Scientists map the complete "interconnectedness" of the body's immune system for the first time

Researchers from ETH Zurich and other institutions have established the first thorough map of the connectivity network of the human immune system, which may help researchers develop novel immunotherapies to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and other conditions in which the immune system plays a significant role. The study was recently published in Nature under the title "A physical wiring diagram for the human immune system."

In creating this immune system atlas, the researchers revealed how the body's immune cells are connected and communicate. According to the researchers, they have found multiple previously unidentified interactions that when taken together may reveal how the body's immune defense system is organized. This information may then help to address some long-standing questions about the immunotherapies currently used to treat patients and, in the future, may help to inform the development of new therapies.

Specialized cells that make up the immune system can "patrol" the body on their own to look for signs of injury or disease. These cells must inform other cells of a threat they have identified in order for the immune system to respond effectively. This cell-to-cell signaling is accomplished through cell surface proteins that bind to receptor proteins on the surface of other cells. The interconnectedness of these receptors for various immune cell types in the body has only been partially understood in the past.

It is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between immune cells and to clarify how such interactions are integrated into the body as a whole if novel therapies (such as immunotherapy) are to be developed to improve the function of the body's immune system to help fight disease.

Understanding the intercellular signaling that takes place in the immune system is also crucial for preventing autoimmune diseases. The researchers in this study go into great detail about how they isolated and examined a nearly complete set of cell surface proteins that may or may not physically connect immune cells. Then, they created maps and revealed the relative speeds of each "conversation" that takes place between cell types, messengers, and immune cells using sophisticated algorithmic analysis techniques.

With this atlas, researchers may be able to observe the effects of different diseases on the entire immune system and investigate novel therapies that bind different proteins on the surface of immune cells. Cell surface proteins, more than any other protein class, are the starting point for the development of new therapies due to their drug accessibility and huge impacts on the signals that cells receive.

According to researcher Jarrod Shilts, careful isolation and analysis of each immune cell and its interactions with other cells may provide them with a picture of how the immune cells as a whole communicate with one another. This would be a significant step toward understanding the inner workings of the immune system and could be used by researchers worldwide to develop novel therapies and collaborate with the body's defense mechanisms to fight disease.

"Immunotherapy, which works with the body's immune system to fight off a variety of diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, may be very effective in some types of people, but not all, which may leave some people without timely treatment."

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