A small number of unique hybrid cells have powerful switching capabilities for the human immune system, according to research by scientists at the Medical College of Georgia in the US, Science writes.
These are the first cells of this type to occur in nature, Dr. Andrew Mellor, a molecular geneticist and immunologist who co-heads the Immunotherapy Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia. He added that these cells look like both dendritic cells and B lymphocytes, but they aren’t any of them.
The discovery of these rare hybrids could have implications for the effectiveness of new therapies that use these two types of cells to treat diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
Although their research looked at mice, these cells are also found in humans, found in places such as the lymphatic drainage system of cancerous tumors, melanoma and even HIV infection, where they can help the disease survive.
They can be used in central cell therapy designed to increase the strength of the immune response to cancer. Science Mellor said it would only be necessary to add a few of these cells to a vaccine made from dendritic cells, which could suppress the immune response where necessary.
It is possible to destroy them in anti-rheumatoid arthritis therapies, which destroy the B lymphocytes that cause the body’s own immune system to attack the joints (PAP).