Nature: break textbooks! Mechanical force can affect the immune response of the lungs!

September 11, 2019 / BIOON / - when the body resists infection, temperature, pH balance and metabolism will change Yale University researchers want to know if there are other factors at work In a recent study, researchers confirmed that mechanical force can also affect immune response Relevant research results were published in nature, entitled "mechanism of cyclical force by piezo1 is essential for innate immunity" Photo source: nature's research team explored this issue by studying the lungs In the lungs, breathing creates pressure in tiny air sacs called alveoli Through a custom pressure chamber, they simulated the mechanical forces in the environment and observed the immune cell response In another experiment, they studied mice lacking the gene piezo1, which links mechanical forces to biological signals After contact with bacteria, the ability of these animals to stimulate immune cells to resist infection decreased This is the first study to show that lung pressure changes the way immune cells respond to infection This new finding may explain to some extent why lung tissue sclerosis, such as pulmonary fibrosis, is difficult to treat Although more research is needed, researchers can use this finding to develop treatments for piezo1 to improve lung immunity The study was led by angel Solis, a graduate student at Yale immunologist Richard FLAVEL's lab Reference material: Angel g Solis et al Mechanism of cyclic force by piezo1 is essential for innate immunity, nature (2019) Doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1485-8