Blood samples yield clues to help fight cancers
Sydney, Nov 24 (IANS) A study of blood samples from patients of bone marrow transplants has yielded clues that could help fight cancers and auto-immune diseases.
B cells, the immune cells that produce antibodies, start their development in the bone marrow and complete it in blood and tissues.
The developmental process in humans can be studied in those who have had their bone marrow destroyed and then reconstituted from donors, because clinical samples are collected at defined periods of time following the transplant.
Doctoral student Santi Suryani and Stuart Tangye from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (GIMC) have identified the process where the body gets rid of rogue B cells which see ’self’ as the enemy and so allow the body to attack itself — as in autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
‘By identifying exactly where B cells are in their stage of development, you can better understand and target specific B cell diseases,’ said Tangye, according to a GIMC release.
These findings are online in the journal Blood.
Related Posts
Scientist create white blood cells directly from embryonic and adult stem cells
Washington, August 11 (ANI): Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have moved a step closer to transforming embryonic stem cells into a multipurpose medical tool, for they have successfully transformed these versatile cells into progenitors... |
New discovery may lead to more effective stem cell therapies for leukemia
Scientists at UC San Diego say they have taken a critical first step for the development of safer and more effective stem cell therapies for patients with leukemia, multiple myeloma, anaemia and a host of other diseases of the blood or bone marrow.
They've... |
Bone marrow cells could evade immune system rejection
Scientists from Iowa and Iran have used cells from mice to discover a new strategy for making embryonic stem cell transplants less likely to be rejected by a recipient's immune system.
The strategy, involves fusing bone marrow cells to embryonic... |
Leukaemia vaccine set for human trials
London, Jan 4 (ANI): A vaccine for leukaemia is set to undergo human trials for the first time.
Researchers from University College London have developed a treatment that can be used to stop the disease returning after chemotherapy or bone... |
Molecular switch that triggers allergic response in humans identified
A new American research on human cells has found a molecule thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which directs immune cells to develop the ability to generate an allergic response.
The study suggests that this molecule is vital to the development... |
‘Mini’ transplant may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults
London, Dec 10 (ANI): "Mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults, according to a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins.
The phase I/II study to... |
