T Cells: There’s No Time to Die — Leading the fight against viruses, bacteria, and malignant cells
The T cells in our immune system are the first to fight viruses, bacteria and malignant cells. The older we become, the less of them the body produces. How long we stay healthy is also dependent on the survival of T cells. Researchers from the University of Basel discovered a previously unknown pathway that is essential for T-cell viability.
Every cell in our bodies tries to delay death for as long as possible, just like humans. This is especially true for one type of immune cell, T-lymphocytes or T cells. These cells are responsible for keeping viruses, bacteria and cancerous cells away. The production of T cells is active in children, young adults and infants. However, this process gradually stops as we age.
It has been unclear for a long period of time how T cells can survive so long, even up to several years in humans. Professor Jean Pieters and his research team at the Biozentrum have discovered a previously unknown pathway that promotes long-term survival of cells. They report in Science Signaling that this pathway is responsible for suppressing the death of T cells. It’s regulated by a protein called coronin 1.
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