When faced with a threat, T cells have the decision-making flexibility to both clear out the pathogen now and ready themselves for a future encounter.
Dietary supplements claim to be able to ‘boost your immune system’ to combat disease. But attaining immune balance through a healthy lifestyle and vaccination is a safer bet to keep in good health.
T cells recognize and kill cancer cells but quickly lose their effectiveness. This fast dysfunction may help explain why immunotherapy doesn’t lead to long-term remission for many patients.
Researchers found that people with a specific gene variant were two to eight times more likely to not have symptoms after infection.
A Harvard-led study shows that the gut microbiota acts as the training camp for a class of immune cells that are recruited to heal muscle injury.
Preventive and therapeutic vaccines both train the immune system to fight disease, but they are used in different ways.
Immunotherapy has the potential to eliminate tumors, but works best for select patients. Engineering T cells to bypass cancer’s defenses could help expand treatment eligibility to more patients.
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