Without T cells, we could not survive. They are a key component of the immune system and have highly sensitive receptors on their surface that can detect pathogens. The exact way that these receptors are distributed over the surface of the T cells is still not completely understood, but the analyses by TU Wien show that previous ideas are no longer tenable.
It was previously thought that the T cell would concentrate the
receptors at certain points in order to achieve the highest possible sensitivity. As a current publication by the biophysics research group at TU Wien shows, T cells are actually programmed to react as quickly as possible, and therefore their receptors are arranged at random. These results were made possible by close collaboration between the Medical University of Vienna (MUW) and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biophysics in Göttingen. These new findings not only help to better understand the immune response, but are also key in developing new methods of medical treatment. These findings have now been published in the specialist journal
Nature Immunology.
