inflammasome tagged posts

Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have identified how the first domino falls after a person encounters an allergen, such as peanuts, shellfish, pollen or dustmites. Their discovery, published in the April issue of Nature Immunology, could herald the development of drugs to prevent these severe reactions.

It is well established that when mast cells, a type of immune cell, mistake a harmless substance, such as peanuts or dust mites, as a threat, they release an immediate first wave of bioactive chemicals against the perceived threat...

Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Singapore have discovered a new intracellular “smoke detector.” The sensor warns of damage to the mitochondria. If it does not function properly, chronic skin diseases can result. The sensor may also be important for unimpaired heart and bowel function. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Immunology.

Every cell in the body has numerous sensors that monitor its function...

Compared with a control (left), treatment with a miR-223 mimetic (right) reduces inflammation in mouse intestine. Credit: Neudecker et al., 2017

An international team has discovered that a microRNA produced by certain white blood cells can prevent excessive inflammation in the intestine. The study, “Myeloid-derived miR-223 regulates intestinal inflammation via repression of the NLRP3 inflammasome,” shows that synthetic versions of this microRNA can reduce intestinal inflammation in mice and suggests a new therapeutic approach to treating patients with Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects almost 2 million people in the US...

A mouse’s fat cells (red) are shown surrounded by a network of blood vessels (green). Source: Daniela Malide, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health

UC SF scientists have found a surprising new avenue for potential therapies to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders associated with chronic tissue inflammation in obesity. Inflammation in obesity may be caused, at least in part, by a completely different mechanism from the one that controls normal immune responses. The research shows saturated fats “short-circuit” both mouse and human immune cells, producing an inappropriate inflammatory response as a consequence...