UGA study reveals flu-fighting role for well-known immune component
2012-06-27
(Press-News.org) Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia scientists have discovered a new flu-fighting role for a well-known component of the immune system. Kimberly Klonowski, assistant professor of cellular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and her colleagues found that administering a cell-signaling protein known as IL-15 to mice infected with influenza reduces their peak viral load by nearly three times.
"We gave the IL-15 intranasally and found that it enhanced the movement of the immune system's natural killer cells and CD8 T cells into the lung airways," said Klonowski, whose findings were recently published in the journal PLoS ONE. "As a result, the animals that received it cleared the virus faster than the control group."
Klonowski cautioned that the protein is only effective against influenza for a defined period of time immediately following infection, which would make its use as a flu treatment difficult to implement. She added that IL-15 has been tested as a vaccine-booster, or adjuvant, in other viral diseases such as HIV, monkey pox and hepatitis B; understanding its mechanism of action is essential to maximizing its effectiveness in these contexts.
IL-15 was discovered nearly 20 years ago and is part of a group of immune system proteins known as interleukins. Klonowski noted until recently, however, its primary role was thought to be the maintenance of immune memory cells. Yet Klonowski and her colleagues found that concentrations of the protein surge in the respiratory tract in response to influenza infections, which led them to hypothesize that it also might play a role in controlling the virus.
The scientists devised a series of experiments in mice to discern the role of IL-15 in the immune response. It turns out that IL-15 is one of the body's critical first responders during influenza infection.
First, the scientists blocked the action of IL-15 in mice infected with influenza and found that the number of natural killer cells was reduced 20-fold at the site of infection in comparison with the control group, which received a placebo. Next, scientists administered IL-15 into the airways of mice infected with influenza and found that these mice had three times more natural killer cells than the control group. In addition, their peak viral load decreased by nearly three times.
Klonowski said that despite what their name might suggest, natural killer cells really aren't the most effective components of the immune system. They do indeed kill infected cells, but not in numbers great enough to completely eradicate infection. CD8 T cells that arrive later in the immune response are the ones that clear the infection, riding in like a cavalry to save the day. Klonowski's study suggests that CD8 T cells require the initial presence of natural killer cells, which send some still-unknown signal that subsequently attracts CD8 T cells to the infection site. Her study found that without the presence of IL-15 and the natural killer cells it recruits, the cavalry never makes it to the site of the battle in the respiratory tract.
The researchers are now working to identify the molecular signals that the natural killer cells send with the ultimate goal of directing CD8 T cells more rapidly and precisely to the site of infection. "Even though this paper deals with natural killer cells, we are still really focused on the CD8 T cells, because they're the cell population that is required for complete viral clearance," she said.
###
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2012-06-27
The energy generated from our oceans could be doubled using new methods for predicting wave power. Research led by the University of Exeter, published (27 June) in the journal Renewable Energy, could pave the way for significant advancements in marine renewable energy, making it a more viable source of power.
The study was carried out by a team of mathematicians and engineers from the University of Exeter and Tel Aviv University. They devised a means of accurately predicting the power of the next wave in order to make the technology far more efficient, extracting twice ...
2012-06-27
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Cooling systems that use a liquid that changes phase — such as water boiling on a surface — can play an important part in many developing technologies, including advanced microchips and concentrated solar-power systems. But understanding exactly how such systems work, and what kinds of surfaces maximize the transfer of heat, has remained a challenging problem.
Now, researchers at MIT have found that relatively simple, microscale roughening of a surface can dramatically enhance its transfer of heat. Such an approach could be far less complex and more ...
2012-06-27
From Earth, observers use telescopes to look and learn about the distant luminous spheres. But the telescope often isn't the only instrument used. Karl Gebhardt, professor of astrophysics at The University of Texas at Austin and one of the principal investigators for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) project, makes revolutionary discoveries about dark matter by combining deep-space observations with the powerful Lonestar supercomputer at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC).
Dark matter exerts a gravitational pull on matter in a galaxy, ...
2012-06-27
Athens, Ga. – People love social networks. That's the obvious conclusion from Facebook's 900 million active users and its current standing as one of the most visited sites on the web, second only to Google. New research from the University of Georgia finds what people may really "like" about social networking are themselves.
"Despite the name 'social networks,' much user activity on networking sites is self-focused," said Brittany Gentile, a UGA doctoral candidate who looked at the effects of social networks on self-esteem and narcissism.
According to the research, ...
2012-06-27
Ann Arbor, Mich. — Many hospitals offer residency programs for doctors in training, allowing them to complete the education needed to become practicing physicians. Hospitals find those residents using National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) rules, but a new study finds wide variation in the interpretation of those rules.
The NRMP rules are intended to minimize pressure on residency candidates, says lead author Diana S. Curran, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., residency program director for the U-M Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. But her study, published in the Journal of ...
2012-06-27
New data released by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) to coincide with World Spirometry Day today has revealed a worrying lack of understanding and concern among the public about the world's biggest killer - lung disease, which now claims the lives of almost 4 million people a year.
Despite the high incidence of lung disease, research conducted by YouGov across four continents revealed that people are far more worried about cancer, heart disease and stroke . This lack of concern is even more striking as data shows that while the other major diseases ...
2012-06-27
Test performance can improve dramatically if students are offered rewards just before they are given standardized tests and if they receive the incentive immediately afterward, new research at the University of Chicago shows.
Educators have long debated the value of financial and other rewards as incentives, but a series of experiments in Chicago-area schools showed that with the right kind of rewards, students achievement improved by as much as six months beyond what would be expected.
The rewards apparently provide students with an incentive to take tests more seriously. ...
2012-06-27
URBANA -- When D.K. Lee and Lane Rayburn, faculty members in the crop sciences department at the University of Illinois, talk about prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) they have difficulty containing their enthusiasm. They are among the very few people doing research on this grass as a potential energy crop.
According to Lee, switchgrass has been studied extensively as a forage crop and a dedicated energy crop. Recently this research has been extended to big bluestem, indiangrass, and other native grasses. Prairie cordgrass has received comparatively little attention ...
2012-06-27
An automated lung nodule matching program can improve radiologists' efficiency almost two-fold, a first of its kind study shows.
The study found that the time required for manual nodule matching ranged from 1 second to about 11.4 minutes, whereas automated nodule matching ranged from less than one second to about 6.6 minutes, said Chi Wan Koo, MD, the lead author of the study.
The study conducted at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York, included 57 patients, yielding a total of 325 pulmonary nodules identified on CT. Four thoracic radiologists manually ...
2012-06-27
June 26, 2012 – Scientists from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have released comprehensive reviews of the most effective treatments for alcohol dependence, one of the most prevalent addictions in Canada.
Published in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, the reviews explore the most effective treatments and interventions for problem alcohol use and concurrent disorders. Almost 40 per cent of people with an alcohol use problem also have a concurrent mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, mood or anxiety disorders.
The reviews ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] UGA study reveals flu-fighting role for well-known immune component