Immunity Switch
The "master key" of the immune system has been found
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Scientists have found a regulator for immune cells: a tiny RNA molecule affects the immune response throughout the body. The discovery may have important implications for the treatment of autoimmune, infectious and other diseases.
Researchers from the University of Manchester (UK) have traced a molecular pathway that is critical for the activity of the human immune system. This "master key" is found in a tiny molecule called microRNA-142, according to the university's website (Masterswitch discovered in body's immune system).
The authors are confident that the discovery of this molecular pathway is an important step in understanding the functioning of the immune system. It opens the way to the development of methods for the treatment of a number of serious diseases when the human immune system attacks its own healthy tissues.
The scientists concluded that microRNA-142 controls the T cells regulating the immune response, thereby preventing autoimmune diseases.
In addition, it is the most strongly expressed regulator in the entire human immune system, the researchers emphasize.
The balance of the immune system is very important for many reasons. So, if the activity of regulatory T cells is too low, there is a risk that other immune cells attack healthy tissues of the body. On the contrary, with increased activity, immune reactions are suppressed. This allows, for example, cancer to go unnoticed.
The ability to control these processes discovered by researchers should open up huge opportunities for the treatment of pathologies of the immune system, the authors believe.
"This will lead to the development of new treatments for autoimmune and infectious diseases, cancer and others," concludes senior author of the study Graham Lord.
Today, millions of people suffer from autoimmune diseases, and the cause of most of them remains unclear. Recent studies by scientists from the United States have discovered the source of some of them. The problem may be in interferon production disorders, they believe.
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