Named a dangerous drawback of a strong immune system

Scientists from the University of Kansas Cancer Center (USA) have discovered that a strong immune system can be accompanied by chronic inflammation.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to eLife, researchers studied the mechanism of cell death - pyroptosis, in which immune cells self-destruct, enhancing the body's inflammatory response to fight infections. This process is triggered by proteins of the "death fold" domain, which form crystal-like structures, leading to cell rupture and the release of inflammation signals.

It turned out that such proteins can spontaneously activate even without infection. As a result, a constant low-level inflammation occurs, which with age increases the risk of cancer, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and other illnesses.

Experiments have shown that in some cells, the concentration of these proteins is so high that their random activation occurs regularly. "An immune cell takes just a few minutes to make a decision, often this decision is altruistic self-destruction," noted researcher Randal Halfmann.

According to specialists, studying this mechanism could help develop drugs to reduce inflammation by preventing spontaneous cell death. However, they emphasize that intervention in this process should be extremely cautious so as not to weaken the body's defense against infections.