immune system tagged posts

Immune cells (or gd T cells) swarm around fat cells (adipocytes) in fat tissue to regulate their lipid burning vs storage. Credit: Lydia Lynch, Trinity College Dublin

Scientists have just made a surprising discovery involving fat and special immune cells that live within it – it turns out that ‘gd T cells’ are the key cogs in the biological wheel that regulates our body heat and protects us against cold shock. The discovery thus reveals a peculiar and previously unknown aspect of the immune system – as well as driving our response to infection, it also plays a role in regulating our metabolism. In addition, this discovery has put the spotlight on a potential new target for therapies designed to help individuals either lose or gain weight.

There are two quite distinct types of fat – white a...

The efficacy of ( )-Naltrexone on alcohol preference and seeking behaviour is dependent on light-cycle. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2017.08.021

Researchers from the University of Adelaide have found a new link between the brain’s immune system and the desire to drink alcohol in the evening. In laboratory studies using mice, researchers have been able to switch off the impulse to drink alcohol by giving mice a drug that blocks a specific response from the immune system in the brain. Now published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, this research is one of the first of its kind to show a link between the brain’s immunity and the motivation to drink alcohol at night.

“Alcohol is the world’s most commonly consumed drug, and there is a greater need than ever...

Naturally occurring omega-3–derived endocannabinoid epoxides are formed via enzymatic oxidation of omega-3 endocannabinoids by cytP450s. The epoxides are anti-inflammatory and vasodilatory and reciprocally modulate platelet aggregation

A new study in animal tissue reveals the cascade of chemical reactions that convert omega-3 fatty acids into cannabinoids that have anti-inflammatory benefits – but without the psychotropic high. Foods such as meat, eggs, fish and nuts contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which the body converts into endocannabinoids – cannabinoids that the body produces naturally, said Aditi Das, a University of Illinois professor of comparative biosciences and biochemistry...

Twenty-four h post-exposure change of heart rate variability (HRV) associated with PM2.5, and the intervention effect of B vitamin supplementation.

B vitamins can mitigate the impact of fine particle pollution on cardiovascular disease, according to new research at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Healthy non-smokers who took vitamin B supplements nearly reversed any negative effects on their cardiovascular and immune systems, weakening the effects of air pollution on heart rate by 150%, total white blood count by 139%, and lymphocyte count by 106%.

The study initiates a course of research for developing preventive pharmacological interventions using B vitamins to contain the health effects of air pollution...