Immunity system complexity: a B cell is found, new (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, May 13, 2022, 17:54 (925 days ago) @ David Turell

Had been seen in mice, now definite4ly in humans:

https://www.livescience.com/newfound-prenatal-immune-cells?utm_source=SmartBrief&ut...

"In helping to construct this atlas of the human body, Teichmann and her colleagues recently focused their efforts on immune cells, and in particular, the immune cells that emerge during early human development. It was through this work that they uncovered evidence of human B-1 cells. "What we show is that they do indeed exist in humans," Teichmann said during a news briefing on May 10.

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"The analyses featured cells from nine developing tissues, such as the thymus, a gland that makes immune cells and hormones, and the embryonic yolk sac, a small structure that nourishes the embryo in early pregnancy. All the tissue samples analyzed by the team came from the Human Developmental Biology Resource, a tissue bank in the U.K. that stores human embryonic and fetal tissues, with written permission from donors. They also incorporated publicly available data from previous HCA studies.

"In all, the data covered an early period of development ranging from four to 17 weeks post-fertilization, so within the first and second trimesters.

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"Through this detailed analysis, the team spotted cells that matched the description of B-1 cells found in mice, both in terms of their attributes and the timing of their emergence.

"In the mouse system, the B-1 cells arise early — they arise first," Rothstein said. A different type of immune cell, appropriately called B-2, then emerges after the first B-1 cells and ultimately becomes the most abundant form of B cell in the mouse. The new study suggests that something similar happens in humans, where B-1 cells arise and are most abundant in early development, Rothstein told Live Science.

"What purpose might these special cells serve in a developing human? They may help to sculpt new tissues as they form, Teichmann said."

Comment: using lesser animals in resear5ch we find hints of what might exist in humans. That is the proper way to view evolution, as early developments can be used in the future.