Guest guest Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Swollen glands explainedUnexpected immune cells bloat neck's lymph nodes. 3 November 2003 HELEN PEARSON US researchers have tracked down the cells that trigger sore, swollen glands during colds and flu. The puffy neck glands - properly called lymph nodes - help to fight bacteria and viruses. The swellings breed an army of cells tailored to battle the invader. Another legion, called mast cells, start the swelling, says a team based at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The researchers found that mice that lack mast cells do not get puffy glands in response to Escherichia coli; those shot full of mast cells do. The culprit comes as something of a surprise. Mast cells are more commonly implicated in conditions where the body turns on itself such as rheumatoid arthritis. " It was always thought of as a problem cell, " says team leader Soman Abraham. Abraham's team proposes that mast cells ooze a chemical called tumour-necrosis factor (TNF). It journeys to the glands, where it attracts infection-fighting cells1. The discovery suggests giving drugs to boost mast-cell surveillance might help the body to combat invading pathogens, Abraham speculates. For example, a small shot of TNF alongside a vaccine could heighten the immune response and hence the jab's effectiveness. The study adds to growing evidence that mast cells are important in fighting off everyday infections. " It's a new age in mast-cell research, there's no doubt about it, " says immunologist Stephen Galli of Stanford University Medical School in California. References McLachlan, J. B. et al. Mast cell-derived tumor necrosis factor induces hypertrophy of draining lymph nodes during infection. Nature Immunology, published online, doi:10.1038/ni1005 (2003). |Article| © Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2003 NEW WEB MESSAGE BOARDS - JOIN HERE. Alternative Medicine Message Boards.Info http://alternative-medicine-message-boards.info Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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