Immune evasion is a biological process by which pathogens, tumor cells, or other aberrant cells avoid detection, recognition, or elimination by the host immune system, thereby promoting persistence and proliferation. Mechanisms include antigenic variation, downregulation or loss of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, expression of immune checkpoint ligands (e.g., PD-L1), secretion of immunosuppressive cytokines, induction of regulatory T cells or myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and shielding of antigens within biofilms or physical barriers. This process critically influences infection chronicity, tumor progression, vaccine efficacy, and the outcome of host–pathogen or host–tumor coevolution.
Certain types of biochemical processes can impair the immune system's ability to recognize and kill cancer cells. Purdue University's W. Andy Tao and his associates have developed a new way to study these processes. They ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 18, 2025
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130
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified more than 200 strategies used by bacteria to avoid viral infection. Their findings, published in Cell Host & Microbe, shed light on a microbial "arms race" that ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 11, 2025
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94
New research, published in The Journal of Immunology, discovered that a parasitic worm suppresses neurons in the skin to evade detection. The researchers suggest that the worm likely evolved this mechanism to enhance its ...
Evolution
Aug 11, 2025
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17
To our immune system, naked RNA is a sign of a viral or bacterial invasion and must be attacked. But our own cells also have RNA. To ward off trouble, our cells clothe their RNA in sugars, Vijay Rathinam and colleagues at ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 9, 2025
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164
In fighting chronic infections or certain cancers, CD8+ T cells—the immune system's frontline soldiers—eventually become exhausted. They lose effectiveness and respond less efficiently to threats. This weakening is a major ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 24, 2025
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21
Washington State University researchers have discovered how the bacteria that cause anaplasmosis and Lyme disease hijack cellular processes in ticks to ensure their survival and spread to new hosts, including humans.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 30, 2025
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40
A study led by a global research consortium offers new hope for patients with mycetoma, a neglected tropical disease. Researchers using an insect model and transcriptome analysis have unraveled the mechanism of iron regulation ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 25, 2025
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70
The H5N1 avian influenza virus has infected birds and mammals around the world. As of June 2025, 70 people have been infected, and one person has died in the United States. A new analysis suggests that the virus is evolving ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 21, 2025
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104
A study to look at why long-lived bats do not get cancer has broken new ground about the biological defenses that resist the disease.
Plants & Animals
Jun 9, 2025
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172
Our immune system is designed to protect us by recognizing and attacking infected or abnormal cells. However, cancer cells often manage to "cheat" the immune system by pretending to be healthy cells and thus disabling immune ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 4, 2025
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51
