Discovery opens way for designing TB shots

Specialised immune cells, discovered by Australian researchers, could become instrumental in designing an anti-tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, says a study. The joint study by the Australian universities of Melbourne and Monash has revealed that the highly abundant mucosal associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells), which recognise products of vitamin B synthesis from bacteria and yeast, help activate the immune system. The research revealed how by-products of bacterial vitamin synthesis, including some derived from folic acid or vitamin B9 and riboflavin or vitamin B2, could be captured by the immune receptor MR1, thus fine-tuning the activity of MAIT cells, the journal Nature reports. “Humans are unable to make vitamin B and obtain it mostly from diet. Because bacteria can synthesise vitamin B, our immune system uses this as a point of difference to recognise infection,” said Lars Kjer-Nielsen from the University of Melbourne, who led the study, according to a Melbourne statement. “Given the relative abundance...