Immune Regulation News Volume 2.06 | Feb 19 2010

Quantitative Proteomics Reveals Subset-Specific Viral Recognition in Dendritic Cells
By avoiding activation via cytoplasmic receptors, including retinoic acid-inducible gene I, CD8(alpha)+ dendritic cells likely gain a window of opportunity to process and present viral antigens before activation-induced shutdown of antigen presentation pathways occurs. [Immunity]

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Replacing an Immune System Gone Haywire
A last-ditch strategy to beat back autoimmune disease is to destroy a patient’s immune system with a blitz of chemotherapy and radiation and then perform a bone marrow transplant to, in essence, reset the immune system. The results have been mixed, but there are startling success stories. [Science News Focus] 

Protein Found to Be Key in Protecting the Gut from Infection
A signaling protein that is key in orchestrating the body’s overall immune response has an important localized role in fighting bacterial infection and inflammation in the intestinal tract. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Cell Host and Microbe]

Flu-Induced Stress Response Is Critical for Resistance to Secondary Infection
A new study reveals how infection with the influenza virus impacts the way that the immune system responds to subsequent infections. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Cell Host and Microbe]

Clinical Trial Looks To Harness Body’s Own Immune System To Tackle Pancreatic Cancer
Researchers at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey are investigating the development of a series of vaccine injections to see if they will produce an immune response against pancreatic cancer. [The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Press Release]

Immune System Turns On the Body in Narcolepsy
Researchers have now identified autoantibodies that target the natural protein Trib2 in narcolepsy patients with cataplexy, suggesting that narcolepsy is indeed an autoimmune disorder. [EurekAlert! Press Release]

CURRENT PUBLICATIONS

The Membrane Skeleton Controls Diffusion Dynamics and Signaling through the B Cell Receptor
Results suggest that the membrane skeleton plays a crucial function in controlling B cell receptor dynamics and thereby signaling, in a way that could be important for understanding tonic signaling necessary for B cell development and survival. [Immunity]

In Vivo Requirement for Atg5 in Antigen Presentation by Dendritic Cells
The study revealed that dendritic cells utilize autophagic machinery to optimally process and present extracellular microbial antigens for MHC II presentation. [Immunity]

Gene Expression Profiling Uncovers Molecular Classifiers for the Recognition of Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma within Peripheral T Cell Neoplasms
The identification of a molecular signature specific for anaplastic large-cell lymphoma suggests that these T cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (T-NHL) may represent a unique entity discernible from other peripheral T cell lymphomas, and that a restricted number of genes can be instrumental for clinical stratification and, possibly, therapy of T-NHL. [J Clin Oncol]

Allo-HLA Reactivity of Virus-Specific Memory T Cells is Common
Results demonstrate that a substantial proportion of virus specific T cells exert allo-HLA reactivity, which may have important clinical implications in transplantation settings as well as adoptive transfer of third party virus specific T cells. [Blood]

PD-1 and CTLA-4 Combination Blockade Expands Infiltrating T Cells and Reduces Regulatory T and Myeloid Cells within B16 Melanoma Tumors
Results suggest that combination blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1- and CTLA-4-negative costimulatory pathways allows tumor-specific T cells that would otherwise be inactivated to continue to expand and carry out effector functions, thereby shifting the tumor microenvironment from suppressive to inflammatory. [ Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

Dendritic Cell Targeted HIV Gag Protein Vaccine Provides Help to a DNA Vaccine Including Mobilization of Protective CD8+ T Cells
Complementary prime boost vaccination, in which prime and boost favor distinct types of T cell immunity, improves plasmid DNA immunization, including mobilization of CD8+ T cells to sites of infection. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

TGF-{Beta} Regulates T Cell Neurokinin-1 Receptor Internalization and Function
The observations establish precedent that members of two distinct receptor superfamilies can interact via a previously unrecognized mechanism, and reveal a paradigm of G protein-coupled receptor transregulation that is relevant to inflammatory bowel disease and possibly other disease processes. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

GM-CSF-Facilitated Dendritic Cell Recruitment and Survival Govern the Intestinal Mucosal Response to a Mouse Enteric Bacterial Pathogen
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) produced in the intestinal mucosa acts to enhance host protection against an enteric bacterial pathogen through regulating recruitment and survival of dendritic cells. [Cell Host Microbe]

Influenza Virus-Induced Glucocorticoids Compromise Innate Host Defense Against a Secondary Bacterial Infection
This study demonstrates that activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis controls the balance between immune defense and immunopathology and is an important component of the host response to coinfection. [Cell Host Microbe]

World Health Organization to Decide New Flu Vaccine Formula
World Health Organization advisers will announce the make-up of this coming year’s seasonal flu vaccine. The decision is more complicated this year because of the pandemic of H1N1 swine flu. [Reuters] 

Novartis Venture Capital Arm Backs Universal Flu Shot Company
A British biotech company working on a universal flu vaccine has secured a further 8.65 million pounds ($13.6 million) of funding from a group of investors including the venture capital arm of Novartis. [Reuters]

Gentel Powers Protein Research with New Proteomics Multi-System™
Gentel Biosciences launched the Gentel Proteomics Multi-System™ providing “scan-to-analysis” functionality for multiplex immunoassays, lysate and antigen arrays as well as Western Blot, ELISA and tissue imaging, delivering multi-application value to researchers worldwide. [Gentel Biosciences Press Release]

Dynavax and GlaxoSmithKline Select Clinical Candidate in the Endosomal Toll-Like Receptor Inhibitor Program
Dynavax Technologies Corporation announced the selection of a candidate for clinical development in its endosomal Toll-like Receptor (TLR) inhibitor collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. The selected molecule DV1179, a bifunctional TLR inhibitor, has moved into advanced preclinical investigational new drug-enabling studies that could allow clinical development to begin as early as this year. [Dynavax Technologies Corporation Press Release]

Food and Drug Administration Budget Draws Cries of ‘Not Enough’
A coalition of interests will push for more money, saying chronic underfunding has led to failures at the agency and that society, not just companies, are affected. [Food and Drug Administration, United States]

2010 Meeting Materials, Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – Draft Agenda, Member Roster, Posted [Food and Drug Administration, United States] 

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (Parent F31) (PA-10-108) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 – Diversity) (PA-10-109) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (Parent F32) (PA-10-110) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Senior Fellows (Parent F33) (PA-10-111) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Delays in Grant Application Submission due to Widespread Winter Storm (NOT-OD-10-061) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Recovery Act Limited Competition: Program to Enhance National Institutes of Health-Supported Global Health Research Involving Human Subjects (S07) (RFA-OD-10-006) [National Institutes of Health, United States]

Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54) (RFA-RM-10-001) [National Institutes of Health, United States]
 
Notice of Intent to Establish a New National Institutes of Health Common Fund Program: Library of Integrated Network-Based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) (NOT-RM-10-002) [National Institutes of Health, United States] 

Investigator Initiated Multi-Site Clinical Trials (Collaborative R01) (PAR-10-096) [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, United States]

Expressions of Interest for Membership of the Therapeutic Goods Committee [Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australia]

Keystone Symposia: Tolerance and Autoimmunity (B7)
February 21-26, 2010
Taos, United States

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
February 26-March 2, 2010
New Orleans, United States

Keystone Symposia: Lymphocyte Activation and Gene Expression (B8)
February 27-March 4, 2010
Breckenridge, United States

World Immune Regulation Meeting (WIRM) – IV
March 29-April 01, 2010
Davos, Switzerland

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010
April 17-21, 2010
Washington, DC, United States

23rd Annual Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) Conference
April 23-26, 2010
Niagara Falls, Canada

97th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists
May 7-11, 2010
Baltimore, United States

29th Congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
June 5-9, 2010
London, United Kingdom

Keystone Symposia: Innate Immunity: Mechanisms Linking with Adaptive Immunity (D3)
June 7-12, 2010
Dublin, Ireland

Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) 2010
June 24-27, 2010
Boston, United States

Frontiers in Immunology Research (FIRN) 2010 International Conference
July 22-26, 2010
Athens, Greece

14th International Congress of Immunology
August 22-27, 2010
Kobe, Japan

Visit our events page to stay up to date with the latest events in the cell, gene and immunotherapy community.

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