Wistar researchers find receptors to 'tune' T cells

Researchers at the Wistar Institute have found a number of receptors on the surface of T cells that can be targeted by new drugs to keep the body's immune system in top condition.

In a study published online November 30 in Nature Immunology, the researchers describe their discovery of seven different receptors on T cells that can tamp down immune responses during a prolonged battle with an infectious pathogen or against developing cancer.

Chronic over-stimulation of the immune system can lead to poor control of infections and cancer, so the results explain why it is that these key immune cells gradually become "exhausted" and ineffective over time, says the study's lead author, E. John Wherry, (photo) Ph.D., an assistant professor in Wistar's Immunology Program

"We are starting to see a picture emerging of a really tuneable array of inhibitory receptors expressed on T cells," Wherry says. "That suggests it may be possible to not only dramatically enhance antiviral or antitumor T cell responses, but also to fine tune which response you want to enhance in order to reverse T cell exhaustion and continue fighting an infection or disease.

- check out the Wistar release

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