What if being asthmatic was ultimately an asset? It seems that people who suffer from this respiratory disease are less likely to develop brain tumors than others. And in a study published in Nature communications, researchers from the University of Saint-Louis (United States) explain the reason for this protective effect.
Good news for the brain
When a person – or a mouse in the case of this study – develops asthma, their T cells (immune cells) are activated. However, the American study shows that the T cells which induce inflammation of the lungs prevent the growth of brain tumors in parallel. “Bad news for the airways can be good news for the brain,” they explain.
This discovery is significant because it paves the way for new therapies targeting T cells and their interactions with brain cells. “Reprogramming T cells in patients with brain tumors to act more like T cells from asthmatic patients could be a new approach to treating these tumors” underlines Prof. David Guttman, lead author of the study.
Asthma reduces glioma formation: insights from a preclinical model of optic glioma.https://t.co/oDhTvAQ4zR#CancerResearch@natrescancer@GutmannLab@jit_chatterjee1pic.twitter.com/gSVZoFAHg9
— Nature Communications (@NatureComms) December 9, 2021
Source:
Asthma reduces glioma formation by T cell decorin-mediated inhibition of microgliaNature communications, December 2021
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