The immune system is an impressive, complicated assembly of cells and proteins that act as a first line of defense against potentially harmful agents. However, no system is perfect: Sometimes immune cells become misdirected or aren’t up to snuff against a threat. Take a look back on our top stories featuring the immune system and the ways researchers are exploring its inner workings.
Sole Fibroblasts Injected into Thighs Help Develop a Thicker Skin
One underappreciated part of the body’s defense is that of the skin. The layers of the epidermis shield the body against many threats and protect its delicate internal cells. However, not all skin offers the same level of protection, at least when it comes to resistance to mechanical stress. People who have amputated limbs often experience this firsthand when they feel discomfort from a prosthetic. To improve these patients’ quality of life, a research team explored injecting fibroblasts from more durable areas of the skin, such as the soles of the feet, into the thigh to improve the site’s resistance. Indeed, in a Phase I clinical trial, this procedure altered the cells at the injection area to resemble fibroblasts of the feet.
Cell Therapy is Poised for Sweet Victory in Diabetes
Researchers coated insulin-producing cells in a matrix to protect them from the immune system during transplantation.
Aaron Stock and Grisell Gonzalez
An advantage of using cells from one individual for their own therapy is that this introduces a lower risk of rejection by the immune system. This was the thought process that led stem cell biologist Hongkui Deng at Peking University, to try cell therapy with insulin-producing cells generated from a diabetic patient’s own induced pluripotent stem cells. The outcome of this study, the culmination of two decades of work in Deng’s lab, as well as ongoing work to further improve transplantation success in type I diabetes, offers a promising future for this therapy.
Immune Markers Help Identify Subgroups of ME/CFS Patients
Complex diseases like diabetes often have subgroups, in which patients experience similar physiological outcomes but for different underlying reasons. This phenomenon may also explain challenges in studying myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Despite the fact that millions of people live with ME/CFS in the US alone, researchers have been unable to pinpoint a specific biomarker or treatment strategy for these patients. This past year, an international team of researchers provided the most promising evidence yet of identifying a way to characterize distinct patient populations of ME/CFS.
Immune Amnesia: How the Texas Measles Outbreak Could Promote the Spread of Other Infectious Diseases
One of the hallmarks of the immune system is that it can remember agents it previously encountered to mount faster and stronger responses upon a subsequent exposure. However, measles induces amnesia in some people’s immune cells, leaving these patients, often children, susceptible to infections they previously would have had protection against. In this feature story, epidemiologist Michael Mina explained how he and his colleagues tracked down this effect and their concerns for these cases following a large measles outbreak in the US.
The Alpha-Gal Syndrome Story: How Researchers Traced a Red-Meat Allergy to Ticks
Researchers found that the lone star tick was responsible for causing red meat allergies.
Scott Commin
Researchers have tracked down strange immunological phenomena several times. When patients began reporting sudden allergies to red meat in the early 2000s, researchers were stumped. Eventually, troubleshooting reactions to a cancer drug and studying maps led the researchers to their culprit: a sugar introduced from a tick. While many questions surrounding this allergy remain open, researchers are seeing this condition spread to more people as these pesky parasites expand their territory with the help of climate change.
Why Does the Immune System Struggle When the Weather Changes?
The weather decides several factors: what you wear, what you do, and maybe how you feel. The effects of the external environment on the immune system have been understudied, yet cancer immunologist Sharon Evans at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center explained that there is some evidence pointing to an influence of outside temperature on immune activity. It all boils down to homeostasis. However, as more people experience more extreme temperatures, these possible weather effects will likely become even more important to understand.
