New study shows how certain immune cells slow the body’s response to infection
Hannah Weppner
Research led by , a graduate student inÌýthe lab of Assistant Professor Laurel Hind, highlighting how a population of immune cells can weaken the body’s response to infection, was recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology and featured in the newsletter of the International Society for Lymphatic Biology (ISLB).
Using an infection-on-a-chip model with human cells, Hind and her team found that a population of immune cells called M-MDSCs can slow the recruitment of neutrophils—the body’s first responders—toÌýPseudomonas aeruginosaÌýinfections. The researchers also identified a signaling molecule, IL-10, that plays a key role in this process. When IL-10 was blocked, neutrophils were able to move normally again.
The findings reveal a new way infections can weaken the immune response and show how advanced human cell models help researchers study immune cell interactions.