© Weill Cornell Medicine/Provided
The protein interleukin-33 (in green) in the cell nucleus (blue) of stromal cells (red) of mucosal tissue that is embedded in visceral adipose tissue (large octagonal purple cells).
according to a study in mice led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine.
The study,
published March 10 in Immunity, found that the inflammatory and infection-fighting abilities of the cells, called type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), are much impaired without the enzyme. The finding suggests possibilities for new treatments targeting ILC2s, which have been linked to asthma and other allergic disorders, to suppress their activation in inflammatory disorders.
The work also hints at what could be a major mechanism of "cross-talk" between the nervous system, which uses serotonin as a signaling molecule or neurotransmitter, and the immune system.
"There's a lot more to do in terms of understanding the biology of these innate lymphoid cells, but it's an exciting area that offers us potential new approaches to therapeutic intervention," said study senior author
Dr. David Artis, director of the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the Michael Kors Professor of Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Innate lymphoid cells are a recently discovered family of white blood cells that reside in the skin, airways and other barrier tissues of the body. They appear to have important roles as first responders against environmental pathogens, but scientists also recognize that ILCs may hold the keys to understanding common inflammatory and autoimmune conditions such as asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.
Comment: Thankfully, there isn't any sign that this device ever got off the ground. That said, we can see the direction these mad scientists wish to go in with the control of human physiology using the mask of convenience. The acceptance of altering bodies with microchips for convenience forges the path for such devices to be demanded by the popular mind when a bit of manufactured fear is introduced.