RNA binding proteins help T cells pick their weapons before battle

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have shown that the key to a stronger immune response in mice is two RNA binding proteins. Their findings, published today in Nature Communications, reveal that the absence of these proteins changes the potency of T cells that arise at the start of an infection. Implications for therapies that harness the immune system and for vaccine design could come from further research.

The activity of the ZFP36 and ZFP36L1 was studied by the Turner lab. The researchers were able to show that the absence of T cells during the initial phase of a viral infection leads to a superior immune response.

The researchers found that those without the binding RNA in their T cells were more successful in fighting the flu than those with it. The researchers found that even small numbers of transferred T cells provided the same advantage for fighting an flu as the cells that lacked ZFP36 and ZFP36L1 did.

The results were surprising, says Dr. Georg Petkau, a researcher who led the work.

The researchers theorize that the lack of negative effects could be due to a faster resolution of infections in young mice. It would be interesting to see if a large amount of memory cells showing enhanced cytotoxicity in the absence of RNA binding proteins would become dangerous with age. Understanding how these RNA binding proteins limit T cell activation may have implications for older people.

The point at which immune cells decide to adjust the quality and duration of the immune response to a threat is when the immune response is primed. The T cells in this study have to choose their weapons before they start to battle the infection, and this choice is made by RNA binding proteins. The researchers hope to inform how we approach vaccine design and cell therapies by understanding more about how the immune system processes information within hours of an attack.

Dr. Martin Turner, head of the Immunology research, said they want to investigate how the absence of RNA binding proteins affects the formation of immune memory and whether the superior cytotoxic traits acquired early in the response are epigenetically imprinted and maintained in the memory phase. The stable cytotoxic program is set up early after activation by looking at changes in the epigenome.

More information: Georg Petkau et al, The timing of differentiation and potency of CD8 effector function is set by RNA binding proteins, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29979-x Journal information: Nature Communications Citation: RNA binding proteins help T cells pick their weapons before battle (2022, April 27) retrieved 27 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-rna-proteins-cells-weapons.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.