T cells tagged posts

Research into immunotherapy against cancer typically focuses on better recognition of cancer cells by the body’s own immune system. Researchers at Amsterdam UMC and Moffitt Cancer Center have taken a different approach.

They investigated how cancer affects the energy management of a patient’s T cells and showed for the first time that contact with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells leads to a serious energy crisis in these cells.

These findings are published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, building on a publication in the Blood Journal.

CLL is the most common type of leukemia in the Western world and mainly affects the elderly. Despite new therapies, the disease remains incurable, and treatments are becoming increasingly expensive.

Some c...

Salk scientists establish novel Link between cell nutrition and identity, say targeting nutrient-dependent activity could improve immunotherapies.

The decision between scrambled eggs or an apple for breakfast probably won’t make or break your day. However, for your cells, a decision between similar microscopic nutrients could determine their entire identity...

Chronic fatigue syndrome creates conditions where pathogen-killing immune T cells become exhausted, according to a new Cornell University study.

The study’s authors knew the immune system was dysregulated in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) but wondered which parts shift with the condition.

A systematic exploration revealed that key CD8+ T cells displayed one of the most pronounced signatures of dysregulation, with signs of constant stimulation that lead to an exhausted state, a condition that is well-studied in cancer.

“This is an important finding for ME/CFS because now we can examine the T cells more car...

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...