Immune Cells Can ‘Feel’: Discovery Reveals a Hidden Sense of Touch
What Happened
Scientists at McGill University have discovered that T cells, a key part of the immune system, can sense the physical stiffness of the tissues around them. This “sense of touch” helps determine whether they become long-lived memory T cells, which remain in the body after an infection and provide lasting immunity. The findings were published in Nature Immunology.
Key Takeaways
The discovery challenges the long-held belief that immune cells are guided only by chemical signals. Researchers found that physical forces and tissue stiffness also shape immune responses, opening new avenues for understanding immunity, autoimmune diseases, transplant rejection, and even cancer.