Featured Immune System Research

Enzyme Initiates Protective Immune Responses Against Gut Parasites

Acidic mammalian chitinase, or AMCase, an enzyme present in humans and other mammals, plays a key role in initiating protective immune responses against certain parasitic gut infections, a new NIAID study shows. The findings in mice suggest that AMCase, which had previously been implicated in allergic lung disease, is critical for defense against gastrointestinal infections with parasitic worms called helminth. Read more about an enzyme that initiates protective immune responses against gut parasites.

NIAID Study Reveals Differences in Immune Cell Signaling in Humans and Mice

A new study by NIAID researchers uncovers key differences in the roles of certain cell-signaling proteins in mouse and human immune cells. Because mice often are used as models of human disease in preclinical research, it is critical to understand how they may differ from humans at the cellular level. Read more about an NIAID study that reveals the differences in immune cell signaling in humans and mice.

Immune Cell Clustering Suppresses Autoimmunity in Healthy Tissues

In a new study in mice, NIAID researchers describe how regulatory immune cells help suppress autoimmunity by forming clusters around "self-reactive" immune cells—those primed to mount an immune response against the body's own cells and tissues. Their findings reveal that self-reactive immune T cells are activated on a regular basis, and regulatory cells cluster around them to suppress autoimmune responses and limit tissue damage. These insights increase understanding of how healthy tissues work to contain autoimmunity. Read more about how immune cell clustering suppresses autoimmunity in healthy tissues.

Infections May Set the Stage for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

A new study led by NIAID researchers has shown in mice that a single gut infection can trigger long-term consequences that compromise the immune system’s balance, impair immune function, and cause persistent inflammation in the gut-associated adipose (fat) tissue. While scientists have long suggested that infections may initiate the development of chronic inflammatory diseases, direct evidence supporting this idea has been lacking. Read more about how infections may set the stage for chronic inflammatory diseases.

Researchers Uncover How Flaviviruses Thwart the Body’s Antiviral Immunity

An NIAID-led international study has identified a new regulator of type I interferon (IFN-I), a key antiviral signal that is commonly blocked by viruses, including flaviviruses like West Nile, dengue, and yellow fever viruses. The findings improve our understanding of how the body responds to viral infection, how viruses thwart this response, and how certain genetic mutations may render individuals more susceptible to infections. Read more about how researchers uncovered how flaviviruses thwart the body’s antiviral immunity

From Yeast to Humans: Basic Research Provides Insight Into Rare Disease

In a new study, NIAID scientists and colleagues describe a regulatory mechanism that helps control autophagy, a natural process that cells use to recycle nutrients, remove unneeded components, and respond to inflammation. Their findings have wide-ranging implications, from helping explain the virulence of a fungal pathogen to understanding inflammatory responses in humans. Importantly, the scientists also identify a potential biomarker to monitor disease activity in people with a rare immunodeficiency. Read more about basic research that provides insight into a rare disease.

New Method to Screen Brain Inflammation Identified

In a new study, National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers suggest a less invasive method to identify brain inflammation in people with neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis. While the standard procedure can require taking a tissue biopsy or sample, the team used spinal fluid to identify markers that can reliably detect inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Read more about a new method to screen brain inflammation.

Supplemental Oxygen Renders Tumors Vulnerable to Immune Attack

Supplemental oxygen helps make tumors more vulnerable to the action of anti-tumor immune cells, according to a new study supported in part by NIAID and conducted by scientists at the New England Inflammation and Tissue Protection Institute at Northeastern University and their colleagues. Read more about how supplemental oxygen renders tumors vulnerable to immune attack.

Researchers Offer a Detailed Look at Natural Killer Cells

An NIAID-funded study has revealed a vast diversity of natural killer cells previously unrecognized in the human immune system. Natural killer (NK) cells are important for antiviral and antitumor responses, and these findings may have important implications for the development of new therapies for infection and cancer. Read more about a detailed look at natural killer cells.

Gut Bacteria Change Threshold of Immune Activation in Arthritis

A new NIAID study explains how naturally occurring gut bacteria contribute to disease severity in a mouse model of arthritis. Understanding how gut microbes regulate immune cells will help researchers identify how autoimmune disorders like arthritis develop. Read more about how gut bacteria changes the threshold of immune activation in arthritis.

Commensals Help Regulate Immune Responses During Inflammation

Results from an NIAID study suggest that commensals—the microbes that naturally colonize the moist linings of the digestive tract—trigger events that regulate their own disease-causing potential during inflammation. Understanding how commensals and the immune system interact when the gut is inflamed could help scientists develop new strategies to treat gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease. Read more about how commensals help regulate immune responses during inflammation.

NIAID Scientists Describe How the Immune System Controls Commensals During Gut Infection

An NIAID study in mice shows how the immune system prevents commensals—the microbes that naturally colonize the lining of the digestive tract—from contributing to inflammation during gut infection. The findings suggest that defects in this protective mechanism may contribute to chronic disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Read more about how NIAID scientists describe how the immune system controls commensals during gut infection.

NIAID Scientists Describe How Immune System Overreaction Contributes to Influenza Deaths

A new NIAID study in mice shows that excessive early immune responses contribute to deaths caused by certain influenza viruses. Scientists found that reducing the number of inflammatory immune cells in the lungs of mice increased the animals' survival after infection with a virulent flu strain. Read more about how NIAID scientists describe how immune system overreaction contributes to influenza deaths.

NIAID Researchers Describe How Immune Cells Swarm to Injuries and Infections

NIAID researchers have described how specialized immune cells called neutrophils form tight clusters at wounds or infected areas. These findings may potentially lead to the development of new strategies to promote or interfere with inflammatory immune responses. Read more about how NIAID researchers described how immune cells swarm to injuries and infections.

NIAID Scientists Improve Methods for Studying Immune Cell Development

NIAID scientists describe a new approach to studying osteoclasts—immune cells that degrade bone—using an array of methods to form a complete picture. In abnormal conditions, osteoclasts contribute to arthritis and bone disorders, so understanding how the cells develop is essential for new therapeutic strategies. Read more about how NIAID scientists improved methods for studying immune cell development.

NIAID Scientists Improve Microscopy Technique That Tracks Cells in Tissues

NIAID investigators have developed a microscopy technique capable of identifying, locating, and quantifying many distinct immune cells in whole tissues. This technology could enable researchers to better understand immune cell behavior at rest and in response to a stimulus such as infection, vaccination, or cancer progression. Read more about how NIAID scientists improved microscopy technique that tracks cells in tissues.

NIH Scientists Identify Possible Mechanism of Virus-Induced Brain Damage

Scientists know that early immune responses to viral infection can inhibit virus replication. But a new study from National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists suggests that, in the brain, the same process can lead to the destruction of neurons, the information-processing cells of the central nervous system. Read more about how NIH scientists identified possible mechanism of virus-induced brain damage.

Researchers Identify Switch That Converts Adult Stem Cells Into Fetal-Like Stem Cells

An NIAID research team has identified a gene called Lin28b that causes adult bone marrow cells, known as hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), to acquire some of the attributes of fetal HSCs, which can mature into any immune cell type. Converting adult HSCs into fetal-like HSCs with Lin28b opens up the possibility of improving the treatment of certain cancers and immune diseases. Read more about how researchers identify a switch that converts adult stem cells into fetal-like stem cells.

In Mouse Study, NIH Investigators Observe the Immune-Boosting Properties of Vitamin A

A study led by Dr. Yasmine Belkaid and colleagues in the NIAID Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases helps shed light on how vitamin A regulates the immune system at mucosal surfaces—the moist linings of the mouth, lungs, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The study demonstrates in mice that certain immune T cells use vitamin A metabolites to help maintain the health of the host. Read more about the mouse study where NIH investigators observed the immune-boosting properties of vitamin A.

Protein Secreted by the Fetus During Pregnancy May Reprogram Immune Cells

Results from an NIAID study suggest that natural killer (NK) cells, immune cells usually dedicated to killing virus-infected cells and tumor cells, acquire new functions to help expand blood vessels in the uterus during pregnancy. This reprogramming of the mother’s NK immune cells occurs in response to a signal sent by the fetus. Read more about a protein secreted by the fetus during pregnancy that may reprogram immune cells.

Investigational Asthma Drug Is Effective in Treating Chronic Hypereosinophilic Syndrome

A multicenter team, including NIAID investigators, has found that an antibody currently being tested to treat asthma is a safe and effective long-term therapy for a rare chronic disorder called hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). Read more about an investigational asthma drug that is effective in treating chronic hypereosinophilic syndrome