Sept. 20, 2022 – The immune system is among the most complex and mysterious in the human body, and it is more versatile than previously understood, report researchers in the emerging field of mechanoimmunology, tracking how our bodies fight illness and how to successfully intervene.
The immune system is unlike other systems that depend on organs for their operation. It uses millions of specialized cells to monitor every part of the body and to dispatch invaders as necessary. It also depends heavily on the microbiome. These bustling bacteria communities that aren’t our own cells perform essential functions.
Scientists are discovering more about how the human body works every day. immune system works, and now, researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA, have begun discovering how physical – rather than just chemical – forces in the cellular environment also play a vital role in immune functions.
The role of mechanical activity in other body systems has been recognized, including the cardiovascular system and the skeletal system. Buildup in arteriesYou can find the HeartThis can reduce blood flow and cause stress fractures. Scarring can also occur from too much pressure on the bone.
It’s a novel idea that physical characteristics, not just chemical reactions, can have an important impact on immune function. Dan WinerAssociate Professor at the Buck Institute and MD, he discovered through his study of obesity that increases in fat tissue activate fibrosis – thickened scar tissue – which then triggers surrounding cellsto be alert for potential threats to your body and to respond to chronic illness.
His lab now focuses on mechanoimmunology, to find out how physical forces affect autoimmunity and the increase or decrease in it. inflammationAfter tissue injury, healing forces.
Expanding scientists’ understanding of those forces will open the door to new therapies for treating disease – approaches that rely on changing the physical microenvironment of tissue rather than delivering drugs to induce chemical reactions. Cirrhosis, which is a condition that causes scarring in the liver, results in tissue that is much stiffer than the surrounding healthy tissue. Researchers may be able to develop a treatment to reduce that stiffness. This could help decrease the inflammatory response in nearby immune cells, which could have a positive effect on liver function. Fatal liver disease. Another application of this concept may be how to speed up healing and/or how therapeutics react to infections
