Human immune cells produced in a dish

Before lymphocytes are present in bone marrow, they are found in embryonic development of the body’s first organs.  With that knowledge, cytologists at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, showed how it was possible to obtain these first progenitor cells and grow them.  “First, the team engineered pluripotent stem cells to glow green when a specific protein marker of early immune cells, RAG1, was switched on. RAG1 is responsible for creating the immune response to infections and vaccines. . . . . Next, the team isolated the glowing green RAG1-positive cells and showed that they could also form multiple immune cell types, including cells required for shaping the development of the whole immune system.”  Knowing such “key” switching molecules could make it possible for a patient’s skill cells to be reengineered into cancer-fighting cells.  MORE

 Image Credit:  Pixabay