Seemingly suicidal stunt is normal rite of passage for immune cells

... that normally helps the cell sense DNA damage. "This explains why the lymphocyte counts in these patients drop so sharply," Sleckman says. "Not only is the ... line developed in his lab, researchers induced double-stranded breaks in lymphocyte DNA using the same enzymes the cells normally use to create the breaks. ...

3 Columbia University Medical Center faculty elected to Institute of Medicine

... and her laboratory work focuses primarily on transcriptional regulation of lymphocyte development. A major focus of her current work is an unusual transcriptional repressor called Blimp-1 (B lymphocyte induced maturation protein). Her studies on Blimp-1 are revealing ...

Researchers explore new driver of transplant rejection: Platelets

... for attacking organ injury and rejection head-on, says Rabb. The traditional target of current anti-rejection medicine is the so-called T lymphocyte a white blood cell believed to be the major orchestrator of the immune response against any foreign tissues, including transplants. "The thought ...

UC Davis researchers discover how HIV turns food-poisoning into lethal infection

... revealed that viral infection of the intestine results in the depletion of a type of white blood cell, called Th-17, in the gut mucosa. This T helper lymphocyte produces IL-17, a cytokine or chemical messenger that plays a crucial role in the inflammatory response, recruiting other immune system cells to the ...

Glue inside the cell

... process of de-ubiquitination is constantly happening in cells and it could contribute to prevent an over-shooting activation of T cells. Unopposed lymphocyte activity is responsible for many chronic diseases, autoimmunity or even lymphoma development. Future work must address the status of Malt1 ...

How T lymphocytes attack

... Recognition of the tumour antigen determines T lymphocyte behaviour To arrive at their conclusion, the ... at all stages of development. However, T lymphocyte behaviour varied in antigen-containing tumour; when the tumour stopped growing because of the lymphocyte injection three or four days previously, the ...

How 'memory' T cells curb the spread of viruses throughout the body

... the blood to kill infected cells at the site where the virus entered the body (most commonly the skin, the lungs or the gut). This process of lymphocyte multiplication and migration may take several days while viruses multiply and spread quicker. Sigal’s work shows the CD8 T cells can protect from ...

Major gene study uncovers secrets of leukemia

... methodology," Downing said. The mutations identified in "PAX5," "EBF" and "Ikaros" are likely to directly contribute to this block in normal lymphocyte differentiation, according to Downing. These genes encode proteins called transcription factors, which orchestrate the expression of a large number ...

Common blood test can help distinguish between mononucleosis and tonsillitis

... increased in the tonsillitis group compared with the mononucleosis group (16,560 cells per microliter vs. 11,400 cells per microliter), but the lymphocyte count was higher in the mononucleosis group (6,490 cells per microliter vs. 1,590 cells per microliter). The ratio of lymphocyte/white blood cell ...

Minuscule molecules pack a powerful punch

... of control in the immune system and will lead immunologists to rethink how the immune system works," said Dr Martin Turner, Head of the Laboratory of lymphocyte Signalling and Development at the Babraham Institute. The deficits in response were significant: the knockout mice were less able to resist ...

Environmental toxins may cause body's defenses to worsen lung disease

... and fighting off infection in the body, continually survey the epithelial cells lining the lungs to identify and destroy diseased cells. If the lymphocyte recognizes the tissue, Borchers explains, it simply continues its survey for problems. But if the cell receives a signal that the tissue is infected, ...

PNAS study reveals why organs fail following massive trauma

... by, any invader encountered. When one of those immune cells, called lymphocytes, recognizes a bacterium or virus presented by the innate system, that lymphocyte expands into army of clones specifically designed to attack the invader at hand. Unfortunately, lymphocytes too are capable of mistakenly destroying ...

Montreal researchers identify defects of immune cells

... diminution and functional defects of both dendritic cells and CD4+ cells cause susceptibility to candidiasis in these transgenic mice by preventing T lymphocyte mediated acquired immunity to Candida albicans. The results also showed extensive perturbations in the production of cytokines required for ...

Researchers map out networks that determine cell fate

... into this regulatory circuitry, Singh said. Many leukemias exhibit mixed-lineage patterns of gene expression, for example of both macrophage and lymphocyte genes. "It may be that these cells are stuck in a progenitor-like state," said Singh. "If you could induce them to resolve that state ¡X to ...

BiovaxID?yields 89 percent survival in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkins

... study showed that, despite an almost complete depletion of normal B-cell lymphocytes due to EPOCH-R therapy, BiovaxID did induce anti-tumor T-cell lymphocyte responses in most patients. Depletion of normal B-cell lymphocytes is a consequence of the combination of chemotherapy and Rituxan, but not of ...

Zinc supplements safe for HIV-infected children

... supplementation began. At each follow-up visit, parents were asked about illnesses since the last visit. In addition, HIV-1 RNA in plasma and CD4+ T lymphocyte cell counts were measured one month before the study, at the first study visit and three, six and nine months after the start of supplementation. ...

B cells are required for development of epithelial cancer associated with chronic inflammation

... and Department of Defense. de Visser, K.E., Korets, L.V., and Coussens, L.M. (2005). De novo carcinogenesis promoted by chronic inflammation is B lymphocyte dependent. Cancer Cell 7, 411?23. www.cancercell.org ...

Touching Molecules With Your Bare Hands

... immune cells. Gamma-herpesviruses, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV), can induce uncontrolled lymphocyte (immune cell) proliferation and result in lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. These diseases arise from the persistent latent ...

How A Latent Virus Eludes Immune Defenses

... immune cells. Gamma-herpesviruses, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi’s sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV), can induce uncontrolled lymphocyte (immune cell) proliferation and result in lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. These diseases arise from the persistent latent ...

Multi-purpose protein regulates new protein synthesis and immune cell development

... rearrangements of immunoglobulin genes to function properly. "Our findings show that IRE1 is required for both the early and late stages of B lymphocyte development, and that it works through a different mechanism at each stage," Zhang says. "This is the first indication that a sensor for protein ...

Viral protein influences key cell-signaling pathway

... by infected women to children through breast milk. HTLV-1, like its cousin HIV, inserts its genetic information permanently into the DNA of a T lymphocyte and remains there for the life of the cell. HTLV-1 infection is also lifelong. A hallmark of HTLV-1 infection is the proliferation of T lymphocytes. ...

TEL2 gene cooperates with MYC gene to provoke B-cell lymphomas

... of B lymphoma. "TEL2 doesn't directly cause cancer," Grosveld said. "Instead, this gene promotes the development of lymphoma by enlarging the B lymphocyte population. This increases the likelihood that at least a few of the cells acquire a mutation eliminating p53 function just by chance. In the absence ...

Fox Chase Cancer Center scientists identify immune-system mutation

... Fox Chase's laboratory animal facility in 1997. Known as "helper deficient" or HD mice, they are proving to be useful for exploring the pathways of lymphocyte development, according to Kappes. Helper T cells, so called because they arise from the thymus gland, are essential for combating intracellular ...