DE cells may be associated with type I diabetes

, U.S. researchers said in a paper published in the journal Cell that they have confirmed for the first time the long-suspected existence of "X cells," a "disrupted hybrid" immune system cell that may play a key role in the development of type I diabetes. They refer to this unusual lymphocyte, a type of white blood cell, as a double expression (DE) cell.
we identified the cell as a hybrid cell between the two main forces of the adaptive immune system (B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes). Abdel-Rahim A. Hamad, an associate professor of pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States and one of the authors of the paper, said.
while most experts believe that type I diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistook normal, healthy β cells for hazards and removes them, the underlying mechanisms of cellular levels are difficult to determine.
'solid' we found is that it acts as both B and T cells, " he said. This may exacerbate the autoimmune response, Hamad said.
B lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes each have distinct cellular subjects, B-cells (BCR) and T-cell-like (TCR), which work together to help identify and target antigens, as well as bacteria, viruses, and other foreign invaders that trigger immune responses.
, APC moves to body parts where immature B and T cells exist, such as lymph nodes. T cell surface TCR shape coincides with the present antigen, so T cells can adhere, triggering its maturation to aid or kill T cells.
The BCR of immature B cells also matches the shape of the delivered antigen, which is then activated by auxiliary T cells to mature into plasma cells or memory cells, which produce antibodies to remove foreign matter from the body, and the chemical and biological properties of the antigen to "remember" the biopic properties of the antigen to respond more quickly to future invasive antigens.
, on the other hand, immature T-cells are active into cytotoxic T-cells (also known as lethal T-cells) after initial contact with invasive antigens, which directly attack invasive antigens.
, however, when B and T cells attack normal cells, a "misidentifie" condition known as autoimmune response occurs, the results can be devastating.
for type I diabetes, scientists have long believed that the immune system somehow confuses the enemy and targets insulin. As a result, misguided cell defenses are waging war on β cells that secrete insulin in the pancreas, significantly reducing the number of β cells available and leading to high blood sugar levels characterized by diabetes.
, the researchers used different methods to verify the presence and characteristics of DE cells, and they found that each clone had BCR and TCR, proving that the lymphocyte was indeed a hybrid of B and T cells.
interesting part of the "X-cell story" is that researchers found DE lymphocytes and x-Id peptides more frequently in the blood of people with type I diabetes than healthy non-diabetic subjects. "This finding, coupled with our conclusion that x-Id peptides inocrine T cells to attack insulin-producing cells, strongly supports the association between DE cells and type I diabetes." "Perhaps one day, we will also find DE cells involved in the pathological processes of other autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis," Hamad said. (Source: Zhang Siwei, China Science Journal)
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