The molecular underpinnings of T cell exhaustion

(La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology) One reason we survive into adulthood is that cell-killing T cells usually recognize and eliminate cancerous or pathogen-infected cells. But prolonged overactivity of immune cells summoned to a tumor or infection site can render them useless to dispatch invaders, a cellular state immunologists call 'exhaustion.'
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news