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NEW YORK, May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Researchers have discovered new ways in which the COVID-19 virus causes human immune cells to overreact, a deadly part of the disease.
Led by researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, the new study found that SARS-CoV-2, the pandemic virus, interacts with specific proteins on immune cells, causing these cells to release abnormally high levels of immune signaling proteins called cytokines (a cytokine storm ). These cytokines, in turn, cause fluid buildup in the lungs and makes it hard to breathe.
Scientists develop a new method to study the molecular characteristics of T cells
UT Southwestern scientists have developed a new method to study the molecular characteristics of T cells, critical immune cells that recognize and attack invaders in the body such as viruses, bacteria, and cancer.
The approach, described today in the journal
Nature Methods, enables researchers to more easily analyze the roles of T cell receptors (TCRs) - the molecules on the surfaces of T cells that are responsible for recognizing pathogens.
This could lead to a better understanding of how T cells work as well as new ways to harness T cells to fight disease.
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IMAGE: The above illustration, in the center, shows activation of T cell immune response with the interaction of MHC-II (red) with the T cell receptor (TCR, blue), and also CD4 (light. view more
Credit: Art purchased from Alamy and modified by Dr. Tao Wang.
DALLAS - Jan. 6, 2020 - UT Southwestern scientists have developed a new method to study the molecular characteristics of T cells, critical immune cells that recognize and attack invaders in the body such as viruses, bacteria, and cancer.
The approach, described today in the journal
Nature Methods, enables researchers to more easily analyze the roles of T cell receptors (TCRs) - the molecules on the surfaces of T cells that are responsible for recognizing pathogens.