Researchers reveal the clearest new pictures of immune cells

The research reveals the proteins at the surface of immune cells are not evenly spaced but grouped in clusters -- a bit like stars bunched together in galaxies

2013-07-24

(Press-News.org) Scientists from The University of Manchester have revealed new images which provide the clearest picture yet of how white blood immune cells attack viral infections and tumours. They show how the cells, which are responsible for fighting infections and cancer in the human body, change the organisation of their surface molecules, when activated by a type of protein found on viral-infected or tumour cells. Professor Daniel Davis, who has been leading the investigation into the immune cells, known as natural killers, said the work could provide important clues for tackling disease. The research reveals the proteins at the surface of immune cells are not evenly spaced but grouped in clusters - a bit like stars bunched together in galaxies. Professor Davis, Director of Research at the Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), a partnership between the University and two pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca, said: "This is the first time scientists have looked at how these immune cells work at such a high resolution. The surprising thing was that these new pictures revealed that immune cell surfaces alter at this scale – the nano scale – which could perhaps change their ability to be activated in a subsequent encounter with a diseased cell. "We have shown that immune cells are not evenly distributed as once thought, but instead they are grouped in very small clumps – a bit like if you were an astronomer looking at clusters of stars in the Universe and you would notice that they were grouped in clusters. "We studied how these clusters or proteins change when the immune cells are switched on – to kill diseased cells. Looking at our cells in this much detail gives us a greater understanding about how the immune system works and could provide useful clues for developing drugs to target disease in the future." Until now the limitations of light microscopy have prevented a clear understanding of how immune cells detect other cells as being diseased or healthy. The team used high quality, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy to view the cells in blood samples in their laboratory to create the still images published in the journal Science Signalling this week.

### END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Hospital mammography recall rates higher

2013-07-24

OAK BROOK, Ill. – The rate at which women get called back for additional imaging after screening mammography may be higher at hospitals than at community office practices, mostly due to differences among the patients, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The findings highlight the limitations of recall rates as a quality measure for breast cancer screening, the researchers said. Recall rates for mammography refer to the percentage of women who undergo screening and are called back for additional testing. Since recalls involve anxiety for ...

RI Hospital study finds differences in mammography recall rate between 2 centers

2013-07-24

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A new study at Rhode Island Hospital has found that academic medical centers have higher rates of recall following mammography than community radiology centers. The recall rate is the frequency at which a radiologist interprets an examination as positive and the patient is instructed to return for more testing. The study is published online in advance of print in the journal Radiology. "Recalling a patient for a mammogram has an impact on both the patient, and on the hospital," said lead researcher and author Ana Lourenco, M.D., a radiologist at Rhode ...

New research findings highlight benefits of human-animal interaction

2013-07-23

Chicago, US (July 22, 2013) --- Positive results from three new studies on human-animal interaction (HAI) are being presented today at the triennial conference of the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO) in Chicago, IL. The studies, supported by funding from Mars and the WALTHAM® Centre for Pet Nutrition (WALTHAM®), examined how pets impact our physical and emotional well-being and our social relationships and community connectedness. WALTHAM® is the state-of-the-art petcare science centre for Mars Petcare and provides the science ...

Hunting pushing central African forests toward ecological collapse

2013-07-23

Scientists from the Universities of Stirling, Oxford, Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society warn that current hunting trends in Central African forests could result in complete ecological collapse. The authors maintain that the current rate of unsustainable hunting of forest elephants, gorillas and other seed-dispersing species threatens the ability of forest ecosystems to regenerate, and that landscape-wide hunting management plans are needed to avoid an environmental catastrophe. The study appears in the latest version of Philosophical Transactions of ...

University of Hawaii Cancer Center researchers report

2013-07-23

HONOLULU, HI – University of Hawaii Cancer Center Prevention and Control Program researchers Pallav Pokhrel, PhD and Thaddeus Herzog, PhD have found that smokers who use e-cigarettes as a tool to stop smoking tend to be younger and more motivated to quit smoking as compared to other smokers. Their study published online ahead of the print version in the American Journal of Public Health, found that approximately 13 percent of smokers had tried e-cigarettes as a means of quitting smoking. They also found that smokers who had tried e-cigarettes for smoking cessation help ...

Putting the brakes on inflammation

2013-07-23

A team led by a University of Arizona researcher has discovered a previously unknown mechanism that prevents the immune system from going into overdrive, shedding light not only on how our body controls its response to pathogens but on conditions such as autoimmune diseases, allergies and chronic inflammation as well. The group found a protein previously believed to only play a role in blood clotting acts as a negative feedback signal, telling defense cells to calm down, thereby preventing an immune reaction from spiraling out of control. The results, which could lead ...

Rapid upper ocean warming linked to declining aerosols

2013-07-23

Australian scientists have identified causes of a rapid warming in the upper subtropical oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. They partly attribute the observed warming, and preceding cooling trends to ocean circulation changes induced by global greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols predominantly generated in the Northern Hemisphere from human activity. The research, by scientists from CSIRO and the University of NSW, was published today in Scientific Reports. Mr Tim Cowan, lead author of the study, says his group was initially interested in the three decade long cooling ...

Tropical ecosystems regulate variations in Earth's carbon dioxide levels

2013-07-23

Rising temperatures, influenced by natural events such as El Niño, have a corresponding increase in the release of carbon dioxide from tropical forest ecosystems, according to a new study out today. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that a temperature anomaly of just 1ºC (in near surface air temperatures in the tropics) leads to a 3.5-Petagram (billion tonnes of carbon) anomaly in the annual CO2 growth rate, on average. This is the equivalent of 1/3 of the annual global emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels ...

'Dead' gene comes to life, puts chill on inflammation, Stanford researchers find

2013-07-23

STANFORD, Calif. — A gene long presumed dead comes to life under the full moon of inflammation, Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have found. The discovery, described in a study to be published July 23 in eLife, may help explain how anti-inflammatory steroid drugs work. It also could someday lead to entirely new classes of anti-inflammatory treatments without some of steroids' damaging side effects. Chronic inflammation plays a role in cancer and in autoimmune, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, among others. Anti-inflammatory steroid drugs ...

Digital PCR technology detects brain-tumor-associated mutation in cerebrospinal fluid

2013-07-23

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers and their colleagues have used digital versions of a standard molecular biology tool to detect a common tumor-associated mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with brain tumors. In their report being published in the open-access journal Molecular Therapy – Nucleic Acids, the investigators describe using advanced forms of the gene-amplification technology polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to analyze bits of RNA carried in membrane-covered sacs called extracellular vesicles for the presence of a tumor-associated ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Parents of children with health conditions less confident about a positive school year

New guideline standardizes consent for research participants in Canada

Research as reconciliation: Oil sands and health

AI risks overwriting history and the skills of historians have never been more important, leading academic outlines in new paper

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology: Higher doses of semaglutide can safely enhance weight loss and improve health for adults living with obesity, two new clinical trials confirm