New immune cell found to be a key to inflammatory diseases

For the first time scientists were able to describe a new type of cells that may be responsible for some of the inflammatory processes in the body and lead to a deterioration of symptoms in diseases such as, for example, psoriasis and asthma.

Professionals from Imperial College London, UK, managed to make a discovery, which they hope will lead to the development of new treatments of diseases such as psoriasis and asthma. Open their cells may be responsible for some of the inflammatory processes in the body. The cells are called Th22, they are a form of T-helper cells. This white blood cells that help activate the immune system affected by a pathogen, such as a virus or bacterium. The cells can also control inflammation in the body, which aims to fight infection.

The study revealed that Th22 cells play a special role in the supervision and coordination of immune cells that cause inflammation. In chronic and allergic inflammation, such as psoriasis and allergic eczema, cells Th22, appears to fail, because they initiate the excessive inflammation, which can greatly affect the symptoms. They found cells Th22, studied tissue samples of people with psoriasis, atopic eczema and allergic contact dermatitis. They analyzed the samples and found this completely new type of cell.