近日，日本一个研究小组在利用小鼠进行的实验中发现，肺部大量存在的一种细胞，在持续产生导致过敏症的蛋白质的同时，也具备遏制癌细胞转移的作用。
富山大学研究生院等机构的研究人员日前在《免疫学杂志》上报告说，如果能够弄清这种细胞的“双刃剑”机制，并且加以利用，人们就能更好地治疗过敏症和癌症。
医学界认为，嗜酸性粒细胞在人体内的增殖和活跃是引发过敏性哮喘和特应症等过敏症的原因之一。此前的研究显示，免疫系统中的淋巴T细胞产生的白介素－5能促使嗜酸性粒细胞活跃。
而在新的实验中，日本研究人员发现，小鼠肺部和肠道存在的一种细胞能比淋巴T细胞产生更多的白介素－5。他们将这种细胞命名为“原始白介素－5产生细胞”。今后如果能够找到遏制这种细胞活动的方法，就有可能开发出治疗过敏性哮喘等过敏症的方法。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1101270
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Identification of Innate IL-5–Producing Cells and Their Role in Lung Eosinophil Regulation and Antitumor Immunity
Masashi Ikutani, Tsutomu Yanagibashi, Masaru Ogasawara, Koichi Tsuneyama, Seiji Yamamoto, Yuichi Hattori, Taku Kouro, Atsuko Itakura, Yoshinori Nagai, Satoshi Takaki, and Kiyoshi Takatsu
内容Transcriptional coregulators control the activity of many transcription factors and are thought to have wide- ranging effects on gene expression patterns. We show here that muscle-specific loss of nuclear receptor corepressor 1 (NCoR1) in mice leads to enhanced exercise endurance due to an increase of both muscle mass and of mitochondrial number and activity. The activation of selected transcription factors that control muscle function, such as MEF2, PPARβ/, and ERRs, underpins these phenotypic alterations. NCoR1 levels are decreased in conditions that require fat oxidation, resetting transcriptional programs to boost oxidative metabolism. Knockdown of gei-8, the sole C. elegans NCoR homolog, also robustly increased muscle mitochondria and respiration, suggesting conservation of NCoR1 function. Collectively, our data suggest that NCoR1 plays an adaptive role in muscle physiology and that interference with NCoR1 action could be used to improve muscle function.
