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Sperm's Immune-protection Properties may Hold Vital Clue to Cancer Spread
December 14, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Cancer News
A new study has revealed that sugar-based markers on human sperm cells, which may prevent them from being attacked by the female immune system, could provide a vital link to how some cancers spread in the human body.
Led by Imperial College London and the University of Missouri, the new study analysed these markers, which are believed to tell the female immune system that the sperm are not dangerous pathogens, and therefore should not be attacked by the womans white blood cells during the reproductive process.
The study suggests that these sugar markers, found on N-glycans, which are part of human sperm glycoproteins, can be universally recognised by all human immune systems, regardless of the individual.
Normal human cells carry chemical markers made of proteins which tell the immune system not to attack them. In the case of organ transplants, for example, doctors try to match these markers in both the donor and the recipient to prevent rejection. However, in the case of sperm cells, their sugar-based markers are different: they are recognised by everyones immune system, meaning that no immune response is triggered during reproduction between any two people, Professor Anne Dell from Imperial College Londons Department of Life Sciences, one of the studys lead authors, said.
This kind of marker is also found on some types of cancer cells, some bacterial cells, some parasitic worms and HIV infected white blood cells. The researchers believe that these markers allow such dangerous cells and pathogens to evade destruction by the human immune system, leading to serious and sometimes fatal illness.
Led by Imperial College London and the University of Missouri, the new study analysed these markers, which are believed to tell the female immune system that the sperm are not dangerous pathogens, and therefore should not be attacked by the womans white blood cells during the reproductive process.
The study suggests that these sugar markers, found on N-glycans, which are part of human sperm glycoproteins, can be universally recognised by all human immune systems, regardless of the individual.
Normal human cells carry chemical markers made of proteins which tell the immune system not to attack them. In the case of organ transplants, for example, doctors try to match these markers in both the donor and the recipient to prevent rejection. However, in the case of sperm cells, their sugar-based markers are different: they are recognised by everyones immune system, meaning that no immune response is triggered during reproduction between any two people, Professor Anne Dell from Imperial College Londons Department of Life Sciences, one of the studys lead authors, said.
This kind of marker is also found on some types of cancer cells, some bacterial cells, some parasitic worms and HIV infected white blood cells. The researchers believe that these markers allow such dangerous cells and pathogens to evade destruction by the human immune system, leading to serious and sometimes fatal illness.
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