Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A new type of white blood cell has been discovered and researchers believe that this could be a potential target for vaccines against cancer and other diseases.


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A new type of white blood cell has been discovered and researchers believe that this could be a potential target for vaccines against cancer and other diseases.
The new white blood cells jump start the immune response to eliminate the foreign agent in the body, researchers said.
"These are the cells we need to be targeting for anti-cancer vaccines. Our discovery offers an accessible, easily targetable system which makes the most of the natural ability of the cell," said Dr. Muzlifah Haniffa, senior clinical lecturer at Newcastle University and one of the authors of the study.
The researchers described a human dendritic tissue that can start an immune response without being infected themselves.
Usually other types of dendritic cells begin an immune response when the pathogen infects them. Dendritic cells present a molecule from the foreign agent to other white blood cells that then use the information to kill the invader.
The study can help in designing better vaccines against diseases like hepatitis B, according to Newcastle University press release.
For the study, researchers isolated dendritic cells from human skin and blood and from lung and liver of mouse. They used genetic expression analysis to find out subsets of dendritic cells in humans and then matched these against those isolated from mouse.
Researchers say that this will make translating findings from mouse-based studies to human-based studies easier.
"The cross-species map is in effect a Rosetta stone that deciphers the language of mouse into human", explained Matthew Collin, Professor of Haematology from Newcastle University.
They have determined that certain aspects of immune systems are same across species and have created a map that will make matching results on immune system studies easier.
"These gene signatures are available in a public repository accessible for all researchers to benefit from the data.  It will allow detailed knowledge of individual human dendritic cell subsets to enable specific targeting of these cells for therapeutic strategy," Dr. Haniffa added.
The study is published in the journal Immunity.

 What is W.B.C ( white Blood Cell ) ?

 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/SEM_blood_cells.jpg/250px-SEM_blood_cells.jpg
A scanning electron microscope image of normal circulating human blood. In addition to the irregularly shaped leukocytes, both red blood cells and many small disc-shaped platelets are visible

White blood cells, or leukocytes (also spelled "leucocytes"; from the Greek word leuko- meaning "white"), are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials. Five different and diverse types of leukocytes exist, but they are all produced and derived from a multipotent cell in the bone marrow known as a hematopoietic stem cell. They live for about three to four days in the average human body. Leukocytes are found throughout the body, including the blood and lymphatic system.
The number of leukocytes in the blood is often an indicator of disease. There are normally between 4 and 11 billion white blood cells in a litre of blood, and ranging from 7 and 21 micrometres in diameter, they make up approximately 1% of blood in a healthy adult.An increase in the number of leukocytes over the upper limits is called leukocytosis, and a decrease below the lower limit is called leukopenia. The physical properties of leukocytes, such as volume, conductivity, and granularity, may change due to activation, the presence of immature cells, or the presence of malignant leukocytes in leukemia.


There are several different types of white blood cells. They all have many things in common, but are all distinct in form and function. A major distinguishing feature of some leukocytes is the presence of granules; white blood cells are often characterized as granulocytes or agranulocytes:
  • Granulocytes (polymorphonuclear leukocytes): leukocytes characterised by the presence of differently staining granules in their cytoplasm when viewed under light microscopy. These granules are membrane-bound enzymes that act primarily in the digestion of endocytosed particles. There are three types of granulocytes: neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils, which are named according to their staining properties.
  • Agranulocytes (mononuclear leukocytes): leukocytes characterized by the apparent absence of granules in their cytoplasm. Although the name implies a lack of granules these cells do contain non-specific azurophilic granules, which are lysosomes. The cells include lymphocytes, monocytes, and macrophages.



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