T cells tagged posts

Fever Drives Enhanced Activity, Mitochondrial Damage in Immune Cells

(Adobe Stock/Diana Duren)

Fever temperatures rev up immune cell metabolism, proliferation and activity, but they also — in a particular subset of T cells — cause mitochondrial stress, DNA damage and cell death, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have discovered.

The findings, published Sept. 20 in the journal Science Immunology, offer a mechanistic understanding for how cells respond to heat and could explain how chronic inflammation contributes to the development of cancer.

The impact of fever temperatures on cells is a relatively understudied area, said Jeff Rathmell, PhD, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Immunobiology and corresponding author of the new study...

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Rare Diseases Point to Connections Between Metabolism and Immunity

Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, left, and Andrew Patterson, PhD, have discovered a new set of metabolic genes that are important for immune cell function. (photo by Susan Urmy)

Overlap in genes suggests a potential new class of inborn errors of immunometabolism. Inherited diseases of metabolism and immunity have more in common than previously recognized, according to a new study published in the journal Science Immunology. The findings point to a new set of metabolic genes that are important for the function of immune system T cells, and they offer insights that could improve care for patients with these disorders.

The study examined genes that cause inborn errors of metabolism (disorders of the processes that cells use to convert food to energy) and inborn errors of immunity (disorders that...

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New Clue into the Curious Case of our Aging Immune System

Pictured are the cells that form clusters in the thymus with age. On the left, the thymus from a two-month-old mouse has few age-associated (in blue) clusters. On the right, the thymus from a 24-month-old mouse shows many clusters. Researchers have found these clusters form ‘scars’ in the thymus which prevent the organ from restoring itself after damage.

A WEHI study could help solve a long-standing mystery into why a key immune organ in our bodies shrinks and loses its function as we get older.

The thymus is an organ essential for good health due to its ability to produce special immune cells that are responsible for fighting infections and cancer.

In a world-first, researchers have uncovered new cells that drive this ageing process in the thymus — significant findings that could unlock a way to restore function in the thymus and prevent our immunity from waning as we age.

At a glance

The thymus is an organ essential for our immune defence but it shrinks and weakens as we get older. The reason for this loss remains a long-standing mystery.

A new study has been able to visualise, for the first time, how two cell types d...

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Ointment containing DNA Molecules can Combat Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Ointment containing DNA molecules can combat allergic contact dermatitis
Fluorescence microscopic imaging of the skin treated with the aptamer cream: – The aptamers (here marked in pink) were applied to the top layer of the skin in the form of an ointment and also penetrate into the deeper dermal layers (nucleus: blue; antigen-presenting cells: green). Credit: Marlene Gottschalk

Researchers at the University of Bonn have isolated a DNA molecule that is suitable for combating allergic contact dermatitis in mice. The aptamer binds to certain immune system messenger substances, rendering them ineffective. This even works if the active ingredient is applied to the skin in the form of an ointment.

The working groups involved hope that aptamer creams such as this could also be suitable for treating other skin conditions...

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