New indicator molecules visualise the activation of
auto-aggressive T cells in the body as never before
Biological processes are generally based on events at the
molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of
infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to
examine individual cells and their activity directly in the tissue. The
development of new microscopes and fluorescent dyes in recent years has brought
this scientific dream tantalisingly close. Scientists from the Max Planck
Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now presented not one, but two
studies introducing new indicator molecules which can visualise the activation
of T cells. Their findings provide new insight into the role of these cells in
the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The new indicators are set to
be an important tool in the study of other immune reactions as well.