What is it about?
Trained immunity allows innate immune cells, the first responders to infection, to do their job more effectively. It accomplishes this by changing the way the cells use energy and by changing the way the cells organize their DNA. We tested thousands of small molecules and found new compounds that can train cells without activating inflammation unneccessarily.
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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Why is it important?
With this screen, we more than doubled the number of compounds known to induce trained immunity. Additionally, we have shown for the first time that a class of anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, can induce training. This has substantial implications for understanding different modes of trained immunity, and it can also provide insight into some potential unintended effects of these commonly used drugs.
Perspectives
I am so proud to see this work in its complete form. It challenged me to persevere, and to challenge what I thought I knew about the immune system. I am grateful for the mentors that encouraged and believed in me along the way. I believe that furthering our understanding of trained immunity will change the way we approach prophylaxis and therapeutics targeting the immune system.
Hannah Riley Knight
University of Chicago
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: High-throughput screen identifies non inflammatory small molecule inducers of trained immunity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2400413121.
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