密西根大学的科学家在一篇发表于Nature Chemical Biology杂志的研究报告中称，他们发现一种从根本上可以抑制攻击性免疫细胞攻击机体自身细胞的新机制。这项发现或许对自身免疫性疾病、器官移植或癌症的治疗提供新的治疗方向。
研究人员发现，免疫系统中的调节性T细胞(regulatory T cells)能够通过改变细胞间的化学环境，以抑制或促进增殖的方式来影响自身反应性T细胞，与该机制相关的疾病包括炎症性肠病(inflammatory bowel disease IBD)，溃疡性结肠炎(ulcerative colitis)等。
研究人员利用实验室培养的小鼠免疫细胞进行研究，发现当免疫细胞初次接触到外源物质时，树突状细胞(dendritic cells)和自身反应性T细胞之间会产生化学信息交流。树突状细胞改变了细胞外部的化学环境，从而激活自身反应性T细胞。但调节性T细胞则会干预这种化学信息交流并抑制上述反应。
研究人员Banerjee认为研究调节行T细胞在细胞中的作用，或许能够提高治疗某些疾病成功的机率。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Nature Chemical Biology 30 August 2009 | doi:10.1038/nchembio.212
Extracellular redox modulation by regulatory T cells
Zhonghua Yan1, Sanjay K Garg1, Jonathan Kipnis2 & Ruma Banerjee1
We demonstrate that the mechanism of redox remodeling during mouse T-cell activation involves secretion of glutathione by dendritic cells and its subsequent cleavage to cysteine. Extracellular cysteine accumulation results in a lower redox potential, which is conducive to proliferation, and changes the net redox status of exofacial protein domains. Regulatory T cells inhibit this redox metabolite signaling pathway, which represents a previously unrecognized mechanism for immunosuppression of effector T cells.
1 Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
2 Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
