The articles in this Special Focus section are selected from the International Workshop on Human Vaccines and Immunotherapy (IWHVI-2015) as held in Shanghai, from August 18th - 21st, 2015. IWHVI-2015 is a workshop of the 4th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology (ICBEB). Regarding the significance of vaccinology and immunotherapy effects in the treatment of diseases, such as cancer, autoimmunity, allergy, and Alzheimer’s, we have this workshop and this issue to provide a comprehensive global forum for experts and participants from academia to exchange ideas and present results on ongoing research in the most state-of-the-art areas of vaccinology and immunotherapy. It concludes the selections from IWHVI-2015 and focuses on the treatment by immunotherapy. The details of the papers are as follows:
Xian-lin Wu et al. focus on observations of how the hydrothermal environment influences the infectivity of the influenza virus and the resulting immunoreactions of the infected mice. Their study suggested that the warm-wet environment may have interfered with the immune response and balance.
Yan-Hua Shan et al. explore the physiological effects of injected human immunoglobulin on patients with severe bronchiolitis before and after treatment. They concluded that human immunoglobulin via intravenous injection showed active therapeutical effects on trace elements, T lymphocytes, and cytokines in patients with severe bronchiolitis.
Qiangyi Zhou et al. review the progress of immunotherapy for glioblastoma.
Mingsan Miao et al. investigate the effects of a Fuzheng Paidu tablet on peripheral blood T lymphocytes, intestinal mucosa T lymphocytes, and immune organs in cyclophosphamide(CY)-induced immunosuppressed mice. Their study indicates that Fuzheng Paidu tablet greatly increases the levels of peripheral blood T lymphocytes and intestinal mucosal T lymphocytes, and also improves atrophied thymuses and spleens in CY-induced immunosuppressed mice.
We hope this special issue will be of interest to the community of vaccinology and immunotherapy studies and if it could provide some insights into the treatment by immunotherapy, we would be glad to see.