Category Archives: Immunology

Immunology

Princess of Belgium visits new US headquarters for company in Smyrna – 11Alive.com WXIA

SMYRNA, Ga. A royal princess came to Smyrna to visit the new U.S. headquarters of global biopharmaceutical company UCB Monday.

Princess Astrid of Belgium was joined by Belgian business leaders and Smyrna Mayor Derek Norton to inaugurate the new facility and discuss its impact on patients locally and globally, along with plans for long-term sustainable growth. Leadership from Morehouse College and Georgia State University were also in attendance to help give her the royal treatment.

Her royal highness honored LaKeisha Parnell, an epilepsy patient and advocate, with a bouquet of flowers. The princess was seen smiling while being pictured with Parnell and UCB Executive Vice President Immunology and U.S. Solutions in the photo below.

According to itswebsite, UCB focuses on "creating value for people living with severe diseases and immunology and neurology now and into the future." The company was founded in Brussels in the 1920s and maintains its global headquarters there.

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Princess of Belgium visits new US headquarters for company in Smyrna - 11Alive.com WXIA

Immunology

AbbVie is Enabling Students Diagnosed with Immunological Diseases to Shine – BioSpace

From left: Nia Phipps andLavery Hughes, recipients of the AbbVie Immunology Scholarship/Courtesy of AbbVie.

People with immunological disorders face multiple challenges in their lives related to their medical condition.

Since she was two years old, 20-year-old Baltimore native and current economics student at Spelman College in Atlanta Nia Phipps has dealt with the challenges of uveitis, an inflammation of the eye that can cause vision loss in patients if left untreated. Alongside the uveitis, she also had cataracts in both eyes, which compounded the vision challenges she has faced most of her life.

From an early age, Phipps' life was markedly different from other little girls. She spent significant time traveling back and forth from Baltimore to Boston to consult with her physician. She also spent time undergoing surgical procedures on her eyes.

My early life was doctors offices and multiple surgeries. That gives you such a different perspective on life, Phipps told BioSpace. Ive been living a completely different life from my friends. I can pull off a normal life but its not normal behind the scenes.

Despite these challenges, throughout her life Phipps, who dreams of addressing housing shortages at historic Black colleges like Spelman, has remained steadfast in a belief in herself, that she can overcome the obstacles from her chronic conditions. Although she wears eyeglasses that have lenses thick enough they make her eyes appear larger than normal, she has maintained a positive attitude and believes there are no limits to what she can do.

The same is true for incoming University of Kentucky freshman Lavery Hughes who recently graduated from Barren County High School in Kentucky. This past year, prior to her 18th birthday, Hughes fell drastically ill. She spent hours in the bathroom and lost approximately 30 pounds in a few months time. She was sent to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Tennessee where she was diagnosed with and treated for Crohns disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder.

Much like Phipps, Hughes was active in multiple academic and extracurricular programs, particularly those that offered insight into her passion, veterinary medicine. And, much like Phipps, her chronic condition is largely controlled by drugs such as those developed by Illinois-based AbbVie that allow her to continue to chase her dreams.

Ive now reached remission and I realized that all of my dreams are still within reach, Hughes said.

Not only will continued treatment with medications allow both young women to achieve the lofty goals they have set for themselves, so too will the $15,000 scholarships they both won from AbbVie. Phipps and Hughes are among 45 students who have received the AbbVie Immunology Scholarship, which provides financial support to students living with chronic, immune-mediated diseases who are pursuing higher education inthe United States. The scholarship aims to empower students as they pursue a degree and a life not defined by their diseases.

Patrick Horber, president of AbbVies U.S. immunology programs, noted that people who face chronic, immune-mediated diseases can sometimes find their symptoms difficult to manage, which impacts their quality of life. The scholarships support students who are making an impact in their communities and who have exemplified determination to overcome challenges.

As a trusted leader in immunology, AbbVie is proud to help support these students' academic journeys as they continue to take on inspiring challenges and pursue their ambitions to make a difference in their communities, Horber said in a statement.

Its that reputation with immune-mediated diseases that sparked Phipps decision to apply for the scholarship, something she did three times before winning it this year.

When people choose to understand whats going on with you, you reach out to them. Especially with eye disorders. For AbbVie to not only acknowledge it but also offer support to help you further shows me they want to see me go farther in life, she said.

College-age students who have diseases across dermatology, gastroenterology and rheumatology and are seeking an associates, bachelor's, master's or doctorate degree are eligible to apply for the AbbVie scholarship. There were more than 1,000 applicants for the AbbVie Immunology Scholarship this year. Although the scholarship is supported by AbbVie, the company notes on its application form that there is no requirement for applicants to have been prescribed a medication developed by the company for their inflammatory disease. To receive the scholarship, applicants are required to submit an essay describing how they have overcome any limitations of their disease.

Phipps wrote about her 18-year saga with uveitis and the multiple surgeries she has undergone. She also addressed the expense of treatment alongside the expense of higher education. Phipps also wrote about the need for greater advocacy for patients with inflammatory diseases and letting people know theyre not by themselves.

Hughes, who has not dealt with her inflammatory disease as long as Phipps has, found out about the scholarship from her doctors, who encouraged her to apply. In her essay, she shared that although people living with chronic diseases can have a type of disability, its an invisible one that can sometimes be dismissed. But, Hughes said that disability doesnt mean that people arent capable and it shouldnt stop anyone from achieving their dreams.

Both Phipps and Hughes described their lifes journey that, for both, remains unchanged by their disease. With a positive, can-do attitude, Phipps wont let her uveitis keep her down. She remains optimistic and determined to achieve her goals.

You have to smile in the face of adversity, she said.

Thats a sentiment she and Hughes both share.

Living with Crohns disease will not stop me from achieving all I want to achieve, Hughes said.

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AbbVie is Enabling Students Diagnosed with Immunological Diseases to Shine - BioSpace

Immunology

Fetal-placental antigens and the maternal immune system: Reproductive immunology comes of age – DocWire News

This article was originally published here

Immunol Rev. 2022 May 29. doi: 10.1111/imr.13090. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Reproductive physiology and immunology as scientific disciplines each have rich, largely independent histories. The physicians and philosophers of ancient Greece made remarkable observations and inferences to explain regeneration as well as illness and immunity. The scientific enlightenment of the renaissance and the technological advances of the past century have led to the explosion of knowledge that we are experiencing today. Breakthroughs in transplantation, immunology, and reproduction eventually culminated with Medawars discovery of acquired immunological tolerance, which helped to explain the transplantation success and failure. Medawars musings also keenly pointed out that the fetus apparently breaks these newly discovered rules, and with this, the field of reproductive immunology was launched. As a result of having stemmed from transplantation immunology, scientist still analogizes the fetus to a successful allograft. Although we now know of the fundamental differences between the two, this analogy remains a useful tool to understand how the fetus thrives despite its immunological disparity with the mother. Here, we review the history of reproductive immunology, and how major and minor histocompatibility antigens, blood group antigens, and tissue-specific self antigens from the fetus and transplanted organs parallel and differ.

PMID:35643905 | DOI:10.1111/imr.13090

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Fetal-placental antigens and the maternal immune system: Reproductive immunology comes of age - DocWire News

Immunology

Robert Schreiber: I think we are on the verge of seeing cancer as a chronic disease – EL PAS USA

This is a good time to be an immunologist, says Robert Schreiber, 76, a leading researcher in the interaction between the immune system and cancer who teaches at the Washington University School of Medicine. It is an exciting time: we are in the golden age of immunology and for immunotherapy against cancer, he says with a smile from the imposing Ramn y Cajal lecture hall of the University of Barcelona, where he is about to be awarded an honorary degree for his scientific contribution to the demonstration that the immune system can be a therapeutic tool against cancer.

These are good times for immunology research, but it wasnt always that way. When young people say to me, But wasnt this [that the immune system can help fight cancer] already known? I say, Let me tell you a story..., Schreiber laughs.

It was not easy putting the immune system at the center of the fight against cancer. Its potential role in combating tumors was an old idea dating back to the beginning of the 20th century that did not quite take hold; and it remained there, as a mere hypothesis, in the minds of a few researchers who didnt have the experimental momentum to really be able to nail what was going on, admits Schreiber. But years later, he and his team took up the idea again, which, based on small findings, culminated in the demonstration, in the early 2000s, of the rules of the game between the immune system and cancer: Schreiber postulated the theory of cancer immunoediting, the paradox that, although the immune system protects against tumor cells, it can also promote their development.

Their findings helped open the door to immunotherapy against tumors, the great therapeutic revolution of the last decade.

Question. If the immune system can protect against cancer, but can also favor its development, is it our ally or our enemy?

Answer. Were still trying to figure that out, actually. Its a process, and the first part of the process is if the immune system recognizes a tumor thats formed because there are abnormal proteins in the tumor, and every tumor has abnormal proteins, then theres a potential for the immune system to destroy those cells, leaving the normal cells behind. We call that elimination, and thats the first step in this process. But then what happens is if the tumor is heterogeneous, and many tumors are, then there are cells that dont express that same mutation and the immune system doesnt recognize it. And so by clearing out the ones that can be easily recognized, the immune system basically now makes a troop of really bad tumor cells, and they now grow.

Q. New cancer treatments emerge, they work, but then tumors always emerge that generate resistance. It is like an eternal race between cat and mouse.

A. Thats why very few of us will ever use the word cure when were talking about immune responses to cancer or cure with respect to any response to cancer. And so it is a cat and mouse game, and it starts naturally just as cancers arise: the immune system that we all have, and its very personalized to each of us, can see some of those cells and get rid of them. Whats left over if they now start to grow? What happens if you use immunotherapy instead of just using the natural immune response? There are big drugs now that are showing remarkable effects on maybe 20% of the patients. If its melanoma, its 80% of the patients, but many of these cancers are only 20% responsive. So now you come in with another treatment, maybe even radiation. Radiation can make new mutations in a tumor and give the immune system another opportunity to kill. So they get rid of those. But now you have other ones coming up. And so we dont know if this is going to be years and years and years of treatment with different combinations of therapies. Many feel that what is attainable for us now is to make cancer a chronic disease like diabetes.

Q. What happens in tumors such as breast or pancreatic cancer, where immunotherapy does not work, and what differentiates these neoplasms from lung cancer or melanoma, where it does work better?

A. Were trying to figure this question out. Some people felt that it was simply the number of mutations that a particular cancer has. And so melanoma, because its caused by UV light, gives many mutations. And so youll often see melanomas with 1000 mutations, pancreatic cancer is much lower. Its about 24 to 30 mutations. But we consider that these tumors are little universes in themselves and they not only contain the tumor cells, but they contain many other cells. And one of the things about pancreatic cancer is they have a very high level of myeloid cells in them and they make a desmoplastic. Theyre like little rocks and so the T cells that would be doing the effector function and killing off the pancreatic cancer have a very difficult time getting into there. And once they get in there, they meet up with these immunosuppressive myeloid cells, and that makes them even worse.

Q. Will immunotherapy eventually take the place of other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy?

A. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, things like that work very differently than immunotherapy, although theres a feeling that even in those kinds of nonimmunologic therapies, theres an immune component. So you treat with radiation, you make new antigens. The immune system now sees those and they can facilitate destruction. We think that ultimately having the ability of making different combinations is going to be necessary and we need the guidelines to figure out what the criteria are to use radiation therapy plus immunotherapy or just immunotherapy alone, and so on.

Q. What more needs to be discovered about the immune system?

A. Compared to where we were 20 years ago, we know so much more now than we did then. We still need to learn many things about how the immune system works and how we can target certain things in the immune system to either get them to work better or to block something that is inhibiting. The big question right now is this idea of having strong, focused research in immune tumor interactions and ultimately immunotherapy and then translating those findings that we often get from experimental animals and then into humans and seeing how they work and how do we logically pick the kinds of therapy that we would treat a patient with. Were in a revolution. We have now several things that are working somewhat. But we need to figure out how to make them work consistently in all patients.

Q. How is cancer vaccine research doing?

A. We were one of the first laboratories to show that if you sequence a tumor and you identify the mutations and you predict which of those mutations are good antigens for T cells, that you could make a vaccine and vaccinate a tumor-bearing animal and have them reject their tumor. And that has been taken into the clinic. And there are several groups now all over the world that are trying to do this. But we showed this with vaccines that were made with peptides that included the mutation that we were targeting. There were ten to 20 in the patient. The problem was that these were highly personalized vaccines. So the only person in the world that would benefit from this vaccine was that one person that we sequenced.

Big Pharma hates this idea because they dont like personalized. They want off the shelf. So one argument that gets around us a little bit is, as were now many groups doing more and more sequencing, what were finding is that suddenly were coming up with mutations that are seen in more than one patient. Steve Rosenbergs group, for example, has found that the KRAS gene, which is in 20% of human tumors, mutated, can be an antigen that could be used in a vaccine for many people. I think the only kind of vaccine that drug companies will be most excited about will be the vaccines that target common mutations in tumors.

Q. Realistically, will we see cancer disappear or rather see it become a chronic disease?

A. I think we are on the verge of seeing cancer as a chronic disease, although we lump everything into one big term of cancer, and there are so many differences...But I would say certainly for some kinds of cancer, were getting closer to making it a chronic disease. Every once in a while, you see these patients whose cancers never return. And its fantastic. But whether or not that is going to be the I think we have much more to learn before we can actually say we can cure it.

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Robert Schreiber: I think we are on the verge of seeing cancer as a chronic disease - EL PAS USA

Immunology

New nanoparticles may pave the way for development of clinical sepsis therapy – News-Medical.Net

Sepsis, the body's overreaction to an infection, affects more than 1.5 million people and kills at least 270,000 every year in the U.S. alone. The standard treatment of antibiotics and fluids is not effective for many patients, and those who survive face a higher risk of death.

In new research published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology today, the lab of Shaoqin "Sarah" Gong, a professor with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of WisconsinMadison, reported a new nanoparticle-based treatment that delivers anti-inflammatory molecules and antibiotics.

The new system saved the lives of mice with an induced version of sepsis meant to serve as a model for human infections, and is a promising proof-of-concept for a potential new therapy, pending additional research.

The new nanoparticles delivered the chemical NAD+ or its reduced form NAD(H), a molecule that has an essential role in the biological processes that generate energy, preserve genetic material and help cells adapt to and overcome stress. While NAD(H) is well known for its anti-inflammatory function, clinical application has been hindered because NAD(H) cannot be taken up by cells directly.

"To enable clinical translation, we need to find a way to efficiently deliver NAD(H) to the targeted organs or cells. To achieve this goal, we designed a couple of nanoparticles that can directly transport and release NAD(H) into the cell, while preventing premature drug release and degradation in the bloodstream," says Gong, who also holds appointments in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

The interdisciplinary work was led by Gong along with Mingzhou Ye and Yi Zhao, two postdoctoral fellows in the Gong lab. John-Demian Sauer, a professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, also collaborated on the project.

Sepsis can be deadly in two phases. First, an infection begins in the body. The immune system responds by creating drastic inflammation that impairs blood flow and forms blood clots, which can cause tissue death and trigger a chain reaction leading to organ failure. Afterward, the body overcorrects itself by suppressing the immune system, which in turn increases infection susceptibility. Controlling complications caused by inflammation is vital in sepsis therapy.

The lipid-coated calcium phosphate or metal-organic framework nanoparticles designed by the Gong lab can be used to co-deliver NAD(H) and antibiotics. Gong's lab tested the NAD(H)-loaded nanoparticles in multiple mouse models including endotoxemia, multidrug-resistant pathogen-induced polymicrobial bacteremia, as well as a puncture-induced sepsis model with secondary infection by a common illness-causing bacteria called P. aeruginosa.

The nanoparticle treatment performed much better than using NAD(H) alone. For instance, in an endotoxemia mouse model, mice without any treatment or treated with free NAD(H) died within two days. In contrast, mice treated with NAD(H)-loaded nanoparticles all survived. These animal studies demonstrated that the NAD(H) nanoparticles can help maintain a healthy immune system, support blood vessel function and prevent multiorgan injury.

This technology may pave the road for the development of a new clinical therapy for sepsis that could also be applied in other inflammation-related scenarios, such as COVID-19 treatment. An additional benefit of this therapy is the ability to treat infection with lower amounts of antibiotics, which reduces their overuse. Further research in larger animal models will be necessary before clinical trials in people could begin.

The NAD(H) nanoparticles have the potential to treat many other diseases because NAD(H) is involved with so many biological pathways. There is strong evidence for the use of NAD(H) as an intervention or aid in critical illnesses."

Shaoqin "Sarah" Gong, Professor, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of WisconsinMadison

Source:

Journal reference:

Ye, M., et al. (2022) NAD(H)-loaded nanoparticles for efficient sepsis therapy via modulating immune and vascular homeostasis. Nature Nanotechnology. doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01137-w.

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New nanoparticles may pave the way for development of clinical sepsis therapy - News-Medical.Net

Immunology

Immune Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Expansion of its Board of Directors – StreetInsider.com

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ORLANDO, Fla, June 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immune Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC:BB IMUN), a specialty pharmaceutical company involved in the development, commercialization, distribution and marketing of novel, patented therapies to combat chronic, life-threatening diseases through the activation and modulation of the bodys immune system, today announced that it will expand its Board of Directors from two to five members.

Joining the Board effective May 31st, 2022, will be Dr. Stephen Wilson, Dr. Clifford Selsky, and Mr. Robert Wilson who were appointed for interim terms until such time as an annual meeting of shareholders can be organized to provide a formal vote on the candidates.

Dr. Stephen Wilson. Dr. Wilson is a trained immunologist with more than 25 years of experience in biomedical research and executive management. He is the Chief Innovation Officer of Statera Biopharma, Inc. and an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Diego. Prior, he served as Chief Operating Officer at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology; during his tenure the Institute grew from $14M in annual R&D to become a global leader in immunology research with nearly $1B in total operations as well as ranked #1 place to work in the world by The Scientist magazine. His original research has been published in high impact journals, and he has served as principal or co-principal investigator on more than $75M in competitive grants and awards, most recently developing the 2021 X-Prize winning rapid CoVID-19 diagnostic test. Dr. Wilson has served as an advisor to elite medical research organizations, served on national boards and is a founding scientist and board member of Invivoscribe Technologies, Inc., a leading molecular diagnostics and oncology therapeutics company. Dr. Wilson earned his doctorate from the University of Arizonas College of Medicine in Immunology, and was a fellow of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Selsky has been a practicing pediatrician in Central Florida for the past twenty years. He is the founder of the Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Disease at Florida Hospital cancer institute, which he established after training in pediatrics at Yale New Haven hospital and completing a pediatric hematology and oncology fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Selsky is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric hematology and oncology and Palliative medicine. Currently, he is a pediatrician at Family First Pediatrics which he established in 2013.

Also, an accomplished scientist, Dr. Selsky obtained his PH.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He then did DNA repair research studies at the radiobiology laboratory at Harvard School of Public Health and the biophysics laboratory at Stanford University.

Mr. Wilson has spent more than 25 years building and launching companies. As a business strategist, retail marketer and content developer, Robert is experienced is assessing business situations, conducting research, creating strategic plans, recommending solutions to management, monitoring competitors, and measuring the results of marketing strategies. Robert has been involved in securing more than $150 million in early round and angel funding, developing launch and pivot strategies, and identifying growth opportunities for more than two dozen public companies ranging from the energy sector and electric vehicles to healthcare and lifestyle brands.

Note: Dr. Stephen Wilson and Mr. Robert Wilson are not related.

Kevin Phelps, CEO commented; We are pleased to welcome our new members to the Board. The Company is at an inflection point in development of its strategy and the experience and skills of these individuals will be invaluable moving forward. We are fortunate to be able to attract such talent.

Terms under which the Board Members will be compensated have not been finalized, but new members have requested deferment of their compensation until the Company has attained strategic funding and operational objectives.

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Immune Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Expansion of its Board of Directors - StreetInsider.com

Immunology

Asthma and Allergic Airway Diseases Are the Focus of World Allergy Week 2022 – 69News WFMZ-TV

World Allergy Organization emphasizes integrated care of asthma and airway allergies

MILWAUKEE, June 5, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- World Allergy Organization (WAO), serving its membership of professional allergy/immunology societies around the world, launches World Allergy Week, from June 5 to 11. The most common chronic diseases in humans are allergic airway diseases of the respiratory system.

"Allergies and asthma often occur together. Upper airway diseases may worsen asthma. It is essential to diagnose and treat them together," according to Yoon-Seok Chang, MD, PhD, of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea, who is Chair of World Allergy Week 2022.

Research reports up to 38% of asthma cases in patients with allergic rhinitis. Nasal symptoms present in patients with asthma can be as high as 85%. Asthma affects over 350 million people worldwide, and allergic rhinitis affects between 10% and 50% of the population, depending on geographic location. Other allergic airway diseases include chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic cough, eosinophilic bronchitis, and allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM).

"House dust mites, molds, and pollens, and other airborne allergens which enter the body through the nose, can trigger inflammation in more than one part of the airways," according to Motohiro Ebisawa, MD, PhD, Sagamihara National Hospital, Sagamihara, Japan, who is President of WAO.

Persons with sensitivity to these triggers can experience an allergic reaction with symptoms such as breathing difficulty, wheezing, coughing, and phlegm. Both asthma and allergic rhinitis affect sleep, ability to concentrate, school or work performance, social life, recreation and sports, and other aspects of quality of life.

Presentations by international experts during a complimentary webinar will describe the similar inflammation process that asthma allergic airway diseases have. They will also discuss the latest treatments and management approaches that, along with avoidance of triggers, can help patients breathe better and lead a normal life. Special topics also will include biodiversity, global issues, and unmet needs regarding allergic airway diseases.

WAO will host the webinar, "Breathe Better: The Asthma and Allergy Connection", on June 9, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. EDT (New York) with a live question-and-answer session. Click here to search for your corresponding local time: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter-classic.html.

Find more details about the WAO webinar at: http://www.worldallergyweek.org.

To find a professional allergy/immunology member society of WAO in your country or region, visit http://www.worldallergy.org/about-wao/member-societies.

References:

Broek J et al, Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines 2016 revision, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2017, Vol 140, Issue 4, pp 950-058.

EAACI Global Atlas of Asthma 2021 update, European Academy of Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology

Nunes C et al, "Asthma costs and social impact", Asthma Research and Practice 2017, Vol 3, Article 1.

WAO White Book on Allergy, Update 2013, World Allergy Organization

__________

About the World Allergy Organization

The World Allergy Organization (WAO) is an international alliance of 108 regional and national allergy, asthma and immunology societies. Through collaboration with its Member Societies WAO provides a wide range of educational and outreach programs, symposia, and lectureships to allergists/immunologists around the world and conducts initiatives related to clinical practice, service provision, and training in order to understand and address the challenges facing allergists/immunologists worldwide. (http://www.worldallergy.org)

Media Contact

Sofia Dorsano, CAE, World Allergy Organization, 414-276-1791, sdorsano@worldallergy.org

SOURCE World Allergy Organization

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Asthma and Allergic Airway Diseases Are the Focus of World Allergy Week 2022 - 69News WFMZ-TV

Immunology

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals to Host Third Webinar in A KOL Series: Dialogues With International Thought Leaders in Dermatology’ – Marketscreener.com

MENLO PARK, Calif. and SINGAPORE, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ASLAN Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ASLN), a clinical-stage, immunology-focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients, today announced that it will host the third and final webinar in its series of Key Opinion Leader (KOL) events on the emerging atopic dermatitis (AD) landscape and eblasakimab (ASLAN004) on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at 10:00am ET.

Dr Peter A Lio, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Northwestern University, will be the third KOL to speak at ASLANs A4 webinar series: Aspects of Atopic Dermatitis and ASLAN004. The webinar will feature a presentation by Dr Lio on the limitations of the current treatment landscape in AD and the resulting unmet medical needs.

Dr Lio will highlight patient journeys to illustrate the potential of novel treatments in patients who do not respond optimally to current standards of care and will discuss comorbidities experienced by patients with Type 2 inflammation. Dr Lio has published over 150 peer-reviewed publications on AD and is a Director of the Board for the National Eczema Association, Americas largest non-profit organization for patients with AD.

Dr Carl Firth, CEO, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, will share new insights from recent market research in AD and provide an overview of eblasakimab(ASLAN004) - a novel, first-in-class monoclonal antibody in phase 2b clinical development for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD.Eblasakimabtargets the IL-13 receptor 1 subunit (IL-13R1), one of the components of the Type 2 receptor. By blocking the Type 2 receptor,eblasakimabprevents signaling through both interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 13 (IL-13) - the key drivers of inflammation and itch in AD. The unique mechanism of action has the potential to deliver a differentiated safety and efficacy profile, as well as an improved dosing regimen.

A fireside chat will follow Dr Lios presentation which will focus on how new entrants may be positioned alongside existing therapies to address the unmet needs of AD patients. A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations.

How to Register

To register for this webinar, please click here. A replay of the event will be available on ASLAN Pharmaceuticals Investor Relations website.

About the featured KOL

Dr Peter A Lio, MD, is Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine and is Director of the Northwestern University Eczema Care and Education Center.

Dr Lio obtained his medical degree from Harvard Medical School where he completed his dermatology training and served as Chief Resident in Dermatology. Dr Lio completed his internship in Pediatrics at Boston Childrens Hospital. Dr Lio served as a full-time faculty at Harvard for three years, stationed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Childrens Hospital, before joining Northwestern and Lurie Childrens hospital.

Currently, Dr Lio serves as a board member and scientific advisory committee member for the National Eczema Association, is a member of the American Academy of Dermatologys Atopic Dermatitis Expert Resource Group and is a founding faculty member of the Integrative Dermatology Program, a training course for Board Certified dermatologists seeking to expand an integrative treatment approach into their practice outside of what is taught in conventional medical schools.

Dr Lio has spoken nationally and internationally on atopic dermatitis and integrative medicine and remains active in clinical research. He serves as a section editor for the Archives of Diseases in Childhood and has published two textbooks and over 150 publications in peer-reviewed literature, receiving a Leader of Distinction Award, a Presidential Citation from the American Academy of Dermatology, and numerous teaching awards.

About ASLANs A4 (Aspects of Atopic Dermatitis and ASLAN004) webinar series

ASLANs A4 webinar series: Dialogues with International Thought Leaders in Dermatology is a series of Key Opinion Leader (KOL) events on the emerging Atopic Dermatitis (AD) landscape and ASLAN004. The first episode of the series held October 2021 featured Dr Jonathan Silverberg MD, PhD, MPH, who discussed Heterogeneity of Atopic Dermatitis, and was followed by an episode featuring Dr April Armstrong, MD MPH, who discussed Key factors Impacting Responses in Atopic Dermatitis Clinical Trials. A replay of the first webinar can be accessed here and the replay for the second episode can be accessed here.

About ASLAN PharmaceuticalsASLAN Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ASLN) is a clinical-stage, immunology-focused biopharmaceutical company developing innovative treatments to transform the lives of patients. ASLAN is currently evaluating eblasakimab, a potential first-in-class antibody targeting the IL-13 receptor, in atopic dermatitis, and farudodstat (also known as ASLAN003), a potent oral inhibitor of the enzyme, DHODH, in autoimmune disease. ASLAN has a team in Menlo Park, California, and in Singapore. For additional information please visit http://www.aslanpharma.com or follow ASLAN on LinkedIn.

Media and IR contacts

2022 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source Press Releases

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ASLAN Pharmaceuticals to Host Third Webinar in A KOL Series: Dialogues With International Thought Leaders in Dermatology' - Marketscreener.com

Immunology

Luke O’Neill: Why the flu shot is more important than ever – Newstalk

Getting the flu shot is more important than ever this year, as people have not been exposed to it due to COVID-19.

That's according to Luke O'Neill, professor of biochemistry at the School of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin.

Prof O'Neill, who's currently lecturing at the Norwegian Immunology Summer School, told Pat Kenny this is on the back of large outbreaks in Australia.

"The Australians are noticing a huge increase in flu - it's the winter there.

"There's a 10-fold increase in flu in Australia compared to last year.

"Will we get it in Ireland, is one question, and it's happening for definite.

"It seems to be because, of course, having been in isolation for two years - if you like - people are back out in the open again [and] they're picking up flu.

"And now it's becoming more severe in people."

He says the flu shot has been proven to work in the past.

"There's a 63% increase in flu week-on-week in New South Wales at the moment.

"What this means is get the flu shot, that's going to be the big watch, because the flu shots really work.

"So again as we move into the autumn in Ireland, like every year, the flu shot is recommended.

"But now more than ever it's important to have it, because people wouldn't have been exposed to flu in the past couple of years".

Meanwhile, a new major study has found that any combination of coronavirus vaccines boost immunity.

The research involved some 100 million people who were analysed across 53 studies.

Prof O'Neill says the results were clear.

"The question is should you mix and match - for example, should you have three shots or two?

"And the evidence is compelling: three jabs are fantastically effective - 96% decrease risk of death and severe disease.

"Any combination works, [which] is the important thing.

"You can take one vaccine in three doses, or you can mix and match, and they all give the same effectiveness really.

"And that's important - of course - if we go to a fourth shot.

"Any fourth shot as a booster should work very well, so it's really important data".

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Luke O'Neill: Why the flu shot is more important than ever - Newstalk

Immunology

Asymptomatic COVID-19 during pregnancy could have potential long-term consequences for the baby – News-Medical.Net

According to a new University of Kentucky College of Medicine study, asymptomatic COVID-19 infection during pregnancy could still have potential long-term consequences for a developing baby.

The study led by Ilhem Messoudi, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, was published in Cell Reports May 25.

The research shows that COVID-19 infection in pregnant mothers who were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms still triggered immune responses causing inflammation in the placenta.

Prior to this study, this response was only thought to occur in severe COVID-19 cases. We now know that even a mild infection that doesn't even register with a patient is still being registered by the maternal immune system. The placenta had very clear signs of having sensed that there was an infection."

Ilhem Messoudi, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics

Because the placenta protects a developing fetus from many pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, transmission of the virus between mother and baby is extremely rare, but the greatest risk for a fetus is how the mother's immune system responds to the virus.

Immune responses triggering inflammation of the placenta can be linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm labor and preeclampsia, as well as neonatal complications due to reduced immune function of the baby, Messaoudi says.

Using single-cell RNA-sequencing and multicolor flow cytometry, Messaoudi's team analyzed immune cells in placenta tissue and blood from pregnant mothers who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 prior to delivery. Samples from women with asymptomatic/mild COVID-19 were then compared to those without infection.

Results show that while patients testing positive had activated T-cells, they had reduced levels of specialized macrophage cells that regulate the tissue. The immune cells in the placenta were "rewired" in a way that made the tissue more prone to inflammation.

The findings add to scientists' growing understanding of the maternal immune system and SARS-CoV-2 and will help lead to future studies on potential long-term impacts for mothers and babies.

"This tells us how capable the maternal immune system is while at the same time shows how detrimental COVID-19 can be even when the infection is not severe," Messaoudi said. "These are all reasons why it's so important that pregnant mothers get vaccinated."

Source:

Journal reference:

Sureshchandra, S., et al. (2022) Single cell RNA sequencing reveals immunological rewiring at the maternal-fetal interface following asymptomatic/mild SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cell Reports. doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110938.

Link:
Asymptomatic COVID-19 during pregnancy could have potential long-term consequences for the baby - News-Medical.Net