One in three people carry this brain parasite but the body has a kill switch

RSS feed for the Science and Medicine forum
Post Reply
User avatar
RSS Post Bot
Reactions:
Posts: 21259
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:49 pm

#1

Post by RSS Post Bot »

A parasite that may already be hiding in your brain has a shocking survival trick: it can infect the very immune cells sent to destroy it. Yet most people never get sick, and new research from UVA Health reveals why. Scientists discovered that when Toxoplasma gondii invades CD8+ T cells — key defenders of the immune system — those cells can trigger a self-destruct mechanism powered by an enzyme called caspase-8. By sacrificing themselves, the infected cells also wipe out the parasite inside them.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 225602.htm
Post Reply