The supposedly useless immune cells are actually weapons against HIV

For a long time, a class of self-reactive immune cells that science considered useless, even dangerous to human health, turned out to be a secret weapon. They are waiting in our bodies to fight dangerous infections.

When tested on mice, researchers in Australia discovered that lymphocytes called B cells are "silent" and they seem to be inactive. The strange thing is that when these cells are activated, they can harm our bodies under autoimmune conditions, but they are also capable of attacking harmful immune system bacteria. human body.

'The important question is why do lymphocytes stay here and exist in extremely large numbers? Why do our bodies retain those cells, while these self-binding antibodies are a real threat to human health? Why doesn't the body completely destroy them - just like we thought before? ' - Chris Goodnow, genetic immunologist at Garvan Medical Research Institute, said.

But it seems that we now have the answer to this problem. And it is Goodnow who discovered it, 30 years ago, he was one of the people who discovered these silent B-cells that reacted on their own . He said that the genetic mechanism makes cells produce antibodies to attack tissue in its own body, but we can regulate the cells so that they turn to 'fight' with the factors. Harmful outside causes infections.

'Silent' B cells are a secret weapon.(Photo: Ralwel).

What is interesting is that when regulating silent B cells we will create a whole new kind of immunity that humanity has never known. This finding could pave the way for making vaccines to fight infections such as HIV and Campylobacter (a disease caused by Campylobacter that causes intestinal infections). These diseases are hard to cure because they are cleverly hidden from our immune system by disguising themselves as biological materials in the human body.

'The discovery will completely change people's thinking about how the immune system works. It will also solve the long-standing problem: distinguishing between cells in the body, what are "invaders". The fact that you can turn a bad antibody into a good antibody doesn't seem to exist in anyone's notion , 'Goodnow researcher told The Australian Financial Review.

So far the effectiveness of new research has been demonstrated by experiments on mice. The experiment showed that DNA mutations of antibody genes located in the germ centers are where B cells are activated during the immune response. Scientists reprogram these self-reactive antibodies, causing them to stop attaching to mouse tissues and increasing their binding ability to outside invaders , the level of this cohesion. up to 5,000 times.

It is possible to make an anti-HIV vaccine from silent B cells.(Photo: Vtv.vn).

'We have previously shown that these silent cells have an important purpose. Even though our immune system is "tied up" by a bunch, it is because of this that lymphocytes can become "wolves in sheep flocks" that destroy strange elements entering from the side. outside - what our immune system cannot do , "said Deborah Burnett, the first author of the study.

By learning about a 'superhuman' process like this that can take place in the germ center, researchers hope to find new treatments to cure dangerous infections one day. of human. At that time, diseases such as HIV that can avoid our body's immune response will no longer work.

'The self-reactive cells that can contribute to helping the immune system through germplasm are particularly important in fighting pathogens that hide themselves in antigen to avoid immunity. . HIV-1 is such a pathogen, ' said Ervin E. Kara and Michel C. Nussenzweig - two immunologists at Rockefeller University.

This is a remarkable turning point to "whitewash" those previously considered to be a risk factor for the human body. New research also shows the magic of the immune system when they can turn harmful mechanisms into extremely useful weapons. 'We know that every immune cell is valuable when it can fight off invading bacteria. And our immune system knows it too! They recycle, conserve, and use 'bad apples' for good purposes instead of throwing them away, ' said Goodnow.

Research has been published in Science.