We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App




Important Immune Cell Regulators’ Response Identified

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 14 Sep 2014
Print article
A new strategy could help accelerate laboratory research and the development of potential therapeutics, including vaccines. The technology may also be used to identify the genes that underlie tumor cell development.

There are approximately 40,000 genes in each of the body’s cells, but functions for only approximately 505 of them are known. The conventional approach to determine the function of individual genes is time-consuming. “Typically, studies to identify differentiation players are done one gene at a time,” said Associate Professor Matthew Pipkin of TSRI, who led the study with Prof. Shane Crotty of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (La Jolla, CA, USA). “Our study describes a novel method that can ‘screen’ entire gene families to discover the functions of a large number of individual genes simultaneously, a far more efficient methodology.”

In the new study, published August 23, 2014, in the journal Immunity, the scientists studied genes that control the specialization of T cells into effector cells that eliminate pathogens during infection and “memory” cells that survive long term to maintain guard after the first infection has gone, keeping the same pathogens from re-infecting the body after it has battled them off once.

In their research, the investigators created a mixture of T cells, identical except that the expression of a different gene was interrupted in each cell so the pool of cells represented disruption of a large set of genes. The researchers then assessed the cells’ response to Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). Before-and-after-infection studies revealed which cells with interrupted genes had emerged after infection; cells in which disruption of a specific gene resulted in it being lost from the mixture indicated the gene played a role in promoting the cell's development into an antiviral T cell.

The study effectively detected two earlier unidentified factors that work together during T cell differentiation—cyclin T1 and its catalytic partner Cdk9, which together form the transcription elongation factor (P-TEFb). While widely expressed throughout the body and used in a number of developmental processes, the factors were previously unknown to be important in the differentiation of both antiviral CD4 and CD8 T cells.

“One of the regulators we uncovered normally enhances effector T cell differentiation at the expense of generating memory T cells and T cells that orchestrate antibody production,” Prof. Pipkin said. “That’s one candidate that you'd want to 'turn down' if you wanted to create more T cells that form memory cells and promote a more effective antibody response—something that would be extremely helpful in developing a vaccine.”

Related Links:

La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology


Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
HLX
Complement 3 (C3) Test
GPP-100 C3 Kit
New
Gold Member
Magnetic Bead Separation Modules
MAG and HEATMAG

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: MOF materials efficiently enrich cfDNA and cfRNA in blood through simple operational process (Photo courtesy of Science China Press)

Blood Circulating Nucleic Acid Enrichment Technique Enables Non-Invasive Liver Cancer Diagnosis

The ability to diagnose diseases early can significantly enhance the effectiveness of clinical treatments and improve survival rates. One promising approach for non-invasive early diagnosis is the use... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The low-cost portable device rapidly identifies chemotherapy patients at risk of sepsis (Photo courtesy of 52North Health)

POC Finger-Prick Blood Test Determines Risk of Neutropenic Sepsis in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Neutropenia, a decrease in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell crucial for fighting infections), is a frequent side effect of certain cancer treatments. This condition elevates the risk of infections,... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The OvaCis Rapid Test discriminates benign from malignant epithelial ovarian cysts (Photo courtesy of INEX)

Intra-Operative POC Device Distinguishes Between Benign and Malignant Ovarian Cysts within 15 Minutes

Ovarian cysts represent a significant health issue for women globally, with up to 10% experiencing this condition at some point in their lives. These cysts form when fluid collects within a thin membrane... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.