Understanding proteins and their impact on immune system
The study, conducted in conjunction with researchers from Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was published today in Science Signaling and focusses on a protein called ULBP6. Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids , which are attached to one another in long chains. Proteins do most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. Lead author of the study Professor Paul Moss from the University of Birmingham's Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, said: "We worked on a protein called ULBP6 which leads to the removal of damaged cells and an interesting observatio n has been that there are two types of this protein found in different people. "This is important as previous studies have shown that the type of protein that we inherit from our parents can influence our risk of auto-immune disease and affect how we respond to some forms of cancer...