Subset of self-destructive immune cells may selectively drive diabetes
2011-04-24
(Press-News.org) New research identifies a distinctive population of immune cells that may play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetes. The research, published by Cell Press and available online in the April 21st issue of Immunity, sheds new light on the pathogenesis of diabetes and may lead to the development of new more selective therapeutic strategies for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases of the accessory organs of the digestive system.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease that develops when the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Previous work using a mouse model of diabetes (nonobese diabetic or "NOD" mice) demonstrated that multiple types of immune cells are necessary for the development of T1D, including two different types of T cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as B cells. The individual roles and interactions of these cells in the pathogenesis of T1D are not well understood.
"We do know that the cytokine interleukin (IL)-21 is produced by CD4+ T cells and plays a critical role in autoimmune diseases, and that IL-21 contributes to the proliferation, differentiation and survival of motile types of immune cells," explains senior study author, Dr. Cecile King from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. "However, how IL-21 mediates its effect on autoimmune disease pathogenesis remains an important unanswered question."
Dr. King and colleagues discovered a subset of CD4+ T cells that produce IL-21 and that express a protein called chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9). In healthy humans, CCR9 is found primarily in T cells that selectively migrate to the gut and is thought to play a role in several inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. The researchers showed that this newly identified subset of CD4+ cells also infiltrate the pancreas and other accessory organs of the digestive system and "help" CD8+ cells to elicit T1D.
"We identified a subset of CD4+ T cells that may contribute to the regional specification of organ-specific autoimmune disease," concludes Dr. King. "Recent studies have demonstrated that IL-21 is critical for the maintenance of CD8+ T cells during chronic infection. In our study we showed that IL-21 is also important for the survival of diabetogenic CD8+ T cells. Further studies are needed to confirm that this population of cells is necessary for autoimmune diseases that afflict accessory organs of the digestive system and to explore the possibility that targeting this cell population as a potential therapeutic strategy for diabetes."
INFORMATION: END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-04-24
Patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) typically have a higher early survival rate than patients on hemodialysis (HD). New data suggest that this difference may be explained by a higher risk of early deaths among patients undergoing HD with central venous catheters, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
In a study that included more than 38,500 Canadian patients starting dialysis between 2001 and 2008, 63 percent started hemodialysis using a central catheter placed into one of the large veins. Seventeen ...
2011-04-24
Madrid's Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia is showing a collection of pictures from the worker-photography movement between 1926 and 1939.
A Hard Merciless Light will be on display until August 22nd 2011, displaying some fascinating examples of images used during that era in the press.
The installation explores how the partnership of photography and the leftist worker movement became intertwined and spread from humble beginnings in the Soviet Union to several other countries including the US and Spain.
In a statement, the organisers remarked: "The exhibition ...
2011-04-24
LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, April 22, 2011—Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a way to avoid the use of expensive platinum in hydrogen fuel cells, the environmentally friendly devices that might replace current power sources in everything from personal data devices to automobiles.
In a paper published today in Science, Los Alamos researchers Gang Wu, Christina Johnston, and Piotr Zelenay, joined by researcher Karren More of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, describe the use of a platinum-free catalyst in the cathode of a hydrogen fuel cell. Eliminating ...
2011-04-24
LA JOLLA, CA—In stark contrast to normal cells, which only divide a finite number of times before they enter into a permanent state of growth arrest or simply die, cancer cells never cease to proliferate. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered an important clue to one of the mechanisms underlying cancer cell immortality.
Their findings, published in the April 22, 2011 issue of Molecular Cell, reveal an unanticipated structure at chromosome ends, which could be a key ingredient in the biological "elixir of life," potentially making ...
2011-04-24
A major new exhibition called Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus opened at Paris's Louvre art space on Thursday (April 21st).
The installation will be on show until July 18th 2011 and sees world-famous masterpiece The Pilgrims at Emmaus take centre stage.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - best known by his first name - painted it in the 17th century.
The picture will form the centrepiece for an installation that explores the way Jesus was represented in his art, as well as in the paintings of his students.
Tickets for the exhibition cost EUR11 (GBP9.75), or visitors ...
2011-04-24
New research reveals a strategy for disrupting the ability of bacteria to communicate and coordinate the expression of virulence factors. The study, published by Cell Press in the April 22nd issue of the journal Molecular Cell, may lead to the development of new antibacterial therapeutics.
Bacteria use a process called "quorum sensing" to synchronize group behaviors that promote pathogenesis. During the process of quorum sensing, bacteria communicate with one another via chemical signals called autoinducers. As the population increases, so do autoinducer concentrations. ...
2011-04-24
Like You've Never Been Away is a heart-warming project for which a photographer has tracked down the people who appeared in his photographs of Granby and Everton in 1975.
Paul Trevor was sent to the areas to record inner city deprivation and produced a collection of images showing the defiant nature with which the communities faced their problems.
In a statement, he described how he found everyone to be full of humour and energy at the time and decided to revisit the project and update the public on what the participants had done with themselves after he left.
Mr ...
2011-04-24
In a study to be published in the April 21st issue of Science magazine, researchers at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science report their findings that the ozone hole, which is located over the South Pole, has affected the entire circulation of the Southern Hemisphere all the way to the equator. While previous work has shown that the ozone hole is changing the atmospheric flow in the high latitudes, the Columbia Engineering paper, "Impact of Polar Ozone Depletion on Subtropical Precipitation," demonstrates that the ozone hole is able to influence ...
2011-04-24
'Rewilding with taxon substitutes', the intentional introduction of exotic species to fulfil key functions in ecosystems following the loss of recently extinct species, is highly controversial, partly due to a lack of rigorous scientific studies.
In a paper published today in Current Biology, Christine Griffiths of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences and colleagues present the first empirical evidence that rewilding can work.
Exotic giant Aldabra tortoises, Aldabrachelys gigantea, were introduced to Ile aux Aigrettes, a 25-hectare island off Mauritius, in 2000 to ...
2011-04-24
An unusual exhibition of artwork from a tiny village in Loiret is being displayed at the Musee de la Poste in Paris.
Facteurs Factices shows off the many and varied post boxes in Saint-Martin-d'Abbat, which has become something of a traveller's curiosity due to the elaborate designs of the items.
One of them is made to look like a petrol pump, while another celebrates breakfast-time.
According to the organisers of the display, there are only 1,600 residents in the village, yet there are 220 unique post boxes.
Visitors to the Musee de la Poste can see pictures ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Subset of self-destructive immune cells may selectively drive diabetes
