On this #OMFScienceWednesday, we look at two cell types in our immune system that have been particularly interesting for ME / CFS research lately: T cells and B cells.
Both of these cell types are important for defending us against infections, but they do so in different ways:
- B cells produce antibodies to ‘capture’ invading germs. Sometimes they produce autoantibodies that mistakenly also target our own tissues, and some studies suggest this is happening in ME / CFS. The drug Rituximab, which is believed to deplete B cells, has been tested in patients in hopes of curbing overactivity of B cells (see last week’s post for more)
- T cells use other methods, including signalling via cytokine production. A subset known as ‘killer’ T cells directly target and eliminate infected cells. Stay tuned for upcoming posts explaining the research we are funding on T cells at the ME / CFS Collaborative Research Center at Stanford!
Read more about what makes T cells and B cells special: http://whoami.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
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