Two studies published on February 1 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine reveal that patients with a rare autoimmune disease produce antibodies that attack microbe-fighting immune proteins called cytokines. These findings may help in explaining the reasons of some patients catching yeast infections recurrently. Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome, or APS-I, afflicts one in 100,000 people and is characterized by disrupted thyroid and adrenal gland function and recurrent skin infections with one type of yeast.

Scientists at Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in Texas claimed to have developed the BoNT-detecting substances or the antibodies – proteins made by the body to fight diseases – found in llamas. The llama antibodies, called single domain antibodies (sdAb) are molecularly flexible, unlike conventional antibodies, ScienceDaily reported. BoNTs directly hit the nervous system, resulting in paralysis that can be so severe as to require life support on a mechanical ventilator for weeks to months.

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Genentech, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab) for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist therapies. ACTEMRA is the first interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody approved to treat RA, and may be used alone or in combination with methotrexate or other disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

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AnaSpec has introduced the industry’s most comprehensive collection of anti-MMP zebrafish (Z-Fish(TM)) specific antibodies. AnaSpec’s existing portfolio of MMP research products includes SensoLyte(R) MMP assay kits, GO(TM) (catalog) MMP peptides, and MMP recombinant proteins products. The new MMP products include a wide selection of Z-Fish(TM) as well as human-specific MMP antibodies. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are members of a family of secreted or membrane-associated zinc endopeptidases involved in both normal and diseased tissue remodeling.

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PDL BioPharma, Inc. has announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company under PDL’s Queen et al patents with respect to teplizumab, a humanized anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody, as well as other potential next generation anti-CD3 molecules. Teplizumab is currently being studied by Lilly and its partner MacroGenics for the treatment of individuals with newly-diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus. No other details of the licensing agreement were made available.

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The FDA has approved Arzerra for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that is refractory to fludarabine and alemtuzumab. Arzerra is a monoclonal antibody that causes the body’s immune response to fight against normal and cancerous B-cells. Arzerra attaches to the small and large loop epitopes on a molecule called CD20, which is found on the surface of B-cells, the type of cell which becomes cancerous in CLL.

Scientists have discovered two powerful new antibodies that neutralized all major forms of the HIV virus from the body of an African man. Scientists associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) at the Scripps Research Institute in the US said these antibodies had revealed an Achilles heel on the virus. This major discovery, reported in the journal Science, also found that these antibodies target a stable portion of the virus that does not frequently mutate a defense mechanism.

Any woman suspected of swine flu should not stop breastfeeding her baby as certain protective antibodies against the virus are passed on to the baby from breast milk, a consultant has advised. Dr Mohamed Ilyas Khan, who is the Al Khor Hospital’s Breastfeeding Resource Centre head, said “Babies who are not breastfed get sick from infections like flu more often and more severely than babies who are breastfed and they are significantly more likely to be hospitalized with a severe respiratory infection if infected with the virus.

A research conducted by a team of researchers from La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology has unveiled the gene responsible for stimulating the body’s immune system every time fatal viruses and pathogens attack the body. The stimulation of the immune system results in the production of disease-fighting antibodies in the body. The study finding is significant as it would help the researchers understand the molecular steps that activate the body’s immune system when the body is in danger.

Researchers from Canada and Australia have found that a new antibody that specifically targets cancer stem cells might be helpful in treating an aggressive type of leukemia. The therapeutic molecule created by these researchers attacks a protein, CD123, on the surface of cancer stem cells, which sustain acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This type of leukemia is difficult to treat because it does not respond well to standard chemotherapy.