Source: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Posted: July 27, 2006
Summary:
Researchers have made an important finding in T cell development bringing immunologists one step closer to enabling the creation of tailored T cell therapy that could one day be used to treat patients with AIDS or other immune system deficiencies.
For the first time, researchers understand which groups of molecules are required to produce various types of T cells. The findings show that T cell pre-cursor cells will grow into different types of mature T cells despite the absence of the Notch molecule, a molecule that the researchers recently showed was essential for the early-stage development of both types of T cells.
The work clarifies how both T cell types can be generated in the laboratory, thereby enabling further study directed at tailoring their unique functions to specific clinical needs. The breakthrough also established a simple and effective way for other researchers to study T cell development.
Commentary: This research seems to provide scientists with new insights and understanding into how to translate T cells into genetically matched, patient-specific cells that could be used to treat immunological diseases and conditions, and may yield signfical progress in immune dieasease research.
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