A new international collaboration involving scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) opens a door to influencing the immune system, which would be useful to boost the effectiveness of vaccines or to counter autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
The research, published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, focused on a molecule called microRNA-155 (miR-155), a key player in the immune system's production of disease-fighting antibodies.
"It's very exciting to see exactly how this molecule works in the body," said TSRI Associate Professor Changchun Xiao, who co-led the study with Professor Wen-Hsien Liu of Xiamen University in Fuijan province, China.
