When the body is fending off an infection, there are changes in temperature, pH balance, and metabolism. Yale researchers wondered if yet other factors might come into play, and in a recent study, confirmed that mechanical forces also influence the immune response.
The research team explored the matter by focusing on studies of the lungs where breathing creates pressure inside tiny airs sacs called alveoli. With a custom-built pressure chamber, they mimicked the mechanical forces inside that environment and observed how immune cells responded. In a separate experiment, they studied mice modified to lack a gene, PIEZO1, which links mechanical forces to biological signals. After exposure to bacteria, the animals showed reduced ability to stimulate immune cells that fight off infection.
Read more at Yale University
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