Cells in the immune system don't always fight; they often rest and wait for threats, like viruses or bacteria.
Gladstone InstitutesDec 11 2024 Cells in the immune system don't always fight; they often rest and wait for threats, like viruses or bacteria. When such threats emerge, the cells activate to defend the body. This delicate balance between rest and activation is crucial to our health-;immune cells must be poised for activation to protect against threats, but if they're overly active, autoimmune diseases can result.
The findings give scientists a better understanding of the basic biology of T cells and pave the way toward new therapies for the multitude of diseases in which T cell function is centrally involved. "Although these T cells have opposite roles in the immune system, they often rely on the same environmental signals to tell them when to become activated," says Maya Arce, a graduate student in Marson's lab and first author of the paper. "We wanted to understand the mechanisms that allow for different responses across cell types, despite their similarities."
Together, the scientists showed that MED12 binds to large groups of proteins known to control the structure of chromatin-;the packaged form of DNA inside cells. Next, the team discovered that MED12 and its associated proteins bind to different places in the genome in different T cell types and states.
"It was apparent that MED12 sits at the top of a hierarchy, like an orchestra conductor controlling what other genes and proteins can do," says Krogan, who is also the director of the Quantitative Biosciences Institute at UCSF. "Without MED12, the line between rest and activation became blurred; the resting cells look more activated, and the activated cells look more like resting cells.
Bacteria Cancer Cancer Immunotherapy Cell Chromatin CRISPR DNA Gene Genes Genome Genomic Immunology Immunotherapy Protein Research Technology
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