Time-saver a lifesaver

Reinforcements might be able to shore up the front line of cellular forces waging war on the microbes that cause many of humankind’s most dangerous ills

A mechanism that accelerates the human body’s response to infections could lead to a revolution in the treatment of diseases including cancer.

Four researchers from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) believe their internationally heralded discovery puts science on track to develop new treatments for acute infections, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancer.

The research could also have significant ramifications for the treatment of conditions such as bird flu, arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

The discovery involves cells at the front line of defence against infection, called macrophages, releasing messengers to fight and kill disease-causing microbes.

Professor Jennifer Stow, Dr Rachael Murray, Jason Kay and Daniele Sangermani discovered that macrophages use a single pathway to orchestrate two different responses to disease.

Dr Rachael Murray “When disease-causing microbes infected the body, macrophages responded by engulfing and killing the microbes,” Professor Stow said.

“The cells also released chemical messengers to boost immunity.”

She said the research was made possible by advanced technologies at the IMB such as live cell microscopy and gene analysis, which were unique in Queensland.

“By using these technologies, we were able to show, for the first time, both actions occur simultaneously and a common cellular pathway is used for releasing messengers and for eating microbes,” she said.

“This adaptation ensures the whole immune system responds to an infection in the most efficient and rapid way possible.

“In some situations, this clever time-saving device could also be a lifesaver.”

Professor Stow said the study also looked at why having a “hair-trigger” immune response was dangerous.

She said the chemical messengers were among the agents that caused patients to die from acute infections such as bird flu and to acquire chronic inflammatory diseases including arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

They are also behind the muscle wasting experienced by patients with cancer.

Chronic inflammatory disorders are a substantial burden in social and economic terms for the Australian community.

Arthritis alone affects 3.4 million Australians and the financial costs nationally have been estimated at more than $19.25 billion annually.

“This discovery provides new and exciting avenues for drug development,” Professor Stow said.

 

On this site