Nat Immunol: Cell suicide can help the immune system cope with viral infections.

October 3, 2020 /--- whether influenza or coronavirus, it may take several days for the body to respond effectively to the virus infection.
study, published in the journal Nature Immunology, describes how different cells in the immune system work together, communicate with each other, and die of neophils to help fight infection.
these findings may be important for the development of vaccines and antiviral therapies.
"The immune system is made up of several different types of cells, all of which work together," said Dr. Minsoo Kim, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).
these findings suggest that neophils play an important alcidal role, benefiting other immune cells by providing critical resources for survival and in the process enhancing the body's immune response to the virus.
" neutral granulocytes are a key component of the congenital immune system, a part of the body's defense system that is always on and alert to bacterial and viral invaders.
most of the white blood cells circulating in the blood are neophilic granulocytes, so these cells are the first cells in the field to respond to infection.
, neotrophils themselves do not completely eliminate the threat of viruses.
, when the respiratory tract is infected with viruses such as influenza or COVID-19, large numbers of neophils rush to the site of infection and release chemical signals.
this triggers the production of T-cells, which are part of the body's accessible immune system and are activated to produce a more direct response to a particular infection.
usually takes a few days, these T-cells target and eventually destroy infected cells.
new study in mice infected with the flu virus suggests that in addition to being able to quickly initiate an adaptive immune response, neutral granulocytes have an important task: to sacrifice themselves.
when T-cells reach the site of infection, neophilic granulocytes initiate a process called apoptosis or controlled death, which releases a large number of molecules called skin growth factors (EGFs).
EGF provides T cells with the extra energy they need to get the job done.
" study showed that the adaptive immune system did not respond successfully without the guidance and help of the innitive immune system.
the first time that different immune cells work together, even at their own expense, to achieve the same goal of protecting hosts from viral infections.
" Kim and his colleagues point out that new understandings of immune system function open the door to potential new approaches that can intervene and optimize collaboration between different immune cells during viral infections.
these efforts could eventually lead to more effective vaccines and antiviral therapies against respiratory infections such as influenza and coronavirus.
(bioon.com) Source: Cells sacrifice theirselves to boost immune response to viruses Original source: Kihong Lim et al, In situ neutrophil efferocytosis shapes T cell immunity to influenza, Naturelogy (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41590-020-0746-x.