Human T-cellWIKIPEDIA, NIAID/NIHOur bodies are protected by white blood cells called T-cells that detect and destroy infections, tumors, and other threats. But these watchmen are themselves watched by regulatory T-cells, which suppress the proliferation of other T-cells and prevent our immune systems from turning against our own bodies.
Now, a team of Australian scientists has discovered a new type of these suppressors that are distinguished by a protein called CD52, which they produce in large quantities and release. These “CD52hi cells” appear to play a key role in type 1 diabetes. In humans with the disease, these cells are rare and ineffective at suppressing other T-cells. Furthermore, depleting these cells in diabetes-prone mice quickly triggers the disease.
“We can’t claim yet that these cells are important for preventing diabetes in humans, but the evidence suggests that they are,” said Len Harrison from the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia, who led the research, published today (May 19) in Nature Immunology.
“This finding will assist in the development of targeted ...
