Tiny group of proteins alerts the immune system of the presence of cells affected by cancer

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 by: Antonia
Tags: white blood cells, cancer, proteins

(NaturalNews) A recent study published in the Journal of Immunology, reported by Prof. Yoel Kloog of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology, along with Dr. Itamar Goldstein of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center and their students Helly Vernitsky and Dr. Oded Rechavi, discusses the link between melanoma cells and the immune system (specifically T-cells that are part of a group of white blood cells).

What is the role of white blood cells in the human body?

The base function of white blood cells in the body is to fight infection and eradicate foreign cells.

The main types of white blood cells; also called leukocytes include: lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils and neutrophils. Each type has it's purpose whether it be to fight bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic infections or attack a foreign invader.

White blood cells are involved in the protection against mutated cells, such as cancer.

While refined sugars are said to lower immunity in a near-instant manner, complex sugars called polysaccharides (more specifically "Beta-Glucans") are said to bolster immunity.

"Essentially, Beta-Glucans modulate the immune system, by lowering the overactive (auto-immune) Immune System, and stimulating the under-active (immunodeficient) immune system," said Daniel Vitalis, leading health, nutrition and personal development strategist, nature-based philosopher and teacher of Invincible Health.

In further clarifying the role of Beta-Glucans from medicinal mushrooms, Vitalis, from his own experience, has discovered that they "re-train our immune systems to better clean away the viral, fungal, and bacterial load."

Other forms of polysaccharides can be found in botanicals such as; shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, licorice, echinacea, ligustrum and astragalus - all pertaining to a group of foods that are uncommonly consumed in today's society.

The role of cytokines to kill cancerous cells

Prof. Yoel Kloog's team found that human melanoma cells "hand-off" proteins to the white blood cells. The white blood cells, when in full functioning order, detect the proteins as oncogenic Ras, which activates the T-cells which in turns begins the process of producing cytokines. The presence of the cytokines enhances the immune system's capacity for fighting off and killing cancer cells.

While the existing research focuses on the melanoma cancer and its ability to elicit a response from the immune system, the researchers believe that other cancers behave similarly. The mutated Ras, which elicits the response, can be detected in one-third of all tumors.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130204114256.htm
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org
http://www.danielvitalis.com
http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Immune_Enhancers.shtml

About the author:
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. >>> Click here to see more by Antonia