Exposure to Abuse, Violence Leaves an Immune Signature
Trauma leaves marks on the body, as well as the mind. UCSF scientists have identified an immune signature to indicate which patients will respond best to therapy.
University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFTrauma leaves marks on the body, as well as the mind. UCSF scientists have identified an immune signature to indicate which patients will respond best to therapy.
Most patients on immunosuppressive drugs for chronic inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease, can still produce antibodies after receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, researchers at UCSF and Washington University have concluded.
We spoke to UCSF virologist Nadia Roan, PhD, about the latest developments in our knowledge of the Delta variant, including how the new variant spreads so efficiently, whether it causes more serious illness, and why she thinks vaccines will hold the line.
Working in mice, UCSF researchers have found that a recently discovered subset of cells in the immune system may prevent the mother’s immune system from attacking the placenta and fetus.
A UCSF study has found that the antibiotic azithromycin was no more effective than a placebo in preventing symptoms of COVID-19 among non-hospitalized patients, and may increase their chance of hospitalization, despite widespread prescription of the antibiotic for the disease.
Messenger RNA vaccines against COVID-19 were not detected in human milk, according to a small study by UCSF, providing early evidence that the vaccine mRNA is not transferred to the infant.
A study by UCSF researchers found that about one in four unvaccinated people aged 18 to 25 said that they “probably will not” or “definitely will not” get the COVID-19 vaccination.
Plenty of probiotic yogurts, pickles and kombuchas claim to boost our digestive health with armies of microbes, but some scientists have more ambitious therapeutic plans for the “bugs” that colonize us. They hope to leverage these microbes as living therapeutics for a range of health conditions, including ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, eczema and asthma.
T cells – immune cells that patrol our bodies in search of trouble – have become a central focus for UC San Francisco scientists working on living cell therapies, an approach that views cells
The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant—also known as Alpha—may be more infectious because it contains mutations that make it better adapted to foil the innate immune system, at least for long enough to allow the virus to replicate and potentially find new hosts, according to a new study.
Hidden autoimmunity may explain how the coronavirus wreaks such widespread and unpredictable harm.
Leading scientists share some of the tools and strategies that could help us better confront and contain future outbreaks.
Scientists now have shown that the weakening of an astronaut’s immune system during space travel is likely due in part to abnormal activation of immune cells called T regulator cells.
Over the past four decades, UCSF has led the way in its heroic response to the AIDS epidemic, both locally and globally. This timeline covers some of the highlights at UCSF, in the nation and around the world after a mysterious disease affecting gay men was first reported on June 5, 1981.
A multifaceted collaboration between researchers at UCSF, Gladstone Institutes, and other organizations across California provides a comprehensive portrait of the variant—including its interaction with the immune system and its potential to spread.
Scientists at UCSF are learning how immune cells naturally clear the body of defunct – or senescent – cells that contribute to aging and many chronic diseases
Researchers at UCSF have demonstrated how to engineer smart immune cells that are effective against solid tumors, opening the door to treating a variety of cancers that have long been untouchable with immunotherapies.
Scientists at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and UCLA have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to jointly launch an early phase, first-in-human clinical trial of a CRISPR gene correction therapy in patients with sickle cell disease using the patient’s own blood-forming stem cells.
We asked UCSF infectious disease expert Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, to unpack some of the big questions around vaccine science, such as how the Johnson & Johnson vaccine differs, how well it works against the new variants, and whether you should be worried about transmitting the virus after vaccination.