immune system

NIH Research Festival Hosts Postdoc Poster-Palooza

Annual Event Highlights Contributions of IRP Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Subhash Verma

At lunchtime last Wednesday, the NIH Clinical Center’s FAES Terrace echoed with the joyful sounds of scientists nourishing their bodies and their brains. While those stopping by the annual NIH Research Festival poster session could be forgiven for making a beeline straight for the food — including the submissions to this year’s Scientific Directors’ baking competition — once their plates were full, they took advantage of the opportunity to satiate their scientific curiosity as well by checking out the dozens of posters on display.

Rare Disease Research Reveals Why Immune Cells Go Wild

Discovery Could Improve Therapy for Multiple Autoimmune Diseases

neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)

Hiding among YouTube’s vast collection of cooking demos and funny cat videos are clips of patients and their advocates designed to raise awareness of specific diseases. It was just such a video that led IRP Senior Investigator Peter Grayson, M.D., M.Sc., to begin studying an extremely rare illness called deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2, or DADA2 for short. The recently published findings of that research could help improve treatment not just for patients with DADA2 but also many more individuals with similar ailments.

Poster Day Showcases Summer Student Science

Annual Event Shares Research by IRP’s Summer Interns

IRP summer intern Enat Ayele

NIH’s Natcher Conference Center was packed once again last Thursday for the annual Summer Poster Day. This year, more than 1,200 college and high school students spent their summer performing research in an IRP lab through the NIH’s Summer Internship Program. 

I navigated through the more than 900 posters presented this year to get a taste of the impressive work done by these young men and women in less than three months. If they can make these kinds of discoveries in just one summer, imagine what they might one day accomplish as full-time scientists and clinicians!

HIV Research Yields an Unexpected Discovery

A Conversation with Dr. Paolo Lusso

Dr. Paolo Lusso

First discovered in 1981, human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, caused one of the most deadly and persistent epidemics in history. HIV destroys CD4+ T cells, a type of white blood cell essential for fighting infection. In doing so, HIV destroys the body’s ability to fight off disease, which often leads to life-threatening consequences. 

Today, medications have allowed people living with HIV to lead healthier lives. However, HIV still remains a major public health concern and continues to be studied by researchers within the IRP and beyond.

IRP research has produced findings essential to the development of current HIV treatments and tools for diagnosis. However, there is still a lot left to learn. One recent IRP contribution to HIV research was a 2017 study led by IRP senior investigator Paolo Lusso, M.D., Ph.D., which suggests that treatments targeting a protein called integrin α4β7 could potentially become an addition to current treatment options for those with HIV, or provide new measures to prevent infection.

Non-Toxic Drug Could Increase Availability of Organ Transplants

Treatment Regimen Allows Genetically Mismatched Skin Grafts in Mice

surgeons performing an organ transplant

Thousands of patients who need an organ transplant die each year before a donor can be found. A new IRP study has identified a safer way to prevent a transplant recipient’s body from attacking a genetically dissimilar donor organ, which could dramatically expand the pool of potential organ donors.

Tracing the Pathway From Skin Irritation to Itching

Disrupting Itch-Related Process Could Relieve Relentless Itching

person scratching their skin

For most people, the arrival of spring time means more time spent outdoors — and greater exposure to nuisances like biting insects and poison ivy that make us itch. New IRP research has revealed a detailed picture of how a particular type of cell causes itching, findings that may ultimately help researchers develop treatments for disorders that cause severe and long-lasting itch.

Overlooked Immune Cells Trigger Preterm Labor

New Insights Could Help Reduce Premature Births

mother and newborn baby

Any baby born less than 37 weeks after conception is considered premature, but not all premature births have the same root cause. In a new study, IRP researchers have detailed how a particular component of the immune system can trigger premature labor, which could help doctors prevent more preterm births.

Experimental Treatment Wards Off Blinding Autoimmune Disease

Drug Candidate Calms Overzealous Immune Response in the Eye

damage to the eye caused by hyperactive immune cells

Our immune cells don’t like strangers and attack many organisms and substances that they have never seen before, including harmless ones. In autoimmune diseases, this reaction gets out of hand and our own cells are caught in the crossfire. IRP scientists have found that a new therapeutic compound can curb this sort of autoimmune carnage in the eye.

Celebrating NIH's History-Making Women

As Women's History month draws to a close, we’d like to introduce you to some of the IRP researchers who have received the honor of delivering the Anita B. Roberts Lecture. The Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series is organized by the NIH Women Scientist Advisors Committee to highlight outstanding research achievements by female scientists at NIH. The series is supported by the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

Dr. Anita B. Roberts

A Hiatus From Food Could Benefit Asthma Patients

asthma inhaler

Between fast-food outlets, vending machines, and food trucks — not to mention good old-fashioned home cooking — many people face no shortage of opportunities to eat. But as satisfying as a crisp potato chip or a moist pork chop may be, people with asthma and many other conditions may prefer to resist tasty temptations if it means alleviating some of their symptoms. In a small pilot study, IRP researchers found evidence that abstaining from food for 24 hours could inhibit some of the cellular processes that cause asthmatics’ breathing problems.