Skin immune cells fight infection well

Australian scientists say they’ve discovered immune cells in the skin might improve treatment of viral skin infections.

University of Melbourne researchers said they identified previously unrecognized first-line defense mechanisms that are important at portals of viral and bacterial entry, such as the skin and the gut. They conducted their research using a model infection with herpes simplex virus.

The work was published in two articles in the advanced online March and April editions of the journal Nature Immunology.

The April article details findings on the function of the cells that trigger the initial immune response to viral infection — known as dendritic cells.

The results could not only provide help in the treatment of viral skin infections but also of auto-immune diseases such as psoriasis, said Sammy Bedoui, lead author of the April paper.

The March paper focuses on the post-infection stage when some memory T cells retain the ability to recognize the shape of the virus or bacteria.

Because the cells are located at the site of infection, they can respond instantly, much faster than other immune cells that have to travel via the blood to the site, said Thomas Gebhardt, the lead author of the March paper. This debunks previous thought that immunity by T cells only occurs at longer distances throughout the body.