Scientists have identified a new type of white blood cell which activates a killing immune response to an external source paving the way for better vaccine strategies to treat cancer.
Researchers in Newcastle and Singapore have identified a subset of dendrite cells that can generate a response to an external source of antigen, for example bacteria, vaccines and tumours.
Most cells can only present antigens from within themselves, and so only elicit an immune response if they are infected themselves. The new human tissue dendritic cell is capable of presenting external antigen to activate T cells which eliminate cancerous or infected cells, a process termed “cross-presentation”.
“These are the cells we need to be targeting for anti-cancer vaccines,” Dr Muzlifah Haniffa, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University said in a statement.
“Our discovery offers an accessible, easily targetable system which makes the most of the natural ability of the cell,” Haniffa said.
The study was published in the journal Immunity.
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Biel confirms she is engaged to Timberlake
Actress Jessica Biel has finally admitted that she is engaged to singer-actor Justin Timberlake. The 30-year-old called the Bad Teacher actor her “fiancé” for the first time on the Jay Leno show. Talking about a trip to Puerto Rico, she said, “I was visiting my fiancé there. He’s shooting a film there. So I’m vacationing. I’m having the best time of my life. It’s fantastic,” she said. The couple were thought to have got engaged last December, after a five year relationship but they have made no official announcement and have never talked about the engagement. The actress was recently pictured wearing a gold necklace with the name “Justin” as she went out and about in LA. — PTI