Branson Times

Scientists have long sought to better understand the human body’s immune responses that occur during various diseases, including cancer and inflammatory diseases.

In a recent study at the University of Missouri, Emma Teixeiro, an associate professor in the MU School of Medicine, and her team analyzed how immunological memory – the memory the body’s immune system retains after an infection or vaccination that helps protect against reinfection – gets generated and maintained, as well as the role inflammation plays in shaping that immunological memory.

“Our immune system defends us from disease, but it is a very complicated system with many interactions occurring, and if things get dysregulated, it may actually play a role in causing disease,” said Teixeiro, who works in the NextGen Precision Health Institute on MU’s campus. “So, our research focuses on better understanding how these immune responses can be generated and controlled, specifically by looking at the critical role T cells play, as T cells help protect the body from infection and may play a role in attacking cancer.”   

Original source can be found here.