ELife: immunological mechanism of stem cell defense against virus infection

May 15, 2019 / BIOON / - a new study reveals how stem cells protect themselves from virus attack, which will provide a reference for the development of medical treatment This finding helps improve the immune response of stem cells, an early form of cell that may become specialized tissue for the treatment of disease or damaged tissue The study found a way to open a key part of the immune system that protects stem cells from viral infection, known as interferon response Photo source: researchers at the University of Edinburgh, http://cn.bing.com, studied stem cells in mouse embryos to see how they developed resistance to viruses before they became specialized cells The team found a protein called mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVs), which turns on the immune response in stem cells The researchers found that when Mavs protein was turned on and off, a small molecule called mir-673 had a regulatory effect When mir-673 was removed from the stem cells in the laboratory, the production of Mavs protein was restored and the antiviral response was initiated The same mechanism could work in humans, the researchers said This antiviral response may not exist in embryonic stem cells because it can disrupt development The researchers hope their findings will make stem cell use more effective - stem cells will be used to replace cells lost or damaged by degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's or diabetes The study, published in the Journal eLife, was funded by wellcome Jeroen witteveldt of the University of Edinburgh School of Biosciences, who participated in the study, said: "revealing how this crucial antiviral mechanism is turned off and how it can be reactivated in a controlled way may make stem cell therapy more effective "Reference: Jeroen witteveldt et al, microRNA deficient mouse experimental stem cells acquire a functional interference response, eLife (2019) Doi: 10.7554/elife.44171