Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and colleagues from Dresden, Germany demonstrate that an association between conditions such as severe gum disease and arthritis is traceable to the bone marrow. The immune system remembers. Often this memory, primed by past encounters with threats like bacteria or viruses, is an asset. But when that memory is sparked by internal drivers, like chronic inflammation, it can prove detrimental, perpetuating a misguided immune response. In a new paper published on April 27, 2022 in Cell, researchers from the Penn School of Dental Medicine, together with an international team including colleagues at the Technical University of Dresden, lay out the mechanism by which innate immune memory can cause one type of inflammatory condition—in this example, gum disease—to increase susceptibility to another—here, arthritis—through alterations to immune cell precursors in the bone marrow. In a mouse model, the team demonstrated that recipients of a bone marrow transplant were predisposed to more severe arthritis if their donor had inflammatory gum disease. The Cell paper is titled “Maladaptive Innate Immune Training of Myelopoiesis Links Inflammatory Comorbidities.”
Login Or Register To Read Full Story