Mast Cell Inhibitors as a Potential Target for Mitigation of Food Allergies

Shrey Patel Background: There are approximately 33 million Americans currently living with food allergies (FA), defined by their characteristic exaggerated immune responses to certain food allergens1.These unwanted allergic reactions may lead to severe life-threatening medical emergencies such as anaphylactic shock2. To prevent the immune response from progressing further, therapies such…
Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Immunology

Capsular Contracture: An Immunological Balancing Act

Afridi Abdullah Background: Capsular contracture (CC) is a common complication following breast implant surgery, marked by the abnormal thickening of fibrotic tissue around the implant. Specifically, there is an incidence of 10.6% across all implants.1 This condition leads to aesthetic changes, discomfort, and pain, impacting patient satisfaction and requiring surgical…
Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Fibrosis Immunology

At the crossroads: Car-T cell therapies shifting gears in AML treatment

Sanjna Sandeep Background: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the stem cell precursors for hematopoietic cells, causing over 80,000 deaths yearly with a 30.5% 5-year survival rate in the US1. Highly varied gene alterations drive AML’s progression, leading to life-threatening cytopenias1. The “3+7” chemotherapy regimen is the standard…
Cancer Engineering Medicine Featured Abstracts Immunology

DC3 Cells Infiltration in the Tumor Microenvironment is Associated with Immune Response of Leptomeningeal and Brain Metastatic Melanoma

William Wakeland Background: Metastatic melanoma presents a formidable challenge due to its aggressive nature and dissemination. 325,000 new melanoma cases were diagnosed in 2020. An estimation of 510,000 new cases per year is predicted by 20401. Despite advancements in treatment modalities and the  high incidence of the disease, metastatic melanoma…
Cancer Featured Abstracts Immunology

Investigating the Rationale for Targeting the Neonatal Fragment Crystallizable Receptor (FcRn) for Myasthenia Gravis (MG), such as Efgartigomod

Shaikh Ullahansari Background: MG is an autoimmune disease, with a prevalence of 150-250 cases per million people, in which autoantibodies target muscle-specific kinase (MuSK), lipoprotein-related peptide 4 (LRP4), and mainly the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) at the postsynaptic membrane (PSM) of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ).1,2 Both environmental and genetic components…
Immunology

Viability and Development of Betacoronavirus Vaccine

Pravin Sivagnanakumar Background: Coronaviruses such as Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and HCoV-OC43 have been responsible for many epidemics in the past two decades.1 Betacoronaviruses include SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 which cause severe respiratory syndrome as well as OC43 and HKU1 which…
Immunology Microbiology

Prolonging Heart Transplant Survival rates by using Immunomodulation via Lymph node targeting Targeted FTY720 nanoparticles

Mustafa Saed Background: Heart transplantation stands as a crucial treatment option for individuals with end-stage heart disease; however, the risk of rejection poses significant challenges to long-term success.1 Rejection can manifest in forms such as acute cellular rejection, antibody-mediated rejection, and cardiac allograft vasculopathy, all of which can jeopardize the…
Cardiology Featured Abstracts Immunology