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Immunologic Memory Discovery Reported
UPI Correspondent Cambridge (UPI) Feb 26, 2007 British scientists say they've discovered why people, as they age, develop so-called immunologic memory to newly encountered pathogens. Kenneth Smith and colleagues at the University of Cambridge found plasma cells, which make antibodies tailored for specific pathogens, express a protein called FcgammaRIIb on their surface, with older plasma cells expressing more of it than newly generated ones. The study shows when FcgammaRIIb binds onto the older cells it triggers some cells to self destruct, thereby making space for the newly made plasma cells in the bone marrow where they can produce antibodies against recently encountered pathogens. The authors suggested that plasma cell expression of that protein provides a feedback mechanism to limit the number of antibody-producing cells in the body. The researchers also demonstrated human myeloma cells, which are a form of cancerous cells arising from plasma cells, are also sensitive to FcgammaRIIb-induced self destruction. Thus, the scientists said, it might be possible to use FcgammaRIIb-targeted therapies to target both pathogenic autoantibody producing cells and myeloma. The research appeared in last week's issue of the journal Nature Immunology.
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Getting On Your Nerves And Repairing Them
Bethesda MD (SPX) Mar 12, 2007Here is some news that will certainly get on people's nerves: In a study to be published in the March 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists from East Carolina University report that a key molecular mechanism, RNA interference (RNAi), plays a role in the regeneration and repair of periphery nerves, which are the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal column. |
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