New study challenges our understanding of the immune system

A not long ago released study from Aarhus College may perhaps suggest a textbook chapter on the immune technique will have to be rewritten.

In the analyze, printed in the journal Character Communications, the researchers reveal essential new knowledge about B cells, which kind a very important component in the body’s defense procedure. B cells are the cells that generate protecting antibodies when we are vaccinated or have an infection—and it is also the B cells that generate dangerous antibodies in connection with allergies or autoimmune health conditions.

The researchers have examined the earliest step in activating the B cells, namely the activation mechanism that is brought on when the cells realize a certain goal or ‘enemy’—an antigen.

“Beforehand, it was believed that the antigens from, for illustration, viruses or vaccines would have to cross-bind a B-cell’s receptors on the mobile surface. Which is what it claims in all the textbooks. But now we have revealed that even antigens that can only bind a single receptor at a time are equipped to activate the B cells,” states Søren Degn, affiliate professor at Office of Biomedicine, who is the senior writer of the posting.

The discovery is crucial on numerous levels, he clarifies.

“The final result is sizeable mainly because it signifies a breakthrough in our comprehension of how these essential immune cells ‘recognize’ their enemies. When we recognize what is going on, we can imitate it in the structure of new vaccines, to guarantee greatest influence. 1 may say that our conclusions can make us better at mimicking the pathogenic microorganisms, and so improved at provoking or ‘cheating’ the immune program into making a great immune response when we vaccinate.”

A hotly debated matter in the industry

The discovery is fascinating for each the immunological field and for mobile biology in general, due to the fact the scientists have lose new light-weight on the foundation for how receptors on the surface area of cells mail signals into the cells—a important organic process.

“The examine allows us to far better have an understanding of the qualifications for 1 of the most significant processes in the immune process, and just one of the most crucial procedures in cell biology. But it is apparent that, in the extensive expression, this could also have essential application-oriented aspects,” suggests Søren Degn.

The researchers have started preclinical vaccine trials with the intention of translating the findings into clinically related vaccine structure. They are also trying to use the very same applications in reverse, to focus on and turn off harmful immune procedure responses this kind of as allergic reactions and autoimmune health conditions.

“When we recognize how the B cells are activated, we can produce better vaccines. In the somewhat longer term, we might also be in a position to switch off B-cell activation in conditions where by it is damaging. We are learning each of these in the CellPAT basic exploration heart at Aarhus College,” says Søren Degn.

For numerous a long time, the activation of B cells has been the item of a great deal of discussion amid researchers, since the predominant product for how immune recognition will take location could not clarify all of the observations.

In the new study, the scientists at the Department of Biomedicine and iNANO in Aarhus, in a cross-disciplinary collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Munich, have developed new applications that make it feasible to puncture the predominant model and thus bury the decades-old paradigm.

“We have proven that the way in which the activation of B cells has been described around the earlier 30 or forty decades is erroneous. This is an vital acquiring, since it opens the door to superior vaccines and greater treatment of a significant group of conditions,” claims Søren Degn.