A new perspective on immune fine-tuning through 'mechanics'

The immune system protects us from infections, harmful substances, and problematic changes in our own cell.

The lab of Associate Professor Dan Winer, MD, is working on a whole new perspective on how immune cells wor.

Working with other experts, Winer published a convincing article in the Au.

"This review integrates a new theory of how the immune system senses danger by unifying chemical and mechanical signaling," Winer sai.

Mechanical stimuli in tissue are known to affect the cardiovascular and skeletal systems, and mechanical changes in tissue occur during scarring, as well as in infection, injury, and cance.

"These forces have profound effects on the behavior of the immune system," said Huixun "Zoe" Du, a graduate student in Winer's lab and co-author of the revie.

Winer's research has focused on how obesity alters the immune system for years, noting that as fat tissue increases, so does fibrosis (thickened scar tissue.

After comprehensively summarizing the research to date on this topic, Wiener and his colleagues concluded that while the field is still in its infancy, the new insights it provides can be applied to almost any situation involving the immune system , including enhancing or reducing inflammation, treating autoimmunity, promoting healing after tissue damage or infection, and targeting diseases such as fibrosis and cance.

"There is currently a lack of force-sensitive immunotherapy, but the potential for developing new treatments in this area is limitless," Winer sai.

For example, one of the hallmarks of long-term fatty liver is scarring of the liver, known as cirrhosis, which is usually harder than healthy tissu.

Likewise, he noted, the physical environment may drive immune cell responses at the site of a wound or infectio.

Mechanoimmunology can improve existing treatments, such as cell-based therapies, by optimizing the conditions under which therapeutic cells are cultured so that they optimally respond to conditions encountered in the bod.

There are also many opportunities for advancement in vaccine design, Winer said, such as improving the outer layer of the drug delivery particle to control the resulting immune respons.

"In terms of modulating mechanical forces to affect immune cell function, all we can do is just the tip of the iceberg," he sai.

Tuning immunity through tissue mechanotransduction