Impression of the immune system attacking a virus. The Y-shaped stalks are the epitopes.
Thousands of new immune system signals have been uncovered with potential implications for immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases and vaccine development. The researchers behind the finding say it is the biological equivalent of discovering a new continent. It's as if a geographer would tell you they had discovered a new continent, or an astronomer would say they had found a new planet in the solar system. And just as with those discoveries, we have a lot of exploring to do. Professor Michael Stumpf Our cells regularly break down proteins from our own bodies and from foreign bodies, such as viruses and bacteria. Small fragments of these proteins, called epitopes, are displayed on the surface of the cells like little flags so that the immune system can scan them. If they are recognised as foreign, the immune system will destroy the cell to prevent the spread of infection.
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