Preventing autoimmune disease after a viral infection

(University of Alabama at Birmingham) Researchers used mice to study regulatory mechanisms in the immune system that prevent autoimmune disease. Using an influenza infection model in mice, they have found that a particular population of immune cells developed during the later stages of the immune response to the influenza infection. These cells, called T follicular regulatory cells, subsequently prevented the generation of self-reactive antibody responses. At the same time, they did not affect the influenza-specific immune reaction.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news