ABOVE: Colorized scanning electron micrographs of B and T lymphocytes (left, right) shown with a fluorescent microscopy image of the newly discovered DE cell, also called the X cell to denote its crossover nature between B cells and T cells (center).
B AND T CELL IMAGES FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES; X CELL IMAGE FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
According to textbooks, cells of the adaptive immune system must be either B cells or T cells—they can’t be both, or anything in between. But proving once again that nature is full of surprises, scientists have now discovered a novel type of lymphocyte in type 1 diabetes patients that combines characteristics of B cells and T cells. The researchers suggest that these hybrids could play an important role in the disease by encouraging the immune system to attack the body’s own insulin-producing cells, they report today ...
