http://www.pennmedicine.org/news The latest news about Immunology and Immune Disorders from Penn Medicine - the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Health System. en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss rachel.ewing@uphs.upenn.edu (Rachel Ewing) 2009, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania http://www.pennhealth.com/images/pennmedicine_logo.jpg http://www.pennmedicine.org/news Researchers today announced the opening for enrollment of the first ever study using patients’ cells carrying an engineered T cell receptor to treat HIV. The trial may have important implications in the development of new treatments for HIV potentially slowing – or even preventing – the onset of AIDS. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/10/engineered-t-cell-hiv-trial/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT Researchers have determined the structure of C3 convertase and of the C3b fragment in complex with factor H. These new structures, both involving a central component of an enzyme important to the complement system of the immune response, reveal how this system fights invading microbes while avoiding problems of the body attacking itself. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/06/complement-system-protein-structures.html Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:10:00 GMT After a vaccination or an infection, the human immune system remembers to keep protecting against invaders it has already encountered, with the aid of specialized B-cells and T-cells. Immunological memory has long been the subject of intense study, but the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the generation and persistence of long-lived memory T cells remain largely undefined. Now, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have found that a common anti-diabetic drug might enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. The findings are described this week in an advanced online publication of Nature. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/06/boosting-immune-memory.html Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:20:00 GMT Researchers have generated altered immune cells that are able to shrink, and in some cases eradicate, large tumors in mice. The immune cells target mesothelin, a protein that is highly expressed, or translated in large amounts from the mesothelin gene, on the surface of several types of cancer cells. The approach, developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), shows promise in the development of immunotherapies for certain tumors. The study appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/02/mesothelin-targeting.html Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:00:00 GMT Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have likely found one reason why the Ebola virus is such a powerful, deadly, and effective virus. Using a cell culture model for Ebola virus infection, they have discovered that the virus disables a cellular protein called tetherin that normally can block the spread of virus from cell to cell.  http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/01/tetherin-ebola.html Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT More drafts usually mean a better product and so it also seems to go with the human immune system. As B cells develop, genes rearrange to allow their antibodies to recognize different foreign invaders or pathogens. But sometimes antibodies are created that recognize and attack the body’s own cells. These self-reactive antibodies, like early drafts of a manuscript, must be edited into safer versions. This process is called receptor editing and is important for central or early B cell tolerance, which occurs while B cells are still developing in the bone marrow. A research team led by Nina Luning Prak, M.D., Ph.D, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has discovered that this editing process may go awry in people with certain types of autoimmune diseases. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/12/b-cell-editing-autoimmune.html Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues in the United Kingdom have engineered T cells able to recognize HIV-1 strains that have evaded the immune system. The findings of the study, published online in the journal Nature Medicine, have important implications for developing new treatments for HIV, especially for patients with chronic infection who fail to respond to antiretroviral regimens. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/11/t-cells-recognize-hiv.html New research reveals a complicated interplay between two receptors on the surface of B cells that allows them to integrate their signals, which are at odds with one another. 'One receptor sends signals to the cell nucleus that says, 'yes stay alive, the body needs more B cells,' while the other says ‘'wait a minute, be careful which B cells are allowed to live.'' http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/11/b-cell-crosstalk.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth. Investigators found that instead of fighting tumors, the protein C5a, which is produced during an immune response to a developing tumor, helps tumors build molecular shields against T-cell attack. These findings appeared online this week in Nature Immunology. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/09/immune-promote-tumor-growth.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu. By delivering vaccine via DNA constructed to build antigens against flu, along with a minute electric pulse, researchers have immunized experimental animals against various strains of the virus. This approach could allow for the build up of vaccine reserves that could be easily and effectively dispensed in case of an epidemic. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/07/dna-flu-vaccine.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and collaborators are using minute, naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers to engineer T cells to one day treat AIDS in humans. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2008/06/zinc-finger-hiv.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a new strategy that Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) uses to dupe infected cells into replicating its viral genome. This allows the virus to remain virtually undetected by the body's immune system. Previous work suggested KSHV needed viral proteins to initiate replication, but this is the first study to directly show that a section of viral DNA can independently draw upon proteins within a host cell to promote its own replication. The study was published in the August issue of Cell Host and Microbe. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/aug07/KSHV-replication.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine recently identified how a regulatory protein called Bcl-3 helps to control the body's inflammation response to infection by interfering a critical biochemical process called ubiquitination. While previous studies suggested Bcl-3 plays a role in immunity, this is the first report that Bcl-3 regulates inflammation by blocking ubiquitination. Their findings, published in Science, open new avenues of exploration for developing therapies to treat infectious or inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/aug07/protein-block-inflammation.html Penn Presbyterian Medical Center is a proud sponsor of the third annual Pennsylvania “Sjögren's Walkabout,” which aims to increase awareness of the syndrome while raising funds for the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation’s research and education programs. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/jun07/sjogrens-walkabout.html Multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis are among a variety of autoimmune diseases that are aggravated when one type of white blood cell, called the immune regulatory cell, malfunctions. In humans, one cause of this malfunction is when a mutation in a gene called FOXP3 disables the immune cells' ability to function. In a new study published online next week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how to modify enzymes that act on the FOXP3 protein, in turn making the regulatory immune cells work better. These findings have important implications for treating autoimmune-related diseases. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/mar07/autoimmune-gene-mutation.html How do immune cells decide to respond to invading microbes by either fighting to the death or becoming the body’s memory for future infections? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that immune cells can differ in their inheritance of molecules that regulate cell fate, and therefore what role they play in fighting infection. The research appears this week in an early online issue of Science. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/mar07/immune-cell-diversity.html Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth. The finding, published in the most recent issue of PLoS Pathogens, offers new potential strategies for treating Kaposi's sarcoma and other cancers associated with viruses. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/nov06/KSHV.htm A protein with the ironic name 'Srcasm' can counteract the effects of tumor-promoting molecules in skin cells, according to new research by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Using animal models, the researchers discovered that Srcasm acts like a brake in epithelial cells, preventing uncontrolled cell growth caused by a family of proteins called Src kinases. This finding, published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, suggests a target for future gene therapy to treat skin, head, neck, colon, and breast cancers. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/nov06/HIVgenether.htm A finding by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers about how immune cells 'decide' to become active or inactive may have applications in fighting cancerous tumors, autoimmune diseases, and organ transplant rejection. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/oct06/DAGs.htm Yongwon Choi, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, has been awarded Korea's 2006 Ho-Am Prize in Medicine. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/jul06/hoamprz.htm Penn Presbyterian Medical Center is a proud sponsor of the second annual "Sjogren's Walkabout," which aims to increase awareness of the syndrome while helping to raise money to support the Foundation’s research and education programs. http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/jun06/SjogrensITC.htm