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The human immune system protects our bodies from invaders. Regulation of the immune system is critical for our lives. This evening features talks on the regulation of immune system and how it relates to the development and new treatments of infections and diseases.
Regulatory T cells: the T-Rex of the immune system
Life is all about balance and the same is true inside the body! Your immune system needs to be able to know what is dangerous for this to be eliminated and what shouldn’t be attacked. A key part of regulating this balance are regulatory T cells (Tregs). Their main job is to prevent your body from overreacting to dangers and calming everything down. However, when this goes wrong the body can attack itself giving rise to autoimmune diseases or prevent a strong response as it happens in cancer. That is why the Tregs are the gigantic masters of equilibrium. Come to learn more about them!
The immune system in sepsis, how complexity kills
This talk will discuss sepsis, which is where the body’s own immune system damages the patient’s organs whilst attempting to fight infection. Starting from an introduction to the immune system, it will explore how infection stimulates the immune system. It will describe how a complex series of interactions lead to a ‘worst of all possible worlds’ where the body’s immune system both attacks organs but also impairs itself so that it cannot fight invading microbes. It will discuss how this situation manifests itself in daily practice in the intensive care unit and the developing treatments.
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