper response and it cannot defend you against certain viruses or bacteria.

How many colds do you tend to catch?One every month? Does your throat always hurt? Do you suddenly catch the flu? You should see your doctor so they can do a test on your levels of white blood cells. Your immune system may not be defending itself like it should.

Some people experience allergic reactions more often than others.They cannot respond to certain pollen, dust, and environmental agents that impact your skin or mucus, and that immediately affect health. If that is the case for you, it is possible that you have a weak immune system.

We all know it.A good diet is a synonymous with good health.But sometimes we only get that when we are already experiencing a problem, when we are already sick. It is necessary to have varied and balanced nutrition at all times, which is rich in fruit, vegetables, and lean protein, and low in excess sugar, fats, and alcohol. Citrus fruits are always excellent health, so dont forget to eat oranges, mandarins, papaya, grapes, tomatoes, etc.

Get a restful and repairing sleep.This is essential for keeping your immune system strong and for letting yourself recover energy and perform essential functions. Insomnia and concerns, the things that make you wait up constantly, are enemies of your health.

We also know this, but sometimes it gets by us.Washing your hands before eating, before handling food,after touching animals, after getting home from outside or work It is also important to take care of the cleanliness of your food. Wash the vegetables that you are going to cook well. Submerge them in water and get rid of any remnants. This is all essential forprotecting your immune system.

Stress is not only an emotion. If it turns chronic, it can cause serious problems.Toxins accumulate in your body, weaken your immune system, make you sick So keep it in mind. Establish priorities, learn to love yourself, find time for yourself and do things you like to do.

See the article here:
5 Symptoms of a Weakened Immune System - Step To Health

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Three Parts:Eating the Right FoodsTaking Vitamins and Other SupplementsAdopt a Healthy LifestyleCommunity Q&A

White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, are the body's natural defense against infections, and are a major part of the function of the immune system. They eat away foreign bacteria and other organisms that invade the body, and they are therefore responsible for immunity (the ability of the body to fight infections). Some people may have weaker immune systems genetically; others may have weaker immune systems because of viral or bacterial infections.

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Talk to your doctor about immunoglobulin injections. If you have an especially weak immune system, you may need intravenous injections of immunoglobulins (polyvalent IgG antibodies) extracted from donor human blood. This is always by a doctor's advice and only if you have primary immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases, severe inflammatory diseases, or acute infections.

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How can I lower the level of white blood cells in my blood?

You don't want to do this, unless told to do so by your doctor. Your white blood cells are critical for immune health, so unless you have excess that are causing other issues, you want to maintain them as well as possible.

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How to Strengthen Your Immune System - wikiHow

The hormones produced by your adrenal glands, particularly the stress hormone cortisol, play an important role in regulating your immune system. If your cortisol levels go too low or too high, this can lead to regular infections, chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases or allergies. Maintaining a balanced level of cortisol is an important part of staying healthy.

One of cortisols many functions is to reduce inflammation. When your body encounters a pathogen, the immune system responds by quickly attacking it. This causes inflammation, which is often a good thing (it means the immune system is working). In those with healthy immune and endocrine systems, cortisol works to moderate the inflammation caused by an immune system response, but it does not completely eliminate it.

Cortisol levels can become imbalanced during the different stages of Adrenal Fatigue. In fact, your cortisol levels will largely depend on which stage of the condition you have reached. If you are still in the early stages, your cortisol levels are likely to be elevated, along with epinephrine and norepinephrine. If you are in the later stages of Adrenal Fatigue, your cortisol levels will be much, much lower. Neither result is beneficial for your immune system.

During the early stages of Adrenal Fatigue, your HPA axis is firing on all cylinders and producing lots of stress hormones. This means that your cortisol level is high, which suppresses the immune system and reduces inflammation.

Why does the body do this? Simply put, the immune system is a non-essential function for the kind of short-term stressful situation that our endocrine system is designed to counter. Reducing the immune systems effectiveness for a few hours, while we escape whatever physical danger is threatening us, is a pretty safe gamble. But the problem is that modern stress does not simply go away after a few hours. Todays stressors tend to be long term and entrenched, which means that cortisol levels can stay elevated for months or years.

Needless to say, a suppressed immune system leaves us vulnerable to disease. And those of us who are under long term stress tend to suffer disproportionately from cold and flu viruses, as well as bacterial infections.

Lets take one of the most stressful events in life losing a love one as an example. In 2011 researchers at the University of Birmingham conducted a study into the effect of bereavement on neutrophils (a type of white blood cell). They concluded that:

The emotional stress of bereavement is associated with suppressed neutrophil superoxide production and with a raised cortisol:DHEAS ratio. The stress of bereavement exaggerates the age-related decline in HPA axis and combines with immune ageing to further suppress immune function, which may help to the explain increased risk of infection in bereaved older adults.

Looking at Cushings Syndrome can also be a useful guide. This condition is sometimes known as hypercortisolism and is recognized through excessively high levels of cortisol. From reading the above, you might expect that Cushings sufferers tend to be vulnerable to regular infections. And in fact, according to the Cushings Support and Research Foundation, Cushings syndrome, with its elevated cortisol levels, certainly suppresses the immune system. Patients with Cushings syndrome are at risk for many unique and unusual infectious diseases.

Chronic stress puts your health at risk (Mayo Clinic) Neutrophil function and cortisol:DHEAS ratio in bereaved older adults (University of Birmingham) Stress-induced immune dysfunction: implications for health (Dr. Ronald Glaser, 2005) What effect does Cushings have on the immune system? (Cushings Support and Research Foundation)

If elevated cortisol is bad for our immune systems, then lowering our cortisol levels must be a good thing, right? Not necessarily. If your cortisol falls too far below the optimal level then you are completely removing the safety valve that prevents your immune system from over-reacting to threats.

During the later stages of Adrenal Fatigue the adrenal glands become tired, depleted and unable to produce the hormones that your body needs. Cortisol levels begin to fall rapidly and the Adrenal Fatigue sufferer quickly switches from having too much cortisol to having very little indeed.

This means that the regulating anti-inflammatory effect of cortisol is absent. Without sufficient cortisol, there is nothing to prevent severe, chronic inflammation. In effect, the immune system is running out of control. Low cortisol leads to increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which lead to an over-activation of the immune system and inflammation. According to Dr. Thomas Guilliams, an immunologist, The result is amplification of numerous inflammatory pathways and increased susceptibility to developing inflammatory diseases, including autoimmune diseases, mood disorders, atopy, malignancy, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain syndromes, obesity, glucose dysregulation and fibromyalgia.

Beyond Adrenal Fatigue: From Anecdotal to Evidence Based Medicine (Dr. Thomas Guilliams)

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Adrenal Fatigue And Your Immune System

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The Immune System - McGraw Hill Education

The immune system is a collection of billions of cells that travel through the bloodstream. They move in and out of tissues and organs, defending the body against foreign bodies (antigens), such as bacteria, viruses and cancerous cells.

There are two types of lymphocytes:

B cells- produce antibodies which are released into the fluid surrounding the bodys cells to destroy the invading viruses and bacteria.

T cells (see picture opposite) - if the invader gets inside a cell, these (T cells) lock on to the infected cell, multiply and destroy it.

The main types of immune cells are white blood cells. There are two types of white blood cells lymphocytes and phagocytes.

When were stressed, the immune systems ability to fight off antigens is reduced. That is why we are more susceptible to infections.

The stress hormone corticosteroid can suppress the effectiveness of the immune system (e.g. lowers the number of lymphocytes).

Stress can also have an indirect effect on the immune system as a person may use unhealthy behavioral coping strategies to reduce their stress, such as drinking and smoking.

Stress is linked to: headaches; infectious illness (e.g. flu); cardiovascular disease; diabetes, asthma and gastric ulcers.

Stress responses have an effect on digestive system. During stress digestion is inhibited. After stress digestive activity increases. This may affect the health of digestive system and cause ulcers. Adrenaline released during a stress response may also cause ulcers.

Stress responses increase strain upon circulatory system due to increased heart rate etc. Stress can also affect the immune system by raising blood pressure.

Hypertension (consistently raised blood pressure over several weeks) is a major risk factor in coronary heart disease (CHD) However, CHD may be caused by eating too much salt, drinking too much coffee or alcohol.

Stress also produces an increase in blood cholesterol levels, through the action of adrenaline and noradrenaline on the release of free fatty acids. This produces a clumping together of cholesterol particles, leading to clots in the blood and in the artery walls and occlusion of the arteries.

In turn, raised heart rate is related to a more rapid build-up of cholesterol on artery walls. High blood pressure results in small lesions on the artery walls, and cholesterol tends to get trapped in these lesions (Holmes, 1994).

Stress can also have an indirect effect on illness as it is associated with all manner of bad habits (coping strategies), for example smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, poor diet due to lack of time, lack of exercise for the same reason, lack of sleep etc.

All of these are likely to have an adverse effect on a persons health so could cause some of the ill-effects attributed to stress per se.

Short term suppression of the immune system is not dangerous. However, chronic suppression leaves the body vulnerable to infection and disease.

A current example of this is AIDS - Acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Here the immune system is suppressed leaving the vulnerable to illness. Stress would just lead to frequent illness and infections.

Stress responses increase strain upon circulatory system due to increased heart rate etc. This may increase a persons risk of developing disorders of the heart and circulation e.g. coronary heart disease (CHD). Individuals with type A personality have a greater risk of developing CHD.

Stress responses have an effect on digestive system. During stress digestion is inhibited. After stress digestive activity increases. This may affect the health of digestive system and cause gastric ulcers

The executive monkey study by Brady (1958) seems to support this theory.

Aim: To investigate whether stress of important examinations has an effect on the functioning of the immune system

Procedure:

Findings: The blood sample taken from the first group (before the exam) contained more t-cells compared with blood samples taken during the exams.

The volunteers were also assessed using behavioral measures. On both occasions they were given questionnaires to assess psychiatric symptoms, loneliness and life events. This was because there are theories which suggest that all 3 are associated with increased levels of stress.

Kiecolt-Glaser et al found that immune responses were especially weak in those students who reported feeling most lonely, as well as those who were experiencing other stressful life events and psychiatric symptoms such as depression or anxiety.

Conclusion: Stress (of the exam) reduced the effectiveness of the immune system.

Evaluation: Difficult to unravel the relationship for certain. Does stress cause illness or does being ill make you more prone to stress?

Also many of the studies do not take into account for the other factors which affect peoples lives. These can be drugs, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, general health, diet, physical activity, sleep patterns, age and medication. Although many studies try to control these factors it is very unlikely to gain complete control.

Brady, J. V. (1958). Ulcers in" executive" monkeys. Scientific American.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Garner, W., Speicher, C., Penn, G. M., Holliday, J., & Glaser, R. (1984). Psychosocial modifiers of immunocompetence in medical students. Psychosomatic Medicine, 46(1), 7-14.

McLeod, S. A. (2010). Stress, Illness and the Immune System. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/stress-immune.html

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Stress, Illness and the Immune System | Simply Psychology

Your bodys immune system is always on guard on the lookout for anything foreign that might have entered your body. When it detects an invader, it attacks. So when islet cells are transplanted from a donor pancreas into a patient, the patients immune system wants to destroy, or reject those foreign cells.

To protect the cells from attack, the patient takes anti-rejection drugs, also called immunosuppressants. As that word implies, these drugs suppress the immune system. The problem: you must take these powerful drugs for life. A suppressed immune system exposes the patient to infections and diseases. And, the drugs themselves can cause harmful side effects.

Thats why the DRI and our collaborators worldwide are so focused on finding better ways to protect the transplanted cells in the BioHub. Were investigating several methods to accomplish this, including preventing inflammation at the site of the transplant,using helper cells that offer natural defenses, protecting cells by wrapping them in a tight coating, and delivering lowdose anti-rejection drugs locally, only at the site of the transplant.

And theres another critical issue with the immune system. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system sees your bodys own islet cells as foreign and destroys them. This is called autoimmunity. When islet cells are transplanted, the recipient could experience a recurrence of autoimmunity. DRI researchers are working to stop this attack from happening again.

Preventing Inflammation - Blocking the signals that trigger an immune response.

Adding Helper Cells -- Using the BioHub to give islets a helping hand.

Cell Encapsulation Trying to hide islet cells from the immune system.

Local Drug Delivery -- Delivering drugs only to where theyre needed, not throughout the entire body.

Immune Tolerance Educating the immune system to accept islet cells.

Learn more about thedevelopment of the BioHub mini organ to restore natural insulin production in those living with diabetes. Watch the BioHub video>>

Those who receive islet transplants must take immunosuppressive -- or "anti-rejection" -- drugs to prevent their immune system from rejecting the newly transplanted islets. DRI researchers are working on strategies to eliminate the need for these drugs.

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Diabetes Research: The Immune System

Why do you get every bug that passes through town, while your spouse and friends stay healthy? Blame your immune system, the network of cells and organs that fights off illness (or tries to, anyway!).

"How often you get sick is partly genes, plus the bacteria and viruses you're exposed to," says Lisa Cuchara, PhD, professor of biomedical science at Quinnipiac University. "But lifestyle is also key: exercise, sleep, and how stressed you are." Read on for how to get your system in fighting shape.

"I see a lot of chronic dieters who are low in protein, which your body needs to make white blood cells, the backbone of the immune system," says Roberta Lee, MD, vice chair of the department of integrative medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.

Many protein-rich foods, like lean meat and fish, also provide other immunity-boosting nutrients like iron, zinc, B vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. Also essential: Eating a good mix of produce to get an array of nutrients. What to do:

The drugstore may be full of so-called immunity boosters, but there's strong evidence for only two of them: vitamin D and probiotics. What to do:

In a large 2010 study, those who were active at least five days a week almost halved the length of their colds. Per other research, folks who exercised after getting a flu shot nearly doubled their immune response. Why? Exercise likely sparks a temporary rise in immune cells. What to do:Fit in 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Just don't overdo it: More than 90 minutes of high-intensity exercise can put stress on the body, decreasing your immunity for up to three days.

Pushing yourself physically isn't the only thing that taxes your system. Emotional stress causes your body to release cortisol and adrenaline, which decrease T cells, says Bruce Rabin, MD, medical director of the University of Pittsburgh's Healthy Lifestyle Program.

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How to Boost Your Immune System - Cold, Flu, and Sinus ...

There are 14 videos in this category and 8 videos in 2 subcategories.

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This 3D medical animation shows a macrophage ingesting bacteria. The macrophage then releases cytokines, chemicals that attract other leukocytes to the infected area. Plays music during the animation. Grades 9-12. 42 sec.

August 13, 2009 at 10:34 AM

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Hank tells us about the team of deadly ninja assassins that is tasked with protecting our bodies from all the bad guys that want to kill us - also known as our immune system. (15:02)

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The many parts of your immune system work together to defend your body against diseases. White blood cells in your blood vessels and lymph vessels help protect your body by killing intruders and getting rid of harmful materials.

May 17, 2011 at 08:12 PM

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This is a clip from the program The Immunological System: Recognition, Attack, and Memory. This segment shows how the immune system works. (03:16)

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This video consists of a still image with red arrows pointing to the various parts of the body as the narrator discusses it.

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Immune System Educational Videos | WatchKnowLearn

The Skin The skin is obviously a physical barrier to many germs and toxins, as it contains special immune cells called Langerhans cells that act as warning bells to alert the immune system to any foreign agents. Langerhans cells also regulate the immune response to these agents, evident in the skins reaction to stinging nettles or a cat scratch. The skin also secretes antibacterial substances which hinder the growth of bugs on our skin.

The Mucus Membrane Linings - The eyes, nose, and mouth are all possible ports of entry for invading germs, but our tears, nasal secretions, and saliva all contain enzymes or cells of the immune system to keep the invaders at bay. The mucus membrane linings of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tracts also provide one of the first lines of defense against invasion by microbes or parasites.

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If the germs make it past this first line of defense, they encounter a number of immune components inside the body including:

The Lymphatic or Lymph System The swollen glands that we all check for in the neck are in fact lymph nodes that are part of the lymphatic system. The lymph system is similar to the circulatory system, in that it is an interconnected series of vessels carrying lymphatic fluid, except that lymphatic fluid is not pumped around the body (like the heart pumps blood), but rather it moves passively. Fluid oozes in and out of the lymphatic system with normal body and muscle movement. Lymph contains plasma (the watery part of the blood) and helps to carry nutrients, oxygen, and waste products from the blood cells through the capillary walls. Germs generally find their way into this fluid and are then carried to the lymph nodes, which act as filters. The lymph nodes filter the fluid, and if there are any germs, the immune cells in the node rise to the occasion to fight them off. If the lymph nodes swell up during this process, this acts as a sure indication of infection. The filtered lymphatic fluid is then returned to the blood stream where the cycle starts again.

The Thymus Gland The thymus gland is situated in the chest in front of the heart but behind the breast bone, and is responsible for producing T-cells, one of the important germ-fighting cells of the immune system. The thymus gland is very important for newborn babies (who need it to survive), but as we get older it becomes less important, as other parts of our immune system manage to compensate.

Bone Marrow All the cells of the immune system are originally derived from the bone marrow. Our bone marrow produces blood cells both red cells, which carry oxygen, as well as white blood cells, which are part of the immune system. There are many different types of white blood cells including T-cells, B-cells, natural killer cells, lymphocytes, etc. and they all work together to destroy the foreign cells or germs. The B-cells produce antibodies, or proteins that are specific to the germ (or antigen, which is anything foreign to the body) encountered. Specific B-cells are tuned into specific germs, and when that germ is present, the corresponding B-cell multiplies rapidly and produces the antibodies to destroy that germ. The antibodies then bind to the germ and prevent it from entering our cells. If this is not enough, the antibodies will cover the germ and signal the complement system for assistance.

The Spleen

The spleen is also an important filtration organ, as it searches for and filters out foreign cells as well as old red blood cells that need replacing. In addition, the spleen plays an important role in activating appropriate immune responses by presenting the antigen to the appropriate T or B cells, which in turn can then produce large amounts of anti-bodies.

White blood cells or leukocytes Immune cells are white blood cells, otherwise known as leukocytes, which are produced in large quantities in the bone marrow. There is a great variety of leukocytes, each with a specific function and role to play in the working of the immune system. Some of these blood cells seek out and destroy foreign organisms, some dispose of infected or mutated body cells, while others release proteins called antibodies that alert other cells to destroy invading organisms.

Antibodies Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins found in the blood and are made by B-cells. Essentially these proteins are used by the immune system to identify and block the effects of antigens. Thus when an antigen (or foreign cell) is identified, an antibody attaches itself - like a key fits into a lock and neutralizes the effect of the antigen.

The Complement system The complement system is a series of different proteins that work with (or compliment) the antibodies. These proteins flow freely in the blood and can therefore rapidly reach the site of an invasion where they can react directly with antigens (molecules that the body recognizes as foreign and potentially dangerous). When triggered, these complement proteins can trigger inflammation, attract eater cells such as macrophages to the area, cover intruders so that eater cells are more likely to destroy them, and directly kill intruders by causing the cells to burst. This in turn signals other clean up cells, called phagocytes to come and remove the burst cell. Other substances such as hormones, tumor necrosis factor, and interferons also play an integral part in the functioning of the immune system.

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The Immune System and Immune Disorders - NativeRemedies

Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.

Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the texts explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.

Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

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Immune System Defender - GameUp - BrainPOP.