A world-class team of researchers co-led by UC San Francisco's Allan Balmain, PhD, FRS, has been selected to receive a $25 million Cancer Grand Challenges award to investigate the very early stages of cancer development.
DNA mutations are essential to the rapid development of an array of antibody-producing immune cells called B cells that collectively can recognize a vast number of specific targets.
The acute psychosocial stress states stimulate the secretion of an antibody type protein which is decisive in the first immune defence against infection, but only after puberty. However, children with a history of maltreatment present a similar response to that of adolescents, which suggests there is an early maturation of the immune system in these cases.