Link Found Between Innate and Adaptive Immune Systems

Researchers have discovered that beta-defensins, small antimicrobial peptides of the innate immune system that are produced in response to microbial infection of mucosal tissue and skin, play an important role in immunosurveillance against pathogens by initiating the chain of events leading to the growth and multiplication of T cells. Their findings were reported in the November 1, 2002, issue of Science.


Working with dendritic cells in culture and with mice, investigators from the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD, USA) found that a particular defensin, beta-defensin 2, directly activates immune dendritic cells. Once activated, dendritic cells interact with other components of the immune system to stimulate the multiplication of a subset of T cells that will recognize and destroy cells infected by that pathogen.

This finding links beta-defensin 2, a component of the innate immune system, to the adaptive immune response. "This link between the innate and adaptive immune systems is important for our understanding of the body's ability to detect infection,” explained first author Dr. Arya Biragyn, US National Cancer Institute staff scientist. "Beta-defensin 2 is likely to play an important role in the immune system's ability to recognize protein fragments from the body's own cells, including tumor cells.”



Related Links:
National Cancer Institute