Penn study finds that different diseases elicit distinct sets of exhausted T cells

(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) The battle between the human immune system and long-term, persisting infections and other chronic diseases such as cancer results in a prolonged stalemate. Over time battle-weary T cells become exhausted, giving germs or tumors an edge. Using data from multiple molecular databases, researchers have found nine distinct types of exhausted T cells, which could have implications for fighting chronic infections, autoimmunity, and cancer.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news