New insight into how immune cells are formed
[PRESS RELEASE 2017-08-10] In contrast to what has been previously believed, development of blood stem cells to mast cells, a type of specialised immune cell, does not depend on a growth factor called stem cell factor. This has been demonstrated in a new collaborative study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, and published in the scientific journal Blood. The results could pave the way for new treatments for certain types of blood diseases.Allergy and asthma affect a high percentage of the population. Mast cells are specialised immune cells that play an important