How Toxoplasma gondii gets noticedJanuary 20, 2009Researchers provide insight into how Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite of people and other animals, triggers an immune response in its host. The report will appear online on January 19th in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. A strong immune response spares T. gondii-infected hosts from deadly infection-an event that may also benefit the parasite, which relies on survival of the host to ensure its own transmission. But how the infected host elicits an immune response isn't completely understood. Like many other parasites, T. gondii resides within specialized vesicles inside infected host cells, but the process by which peptides from the trapped bugs are processed by infected cells and presented to killer T cells is mysterious. Here, Romina Goldszmid and her colleagues at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda use T. gondii infections in mice to study how portions of the parasitic proteins escape the vesicle in a process known as cross-presentation. They find that the parasite gets noticed by the immune system when the membrane of the bug-containing vesicle fuses to the endoplasmic reticulum-an organelle normally involved in presenting pathogens to T cells-allowing a swap of parasitic peptides. Rockefeller University Press |
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| Related Immune Response Current Events and Immune Response News Articles Common pain relief medication may encourage cancer growth Although morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells. New culprit for viral infections among elderly -- an overactive immune response Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people. Thoughtful words help couples stay fighting fit Couples who bring thoughtful words to a fight release lower amounts of stress-related proteins, suggesting that rational communication between partners can ease the impact of marital conflict on the immune system. Researchers mobilizing global resources to test new treatments for severe H1N1 infection An important, ground-breaking initiative is unfolding in the global critical care community in response to the H1N1 pandemic. People with less education could be more susceptible to the flu People who did not earn a high school diploma could be more likely to get H1N1 and the vaccine might be less effective in them compared to those who earned a diploma, new research shows. Scientists successfully reprogram blood cells Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome. UCI embryonic stem cell therapy restores walking ability in rats with neck injuries The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage. Hundreds of genes distinguish patients likely to survive advanced melanoma Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs. New Notre Dame study provides insights into the molecular basis of tumor cell behavior A new study by a team of researchers led by Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, sheds light on the molecular basis by which tumor cells modulate their surroundings to favor cancer progression. New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases. More Immune Response Current Events and Immune Response News Articles |
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