Science: a major breakthrough! A new mechanism of detecting cancer and infection by γ δ T cells

January 18, 2020 news / Bio Valley BIOON / - -- γ δ T cells are essential for protective immune response For 25 years, scientists have been puzzled by the question of how to activate δ T cells In a new study, researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia and the Olivia Newton John Cancer Institute and other research institutions have made a breakthrough in this issue Relevant research results were published online in the journal Science on January 9, 2020, and the title of the paper is "butyrophilin 2A1 is essential for photoantigen activity by γ δ T cells" The corresponding authors are Dr Andreas behren of the Newton John Cancer Institute in Olivia, Professor Dale Godfrey of the Peter Doherty Institute of infection and immunology at the University of Melbourne and Dr Adam uldrich of the Peter Doherty Institute of infection and immunology The first author of this paper is Marc Rigau, Ph.D student of the Peter Doherty Institute of infection and immunology Here's how the delta T cells detect infection and cancer The picture is from the University of Melbourne Dr uldrich explained that it is known that delta T cells respond to small molecules called phosphoantigens produced by bacteria and cancer cells This leads to the activation of these delta T cells and often eradicates the diseased cells Professor Godfrey said, "so far, scientists have been trying to understand a basic problem: how to detect the phosphate antigen by delta T cells." These researchers found that the T cell receptor (TCR) molecule located on the surface of δ T cells binds to another molecule called butylophilin 2A1 (btn2a1), which is present on the surface of many different cell types in the whole body "These findings represent a key advance in our understanding of how delta T cells protect us from disease," Dr behren said The researchers believe that this breakthrough could eventually lead to the development of new and improved immunotherapies for millions of people around the world suffering from cancer and infection Dr con panousis, co-author of the paper and senior director of molecular biology of CSL Limited, said, "this research project demonstrates the power of cooperation between academia and industry Nearly ten years ago, we have identified btn2a1 as a potential therapeutic target, but its exact biological function is still unclear This discovery has made a significant contribution to our understanding of how δ T cells function and paved the way for the transformation of this study into a new immunotherapy for the treatment of serious human diseases " (BIOON Com) reference: 1 Marc Rigau et al Butyrophilin 2A1 is essential for photoantigen activity by γ δ T cells Science, 2020, doi:10.1126/science.aay5516 2.Researchers decipher a new way that immune cells detect infections and cancers https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-01-decipher-immune-cells-infections-cancers.html