"A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has identified a family of tiny RNA molecules that work as powerful regulators of the immune response in mammals. Mice who lack these RNA molecules lose their normal infection-fighting ability, whereas mice that overproduce them develop a fatal autoimmune syndrome.
'This finding gives us insights into immune regulation that could be very helpful in a range of medical applications, from viral vaccines to treatments for autoimmune diseases,' said Changchun Xiao, assistant professor in TSRI’s Department of Immunology and Microbial Science and senior investigator for the study, which appears in the June 30, 2013 issue of Nature Immunology.
Unraveling a Crucial Process
The finding concerns a key interaction between T cells and B cells, the allied lymphocyte armies that make up most of the adaptive immune system of mammals. B cells, which produce antibodies, usually lie in wait for pathogens in special zones called follicles within lymph nodes and the spleen. But to start proliferating normally and pumping out antibodies to fight an infection, these B cells have to be assisted, in effect, by T cells known as 'follicular helper' T cells (TFH cells). 'The TFH cells have to migrate into the B cell follicles and physically contact the B cells in order to provide help to them,' said Xiao. 'However, the molecular pathways that control TFH cell differentiation and migration have not been well understood.'"
- Date added:
- Jun 30, 2013
- Project:
- Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences
- Topic:
- Biomedical Research
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