Across most of the Northeast, getting bitten by a blacklegged tick-- also called a deer tick -- is a risk during spring, summer, and fall. A new Dartmouth study, published in Parasites and Vectors, finds that 50% of adult blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease while 20% to 25% of the younger (nymph) blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria.
Read more …In the Northeast, 50% of adult ticks carry Lyme disease carrying bacteria
A group of immune proteins called the inflammasome can help prevent blood stem cells from becoming malignant by removing certain receptors from their surfaces and blocking cancer gene activity, according to a preclinical study.
Read more …Immune complex shaves stem cells to protect against cancer
Researchers have improved our understanding of how rotavirus, the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in children, makes people sick. The study is among the first to show that the rotavirus protein NSP4 is both necessary and sufficient for multiple aspects of rotavirus infection by disrupting calcium signaling not only within infected cells but also in nearby uninfected cells. These disruptions in calcium signaling affect rotavirus disease severity, providing new insights into how NSP4's function influences rotavirus virulence. The findings suggest that manipulating NSP4 could lead to new strategies to prevent or treat rotavirus infections.
Read more …Rotavirus protein NSP4 manipulates gastrointestinal disease severity
Neuroscientists have identified that the receptor IL-1R1 plays a critical role in enabling neurons to directly communicate with the immune system. The new study provides the most detailed mapping of neuronal IL-1R1 (nIL-1R1) expression in the mouse brain, clarifying prior inconsistencies. Researchers were able to tag neuronal populations that express nIL-1R1 using a clever cell tagging approach, offering new insights into the functional roles of this receptor in the central nervous system (CNS).
Read more …'Ding-dong:' A study finds specific neurons with an immune doorbell