Exevir Bio BV has been awarded a 2-year R&D grant of €1.6 million by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) for preclinical research towards prophylactic and therapeutic solutions for dengue.
Blue Water Biotech Inc. has released preliminary preclinical data supporting the use of its norovirus shell and protrusion (S&P) virus-like particle (VLP) platform to develop a novel mpox vaccine candidate.
A single low-dose injection with anti-DLL4 in a nonhuman primate model of acute graft-vs.-host disease (aGVHD) dramatically improved post-transplant survival, providing durable protection from otherwise lethal gastrointestinal GVHD, researchers reported in the June 28, 2023, issue of Science Translational Medicine. Blocking DLL4 specifically increased the migration of beneficial regulatory T cells into the intestines, with concomitant reduction in effector T cells, which are the main culprits in aGVHD. Ultimately, these activities effectively provided protection against T-cell-mediated damage in a nonhuman macaque primate model.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is and remains “a problem in the immune system” Stephen Sawcer told BioWorld. As in other autoimmune diseases, a faulty immune system attacks otherwise healthy tissues that it should be leaving alone. In the case of MS, the tissue in question is oligodendrocytes. And a study published online in Nature on June 28, 2023, suggests that while MS’ beginnings are autoimmune, the path it takes in an individual patient is determined in part by how well the brain can cope with the autoimmune attack.
SARS-CoV-2 and influenza (flu) viruses share similar clinical manifestations, common transmission mechanisms and target tissues, often overlapping during seasonal outbreaks. In addition, co-infection of these viruses worsens disease severity, emphasizing the pressing need for a vaccine that effectively tackles both.
TFF Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been awarded a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to continue development of a novel, mucosal, multivariant influenza vaccine using the company’s thin film freezing (TFF) technology.
Mozart Therapeutics Inc. has reported preclinical pharmacologic and tolerability data for MTX-101, a bispecific CD8 regulatory T-cell (Treg) modulator targeting inhibitory KIR2DL(1/2/3) and CD8 expressed on CD8 Tregs. The autoimmune checkpoint inhibitor aims to restore CD8 Treg function, acting early in the autoimmune disease process to halt downstream inflammation and prevent further complication. The initial therapeutic focus for MTX-101 is gastrointestinal autoimmune disorders.
Interactions between the gut microbiome and immune system influence cancer immune surveillance, though the mechanism through which these gut-primed immune cells regulate peripheral antitumor immune response is not well understood. Now, two recent studies in Science and Science Immunology using mouse models and human tissue samples have highlighted a group of intestinal T cells with the gut-homing α4β7 integrin receptors that play a critical role in mediating response to immune checkpoint blockade cancer immunotherapy.