Cell study may lead to better flu vaccines
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. microbiologist studying the human immune system has discovered new information that might lead to production of better flu vaccines.
University of Tennessee Professor Mark Sangster tracked a little-understood immune system cell -- known as memory B cells -- as it responded to an influenza infection.
"When we see how these cells are formed in response to a full-on infection of the flu, we get a picture of the gold standard of the immune response and protection," said Sangster, who co-authored the study with graduate student Hye Mee Joo and postdoctoral researcher Yuxia He.
One finding that surprised Sangster was that the memory B cells were found in especially high concentrations in the lungs -- organs not usually associated with an immune response.
"What we found is that the lungs are a complex and potentially very useful reservoir of immunological memory," he said. When the body is faced with the flu again, those cells quickly begin making antibodies that fight the flu virus.
The research is reported in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International.
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