Distinct Immune Responses Promoted By Skin Sentry Cells
A new study reveals that just as different soldiers in the field have different jobs, subsets of a type of immune cell that polices the barriers of the body can promote unique and opposite immune responses against the same type of infection. The research, published online by Cell Press in the journal Immunity, enhances our understanding of the early stages of the immune response and may have important implications for vaccinations and treatment of autoimmune diseases. Dendritic cells serve as sentries of the immune system and are stationed at the body's "outposts, " like the skin, where they are likely to encounter invading pathogens.
Melanin's 'Trick' For Maintaining Radioprotection Studied
Sunbathers have long known that melanin in their skin cells provides protection from the damage caused by visible and ultraviolet light. More recent studies have shown that melanin, which is produced by multitudes of the planet's life forms, also gives some species protection from ionizing radiation. In certain microbes, in particular some organisms from near the former nuclear reactor facilities in Chernobyl, melanin has even been linked to increased growth in the presence of ionizing radiation.
Psoriasis Drugs Do Not Raise Risk Of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events, It Seems
There is no compelling evidence to link some psoriasis medications with major adverse cardiovascular events, despite a number of preliminary reports that appeared to indicate so, researchers from the Baylor Research Institute, Dallas, Texas reported in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). The authors had analyzed several studies which compared biologic therapies for chronic plaque psoriasis to placebos. Over the last ten years, several studies have shown an association between autoimmune diseases and chronic systemic inflammation, and the subsequent cardiovascular risk that comes with inflammation.