about the episode
Bringing back immune cells that have been processed outside the body to do their job better against diseases such as cancer can be a very effective treatment. It can only function much better if these cells are not depleted.
Despite the fact that these cells are adapted to fight disease hard, the fighting spirit diminishes after a while. The same thing happens with immune cells in our bodies that have not been processed. If we can work out how this exhaustion mechanism works, we may be able to help them fight for longer.
This is what American researchers have now discovered. They discovered that certain proteins control the mechanism that activates genes that cause fatigue. After a lot of complicated experiments, they were able to block this gene expression. The result: immune cells that aren’t exhausted and start fighting harder than before.
It has not yet been found and more research is needed, but this could lead to a significant improvement in immunotherapy.
Read more about the search here: Researchers identify the main source of T-cell “exhaustion”.
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