• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

An inflammatory inference

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
May 25, 2017
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram
IMAGE

Credit: © 2017 Jasmeen Merzaban

The protein tags that adorn immune cells and engage with receptors to promote inflammation in the body's endothelial tissues are not what they were thought to be. A KAUST investigation has identified the true surface proteins expressed by T-cells that mediate this molecular liaison, a finding that could help scientists control inflammation that has gone haywire.

"This has significant implications for developing targeted therapies to combat inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis," says Jasmeen Merzaban, a biochemist at KAUST who led the research.

The receptor with which the surface proteins on T-cells interact is known as E-selectin. This 'cell adhesion molecule' is expressed by tissues that line the inner surface of blood vessels: it acts as a kind of Velcro that clings to T-cells when the endothelium needs to fight off infections from bacteria or viruses.

The trouble is that E-selectins can also trigger inflammation when there are no such microbial invaders. These aberrant inflammatory signals can cause autoimmune diseases. However, blocking the hitching of E-selectin to T-cells could help reverse that problematic immune reaction.

For more than a decade, researchers knew of only two surface proteins expressed by T-cells that could serve as binding partners, or ligands, for E-selection. Yet, mouse studies had shown that reducing expression of these two proteins — PSGL-1 and CD43 — was not sufficient to eliminate the crosstalk between E-selectin and T-cells. That suggested to Merzaban that some other E-selectin ligands might be at play.

She and her graduate students, Amal Ali and Ayman Abuelela from KAUST's Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, used a mass spectrometry approach to identify the full repertoire of E-selectin ligands expressed by T-cells. They detected 10 such proteins, one of which they explored in greater detail owing to its known function as an E-selectin ligand expressed by blood stem cells, the precursors of T-cells.

This protein, called CD44, is also expressed on the surface of both 'helper' and 'killer' T-cells, where it binds E-selectin, the researchers found. Merzaban and her team had discovered a third E-selectin ligand. But, as it turned out, not all these ligands contribute to T-cell tethering.

The researchers knocked down the expression of all three ligands, individually and in combination. They discovered that CD44 — not CD43 — worked with PSGL-1 as the E-selectin ligands implicated in inflammation.

They confirmed the clinical relevance of these findings by looking at T-cells isolated from patients with psoriasis, a common inflammatory skin condition — which means that "targeting these ligands could be a viable option to treat skin diseases," says Ali.

###

Media Contact

Michelle D'Antoni
[email protected]

http://kaust.edu.sa/

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Evaluating Mindfulness Intervention for Self-Injury Recovery

September 2, 2025

New Isoquinoline Derivatives Show Promise as Antifungal Agents

September 2, 2025

Protein Lipoylation: Key to Cancer Metabolic Therapy

September 2, 2025

REM Sleep Quality Linked to Locus Coeruleus Activity

September 2, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    154 shares
    Share 62 Tweet 39
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    117 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 29
  • Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

    112 shares
    Share 45 Tweet 28

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

MASL Alters OSCC Cells: Growth, Motility, Morphology Changes

Herbal Extracts Enhance Antibiotic Effects on Resistant Pathogens

Evaluating Mindfulness Intervention for Self-Injury Recovery

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.