PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Lampreys provide hints to ancient immune cells

2013-08-13
(Press-News.org) Studying lampreys allows biologists to envision the evolutionary past, because they represent an early offshoot of the evolutionary tree, before sharks and fish.

Despite their inconspicuous appearance, lampreys have a sophisticated immune system with three types of white blood cell that resemble our B and T cells, researchers have discovered.

Scientists at Emory University School of Medicine and the Max Planck Institute of Immunology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have identified a type of white blood cell in lampreys analogous to the "gamma delta T cells" found in mammals, birds and fish. Gamma delta T cells have specialized roles defending the integrity of the skin and intestines, among other functions.

The results are published in the journal Nature.

The finding follows an earlier study showing that cells resembling two main types of white blood cells, B cells and T cells, are present in lampreys. In the human immune system, B cells can differentiate into antibody-secreting cells and can grab their targets directly, while T cells generally recognize their targets only through cell-to-cell contact.

"We have been able to define another lineage of T-like lymphocytes in lampreys," says first author Masayuki Hirano, PhD, assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center. "This suggests that the genetic programs for all three lineages of white blood cells are very ancient."

Hirano says the team's results indicate that distinct cells with functions that are similar to gamma delta T cells may have existed in the last common vertebrate ancestor, before jawed and jawless vertebrates diverged around 500 million years ago.

The senior author of the paper is Max Cooper, MD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and the Emory Vaccine Center, and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Thomas Boehm, MD, group leader at the Max Planck Institute and colleagues were contributors to the paper.

B and T cells are the foundation of the adaptive immune system, allowing mammals, birds and fish to respond to a wide variety of pathogens and "remember" what they've encountered. B and T cells produce characteristic proteins: antibodies (for B cells) and T cell receptors. These proteins have modular sections that are variable from cell to cell, but they share structural and sequence similarity across species.

Lampreys' white blood cells produce proteins with a broad diversity and function comparable to antibodies and T cell receptors, but in contrast, these variable lymphocyte receptor (VLR) proteins do not look like antibodies structurally.

Cells that produce VLR-A proteins are roughly comparable to T cells, while VLR-B-producing cells resemble B cells. Cooper's laboratory recently characterized the structure and assembly of a third set of VLR-C genes, in addition to the VLR-A and VLR-B gene families.

In the new Nature paper, the authors show that VLR-C proteins are found on a third type of white blood cell that do not produce the other VLR varieties. These VLR-C-positive cells are the predominant white blood cell type found in lampreys' skin. They are also more abundant in lamprey larvae.

Many of the VLR-C proteins found in the lampreys' skin displayed the same or almost the same protein sequence. This restricted diversity resembles that of gamma delta T cells found in the skin of mammals. In addition, lampreys' VLR-C-positive cells have activated some of the same genes that, in mammals, control the development of gamma delta T cells.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New twist in the graphene story

2013-08-13
Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have discovered a unique new twist to the story of graphene, sheets of pure carbon just one atom thick, and in the process appear to have solved a mystery that has held back device development. Electrons can race through graphene at nearly the speed of light – 100 times faster than they move through silicon. In addition to being superthin and superfast when it comes to conducting electrons, graphene is also superstrong and superflexible, making it a potential superstar ...

Latino families in study eat more fruits and veggies, drink less soda

2013-08-13
URBANA, Ill. – A successful program that increased the number of fruits and vegetables eaten and decreased sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by 50 percent among Latino children had two secret weapons, according to a University of Illinois researcher. "First, we got mothers and other relatives involved because family togetherness is a very important value for Latinos. Many programs, delivered at school, target only the child, but we know that kids have very little ability to choose the foods they eat at home—they don't purchase or prepare them," said Angela Wiley, ...

Study finds that some depressed adolescents are at higher risk for developing anxiety

2013-08-13
Some adolescents who suffer with symptoms of depression also may be at risk for developing anxiety, according to a new study of children's mental health. The study found that among youth who have symptoms of depression, the risk is most severe for those who have one or more of three risk factors, said psychologist Chrystyna D. Kouros, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who led the study. Specifically, those who are most vulnerable are those who have a pessimistic outlook toward events and circumstances in their lives; those who have mothers with a history of an ...

Multi-disciplinary Penn research identifies protein required for cell movement

2013-08-13
Both basic scientists and clinicians have an interest in how the cells of our body move. Cells must be mobile in order for organisms to grow, to heal, to transmit information internally, to mount immune responses and to conduct a host of other activities necessary for survival. But if cell mobility is unregulated, tumors can grow and spread throughout the body. A new multi-disciplinary study by University of Pennsylvania researchers has now illuminated a crucial step in the process of cell movement. The protein they examined, Exo70, induces a reshaping of the cell's plasma ...

Researchers find 'grammar' plays key role in activating genes

2013-08-13
Researchers have probed deep into the cell’s genome, beyond the basic genetic code, to begin learning the “grammar” that helps determine whether or not a gene gets switched on to make the protein it encodes. Their discovery -- that the ordering of specific DNA sequences in key regions of the genome affects the activity of genes -- might advance efforts to use gene and cell-based therapies to treat disease, said UCSF molecular biologist Nadav Ahituv, PhD, senior scientist on the study. The findings were published online in the journal Nature Genetics on July 28 ...

Seasonal carbon dioxide range expanding as more is added to Earth's atmosphere

2013-08-13
Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rise and fall each year as plants, through photosynthesis and respiration, take up the gas in spring and summer, and release it in fall and winter. Now the range of that cycle is expanding as more carbon dioxide is emitted from burning fossil fuels and other human activities, according to a study led by scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). The findings come from a multi-year airborne survey of atmospheric chemistry called HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations, or HIPPO. Results of the study are reported ...

Infectious diseases and climate change intersect with no simple answers

2013-08-13
Climate change is already affecting the spread of infectious diseases--and human health and biodiversity worldwide--according to disease ecologists reporting research results in this week's issue of the journal Science. Modeling disease outcomes from host and parasite responses to climate variables, they say, could help public health officials and environmental managers address the challenges posed by the changing landscape of infectious disease. "Earth's changing climate and the global spread of infectious diseases are threatening human health, agriculture and wildlife," ...

Scientists look into Earth's 'deep time' to predict future effects of climate change

2013-08-13
Climate change alters the way in which species interact with one another--a reality that applies not just to today or to the future, but also to the past, according to a paper published by a team of researchers in this week's issue of the journal Science. "We found that, at all time scales, climate change can alter biotic interactions in very complex ways," said paleoecologist Jessica Blois of the University of California, Merced, the paper's lead author. "If we don't incorporate this information when we're anticipating future changes, we're missing a big piece of the ...

Gold Pan Complex Fire

2013-08-13
Lightning ignited the Gold Pan Complex Fire on July 16, 2013, in the River of No Return Wilderness, Idaho. As of August 9, the fire had burned 17,103 acres of mixed conifer forest. Many of the burned trees may have already been dead as a result of insects. The fire has a high potential for growth. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this false color image of the fire on August 8, 2013. Newly burned land is dark red. Hot spots glow orange. Paler red areas may be old burn scars or forest infested with insects, such as the ...

Brain's flexible hub network helps humans adapt

2013-08-13
One thing that sets humans apart from other animals is our ability to intelligently and rapidly adapt to a wide variety of new challenges — using skills learned in much different contexts to inform and guide the handling of any new task at hand. Now, research from Washington University in St. Louis offers new and compelling evidence that a well-connected core brain network based in the lateral prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal cortex — parts of the brain most changed evolutionarily since our common ancestor with chimpanzees — contains "flexible hubs" that coordinate ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

Measuring the quantum W state

Researchers find a way to use antibodies to direct T cells to kill Cytomegalovirus-infected cells

Engineers create mini microscope for real-time brain imaging

Funding for training and research in biological complexity

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: September 12, 2025

ISSCR statement on the scientific and therapeutic value of human fetal tissue research

Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior

OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google vary widely in identifying hate speech

Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia

Childhood loneliness and cognitive decline and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults

Parental diseases of despair and suicidal events in their children

Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults

Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults

[Press-News.org] Lampreys provide hints to ancient immune cells