A discovery about the mechanisms that enable the immune system to sustain long-term protection could revolutionize treatment for chronic disease and cancer.
Prolonged illnesses like cancer and chronic infections often leave the immune system in a state of exhaustion, where its frontline defenders -- T cells -- lose their ability to function effectively.
Hepatitis C can be transmitted when blood that carries the virus comes into contact with the blood of someone who does not have the virus. This can occur if people share needles or personal care ...
What our study showed was that during a chronic hepatitis C infection, antibodies on the virus surface form an antibody cluster that persistently stimulates the B cells to mutate," explains lead ...