Clarifying the problem of T-cell 'exhaustion'

[2greys]

Researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have illuminated an important limitation of the immune system in prolonged battles against cancers or viruses: T cells, which are among the most powerful weapons in the immune systems of humans and other vertebrates, remain substantially programmed to stay exhausted even many weeks after exposure to a virus ended. The findings were published today in Nature Immunology.

Scientists have known that T cells can lose their ability to fight viruses and tumors when they have prolonged exposure to these enemies. They have hoped that this “T cell exhaustion” phenomenon could be reversed relatively easily, for example when the T cells are no longer exposed to the virus or tumor in question. Scientists now will need to take into account this limitation, including when devising immune-based therapies against chronic viral infections and cancers.

“Our findings suggest that once T cells become exhausted, they remain fundamentally ‘wired’ to be exhausted—thus it may be hard to get them to become effective virus- and cancer-fighters again,” said study senior author E. John Wherry, PhD, chair of the department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics and director of the Penn Institute of Immunology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

pennmedicine.org/news/news-...

Nature Immunology. Research Paper:

nature.com/articles/s41590-...

[2greys]

This, in my opinion, goes some way to explain just why cancer patients are more likely to become critical and die from Covid.

[Hidden]

It’ll be good when scientists come up with a vaccine for the immuno-suppressed, as has been mooted. How that might work is way over my head, but hopefully it’ll help a lot of people

[Izb1]

Lets hope they can find a way of injecting new young t cells after these fighting ones have been exhausted. Thanks for keeping us updated 2g. I dont always understand the full article but do get a grasp of the meaning x

[Walkwalkwalk]

A good read. I have developed an interest in the T cell involvement in IPF and there seems to be increasing interest in the field. Thanks for the postings.