Natural Killer Cells Kill Harmful Cells with Nanotubes

Doctors and scientists have been aware of the presence of NK cells for a long time. These natural killer cells are our immune systems first line of defense against harmful cells ranging from those infected with a virus to cancerous tumor cells. According to past research, these NK cells destroy the harmful cells by connecting to them and creating an immune synapse connection. Once this connection is made the NK cells pass toxic molecules into the harmful cell which in turn kills the harmful cell to which it was attached. Recently a study was put on by the Medical Research Council and Association. This study showed that not only can NK cells kill cells by attaching to them, but they can also kill them by ensnaring them with a “bungee-like tube.” This tube it called a membrane nanotube and is attached to most NK cells. The NK cells use this tube as a whip to ensnare the harmful cells as they are essentially trying to escape. Once they have the harmful cells in their nanotube, they can either kill them from a distance or bring them back in for the previously stated method of destroying harmful cells. Researchers are hoping to learn more about the specifics of this method of killing harmful cells in the near future. From this study alone, they were able to get video of these cells in action, and now that they have seen this process happen, they are hoping to be able to find out more about how the cells are killed on a more biological and chemical level.

I think this is really interesting because not only did it help us gain a better understanding of our body’s immune system, but it also has hopeful applications for better drugs in the future. Researchers involved with this study claimed that once they gain a better understanding of this process, it would be very possible to create drugs to help NK cells boost their killing of harmful cells. This would be great and since these harmful cells are often cancerous and other major diseases, these could be some of the first steps into finding a cure for terminal illnesses that we can only dream about now.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308151053.htm

Robin Terry
VTPP 435-502