T Cells 'Hunt' Parasites Like Animal Predators Seek Prey, a New Study Reveals

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2012) — By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement strategy to track down parasites that is similar to strategies that predators such as monkeys, sharks and blue-fin tuna use to hunt their prey.

ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2011) — Scientists have identified a surprising new role for a new type of T cell in the immune system: some of them can be activated by nerves to make a neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) that blocks inflammation. The discovery of these T cells is novel and suggests that it may be possible to treat inflammation and autoimmune diseases by targeting the nerves and the T cells. "The arrival of electrical signals from nerves activates these specialized T cells to produce the acetylcholine necessary to block inflammation, and protect against damage. It is possible to transfer these cells to cross-protect mice from inflammation, and to control these T cells by electrically stimulating the nerves directly." It should be possible to target these T cells and to modulate this neural circuitry to develop therapeutic modalities for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.