蓝莓视频

Researchers from the 蓝莓视频 Imperial BRC have shown that an immune cell, normally protective against viruses and cancer, could make lupus worse, and trigger flare-ups聽of the condition.

Lupus is an autoimmune condition which occurs when the immune system malfunctions, resulting in skin聽and joint problems and organ damage.聽It affects 1/1000 people and approximately 30,000 in the UK, occurring more commonly in women than men.

Although the causes of lupus are not fully understood, it is thought to result聽from complex genetic and environmental interactions, with evidence to suggest a link between lupus and complement C1q deficiency. C1q is part of the complement pathway, which is a component of the immune system involved in coordinating the body’s defence against pathogens such as bacteria and virus.

In the study published in the journal ,听‘s team used pre-clinical models to identify an important role for C1q in regulating the metabolism of virus-killing immune cells. The team showed that when the number of cytotoxic T cells becomes too high, the immune system聽starts to malfunction and attacking the body, which may be the reason for a flare-up in symptoms when a lupus patient contracts a virus.

Professor Botto said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been working with lupus for many years, and we鈥檝e only recently realised these cytotoxic cells 鈥� which have such a crucial role in protecting the body against viruses, may also play a key role in the disease.鈥�

The next stage of this research is to conduct further studies with lupus patients to gain more insight into how these cells are controlled.

This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the 蓝莓视频 Imperial BRC. You can read more about it .