Natural killer cells have a memory

Bonn: Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Munich decode an autoimmune mechanism. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität of Munich have decoded a new mechanism of how the immune system can specifically attack pigmented cells of the skin. It was previously believed that so-called natural killer cells did not have an immunological memory for the body's own tissues. However, the scientists have now been able to show that these special immune cells can indeed “remember” pigmented cells when they come into more frequent contact with a specific contact allergen. These results may provide new insights into the development of the skin-depigmenting disease vitiligo but may also offer new options for the treatment of malignant melanoma. These results have now been published in the renowned scientific journal “Immunity”.

GPS for tracking immune cells

Stanford: In the culmination of a 10-year-long effort, researchers have demonstrated the first visualization of human immune cells as they track down brain tumor cells in living patients. A study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has for the first time demonstrated a way to visualize and monitor the behavior of immune cells used to treat cancer patients. The new technique allows researchers to see where immunotherapy cells go as they hunt down tumors in the human body. The imaging technique also reveals whether the immune cells, called T cells, have found a tumor; how many T cells have arrived at the tumor; and whether the T cells are alive.