(Press-News.org) When it comes to chronic infections and cancer, a particular type of immune cell plays a central role in our defenses. Researchers at the University of Basel have uncovered the key to the tenacity of these immune cells in coping with the marathon that is fighting a chronic infection. Their results lay the foundations for more effective therapies and vaccination strategies.
Infected and abnormal cells have to go. And as quickly as possible, before any more damage is done. This is the task of what are known as cytotoxic T cells. The question of how these cells fight off chronic infection is under investigation by the team surrounding Professor Daniel Pinschewer at the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel in collaboration with several national and international partners.
“These T cells can become specialized in two different ways: either as a kind of sprinter or as marathon runners,” explains Pinschewer. “However, the latter can also convert into sprinters at any time, in order to stamp out an infection.”
Chronic infections are a special case: the T cells are activated and a strong inflammatory response occurs at the same time. “This tends to ‘shock’ the T cells into developing into sprinters, which can only intervene effectively in the short term to remove infected cells,” says the virologist. “If all T cells behaved like that, our immune defenses would break down pretty soon.”
Biological messenger counteracts the “shock”
In a study that is now published in the journal Immunity, the researchers examined how, in spite of this, the immune system is still able to provide enough T cells for the endurance race against chronic infections. According to their results, a biological messenger called interleukin-33 (IL-33) plays a key role. It allows the T cells to remain in their “marathon runner” state. “IL-33 takes away the shock of the inflammation, so to speak,” explains Dr. Anna-Friederike Marx, lead author of the study.
In addition, the biological messenger causes the marathon T cells to proliferate, so that more endurance runners are available to combat the infection. “Thanks to IL-33, there are enough cytotoxic T cells around for the long haul that can still pull off a final sprint after their marathon,” says Marx.
The findings could help improve the treatment of chronic infections such as hepatitis C. It is conceivable that IL-33 could be administered to support an effective immune response. Thinking along the same lines, IL-33 could be one key to improving cancer immunotherapy, to enable T cells to wage an efficient and long-lasting offensive against tumor cells.
END
The marathon runners of the immune system
2023-03-06
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
A wholly sustainable plastics economy is feasible
2023-03-06
Plastic is everywhere. Our society cannot do without it: plastics have numerous advantages, are extremely versatile, and are also cost effective. Today, plastics are mainly produced from crude oil. When the products reach the end of their life, they often end up in a waste incineration plant. The energy-intensive production of plastics and their incineration release large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, making plastic products a major contributor to climate change.
One way out would be to rely on sustainable production methods, such as the circular economy, in which as much plastic as possible is recycled. Then the main raw material for ...
Graphene quantum dots show promise as novel magnetic field sensors
2023-03-06
Trapped electrons traveling in circular loops at extreme speeds inside graphene quantum dots are highly sensitive to external magnetic fields and could be used as novel magnetic field sensors with unique capabilities, according to a new study.
Electrons in graphene (an atomically thin form of carbon) behave as if they were massless, like photons, which are massless particles of light. Although graphene electrons do not move at the speed of light, they exhibit the same energy-momentum relationship as photons and can be described as “ultra-relativistic.” ...
Parental nonadherence to recommendations for COVID-19 prevention among children
2023-03-06
About The Study: In this survey study of U.S. parents, one-quarter engaged in misrepresentation or nonadherence regarding public health measures for their children. The most common reason was to preserve parental autonomy. Additional reasons included wanting to resume a normal life for their child and the inability to miss work or other responsibilities, among other reasons.
Authors: Andrea Gurmankin Levy, Ph.D., M.B.E., of Middlesex Community College in Middletown, Connecticut, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our ...
Mineral particles and their role in oxygenating the Earth’s atmosphere
2023-03-06
Mineral particles played a key role in raising oxygen levels in the Earth’s atmosphere billions of years ago, with major implications for the way intelligent life later evolved, according to new research.
Up to now, scientists have argued that oxygen levels rose as the result of photosynthesis by algae and plants in the sea, where oxygen was produced as a by-product and released into the atmosphere.
But a research ...
Two-dimensional quantum freeze
2023-03-06
Glass nanoparticles trapped by lasers in extreme vacuum are considered a promising platform for exploring the limits of the quantum world. Since the advent of quantum theory, the question at which sizes an object starts being described by the laws of quantum physics rather than the rules of classical physics has remained unanswered.
A team formed by Lukas Novotny (Zurich), Markus Aspelmeyer (Vienna), Oriol Romero-Isart (Innsbruck), and Romain Quidant (Zurich) is attempting to answer precisely this question within the ERC-Synergy project Q-Xtreme. A crucial step ...
Scientists twist chemical bonds beyond their limits
2023-03-06
A group of scientists from Durham University and University of York have twisted molecules to their breaking point in order to challenge the understanding of chemical bonds.
The researchers explored how far the chemical bonding in an aromatic ring can be twisted before its aromatic bonding breaks.
They achieved this by making overcrowded aromatic rings. Rather than benzene, they used tropylium, which shares electrons around a ring of seven carbon atoms.
Each of these carbon atoms can be functionalised and having seven attachment points in the ring, rather than the six carbon atoms of benzene, allowed ...
Siblings should be screened in cases of suspected child physical abuse
2023-03-06
Siblings of a child suspected of experiencing physical abuse should also be screened for abusive injuries, according to a new international consensus statement led by researchers at UCL (University College London) and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH).
The team of 27 researchers, from six different continents, are calling for a policy change to stop inconspicuous injuries being missed in contact children (i.e. siblings, cohabiting children, or children who are under the same care), and to help prevent further ...
Rewarding accuracy instead of partisan pandering reduces Republican-Democrat divide over the truth – study
2023-03-06
Offering a tiny cash reward for accuracy, or even briefly appealing to personal integrity, can increase people’s ability to tell the difference between misinformation and the truth, according to a new study.
The findings suggest that fake news thrives on social media not only because people are tricked into believing it, but also due to a motivational imbalance: users have more incentive to get clicks and likes than to spread accurate content.
Social psychologists from the University of Cambridge and New York University argue that their study, published in the journal ...
New study compares human contributions to Mississippi river delta land loss, hints at solutions
2023-03-06
Research from scientists at Louisiana State University and Indiana University reveals new information about the role humans have played in large-scale land loss in the Mississippi River Delta—crucial information in determining solutions to the crisis.
The study published today in Nature Sustainability compares the impacts of different human actions on land loss and explains historical trends. Until now, scientists have been unsure about which human-related factors are the most consequential, and why the most rapid land loss in the Mississippi River Delta occurred between the 1960s and 1990s and ...
UCLA engineers design solar roofs to harvest energy for greenhouses
2023-03-06
As countries around the globe seek sustainable energy sources and the U.S. endeavors to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, renewable energy sources such as solar panels are in high demand.
However, solar panels can take up significant space and are often difficult to scale. Enter the new field of agrivoltaics, which focuses on the simultaneous use of land for both solar power generation and agriculture. For example, replacing the glass in greenhouses with solar panels could power the lamps and water controls in the greenhouse, or even the whole farm. But how does one build solar panels that can absorb energy from sunlight without blocking the light ...