Homing in on what's wearing out T cells When the T cells of your immune system are forced to deal over time with cancer or a chronic infection they become exhausted - less effective at attacking and destroying invaders. While the PD-1 protein pathway has long been implicated as a primary player in T cell exhaustion, a major question has been whether PD-1 actually directly causes exhaustion.
Researchers expose how 'James Bond' cells are made New research has revealed how immune cell 'spies' are created, providing clues on how the immune system could be manipulated to better fight disease. Dendritic cells are intelligence-gathering immune cells, gathering information on viruses, bacteria, cancer and fungi to aid the immune system in fighting disease. Understanding how dendritic cells are created will aid scientists in finding ways to boost the immune response to infections or dampen it in autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
How a gut feeling for infection programs our immune response An unexpected finding by an international team of scientists has shed new light on how immune cells are programmed to either repair or protect the body. It's hoped the discovery will inform the development of better treatments for a range of conditions from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to certain cancers.
First functional, synthetic immune organ with controllable antibodies Engineers have created a functional, synthetic immune organ that produces antibodies and can be controlled in the lab, completely separate from a living organism. The engineered organ has implications for everything from rapid production of immune therapies to new frontiers in cancer or infectious disease research.
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