January 27th, 2012 
admin What Is Research Doing To Boost Immune System Function?
To improve the ability of the immune system to do its job, medical research is looking at several different approaches that boost immunity and direct the immune system to target specific diseases.
Enhancing The Learning Ability Of The Immune System
One example is a direct extension to the use of vaccines. In research from Emory University, researchers created tiny custom designed particles to use in place of the viral and bacterial materials normally used in vaccines. In their efforts, they covered these tiny particles with bits of the chemical components that are found in the walls of bacteria or in the genetic code of viruses. As these particles travel within the body, once injected, immune cells come into contact with the particles in the same way that they would with the components of a standard vaccine.
In this case however, because the particles carry so much information that can be used by the immune system, the immune system learns many more ways to identify a virus or bacteria each time an immune cell comes into contact with a particle. The result is that the immune system takes a “crash course” and becomes much more effective in any subsequent interaction with the real bacteria or virus that it was trained against.
In their research, the scientists found that for primates, they were able to cause an immune reaction that was 5 times more intense than if they had only trained the immune system with a standard viral vaccine. In mice, their efforts provided complete immunity against both avian and swine flu. What this means is that immune system can be trained to be far more effective than it normally is in responding to specific infections.
Creating New Types Of Immune Cells
In other research attempting to boost the power of the immune system, researchers from the University of Cambridge worked to create a new form of immune cell from another existing type of immune cell. The researchers altered one type of white blood cell by partially interfering with its development. In the process, they created a new form of cell that is similar to the immune cells found in simpler organisms.
When they tested the safety and effectiveness of these cells in mice, they found that the cells did not attack healthy tissue and could survive as long as other types of healthy blood cells. The new type of immune cell was also very effective against several types of cancer, even more effective than the immune cells that normally exist in mice. Specifically, the researchers found that the cells were active in preventing the spread of cancer.
This research shows us that in addition to the immune system that we have actively operating inside us, there is also the potential to temporarily create specialized cells to target specific diseases.
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