Road signs for immune defense cells

Organisms are constantly invaded by pathogens such as viruses. Our immune system swings into action to combat these pathogens immediately. The innate non-specific immune response is triggered first, and the adaptive or acquired ...

A simpler way to differentiate B cells and T cells

Our immune system is essential for our survival, as our bodies are constantly being exposed to bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other pathogens. Without an immune system, we would quickly lose the war against these pathogens ...

Expanded role for calcium channels in T-cells

A subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels was found to have a functional role in T-cells, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications.

Team develops a rapid test to measure immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Mount Sinai researchers have developed a rapid blood assay that measures the magnitude and duration of someone's immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This test will allow large-scale monitoring of the population's ...

Decoding the language of immune responses

Fever, cough, sore throat—symptoms in the spotlight in the era of COVID-19—are just some of the telltale signs of our body's immune system kicking into action against an unwanted intruder. Whether triggered by an infection, ...

Secrets of thymus formation revealed

The thymus is a crucial organ of the immune system. In the thymus, the well-known T cells mature: As killer cells, they recognize and destroy virus-infected or malignant cells, and as so-called helper T cells they assist ...

RNA binding proteins help T cells pick their weapons before battle

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have shown that two RNA binding proteins hold the key to a stronger immune response to influenza in mice. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, reveal that the absence ...

Snakes and lizards evolve minus key T cells

The slow-moving Australian sleepy lizard has raised new questions about vertebrate immunity after the surprise discovery of the evolutionary disappearance of genes needed for some T cell production in squamates.

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