Signals for lymphocytes

A signaling pathway has been discovered that allows controlling the immune response as a whole

Anna Kerman, XX2 century, based on the materials of Medicalexpress: New way found to boost immunity in fight cancer and infections

An international team of researchers led by Professor of Medicine Christopher Rudd from the University of Montreal (Université de Montréal), who heads the department of immunology and cell therapy at the research center of the Hospital Maisonneuve-Rosemont (Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont), has discovered a new immunological mechanism. This mechanism controls the ability of T-lymphocytes to respond to foreign antigens and cancer.

A cancer cell surrounded by T-lymphocytes.

T cells are responsible for organizing the immune response. As part of the new work, it was discovered that the LFA-1 receptor on the surface of lymphocytes controls the adhesion (attachment) of these cells to others, for example, to cancer cells.

The results of the study are published in Nature Communications (Raab et al., LFA-1 activates focal adhesion kinases FAK1/PYK2 to generate LAT-GRB2-SKAP1 complexes that terminate T-cell conjugate formation). The authors of the work demonstrated that LFA-1 provides adhesion and readgesis using a previously unknown intracellular signaling pathway. In the last decade, the international scientific community has repeatedly demonstrated the importance of controlling the work of the immune system, its activation to fight cancer and infections. Manipulations with a new signaling pathway discovered by Professor Rudd and his colleagues can be used to create new strategies in immunotherapy of oncological diseases.

"As part of this work," explains Professor Rudd, "we have discovered a new way to change the immune response in general. Now we have new immune activation tools to fight cancer and infections. The new discovery can help in the treatment of many diseases if the drug is targeted at a single component of the T-cell."

The discovery made by Professor Rudd and his colleagues can help not only in developing new approaches to immunotherapy, but also in finding weaknesses in existing strategies.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  20.07.2017