Discover why the human body eats food without being attacked by the immune system

On May 27, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said that Israeli scientists have just identified an important immune cell network that allows humans to digest food safely without triggering harmful reactions.

The new discovery could pave the way for new treatments for food allergies, sensitivities and disorders such as coeliac disease - Illustration: Cpdonline.co.uk

According to Xinhua, this discovery sheds further light on oral tolerance, the body's ability to recognize food as harmless and prevent attacks from the immune system.

For a long time, scientists believed that certain immune cells called dendritic cells were responsible for oral tolerance. However, even when these cells were removed in animal studies, the body still tolerated the food.

In work published in the journal Nature , researchers at WIS have identified another group of immune cells, called ROR-gamma-t cells, as the real driving force behind this process.

These rare cells initiate a chain reaction involving four different cell types, which helps prevent the body's own killer cells - CD8 cells - from reacting to the food.

When this system fails, the human body can develop food allergies, sensitivities, or diseases in which the body unintentionally attacks food proteins, such as gluten.

Every day the important system above blocks inflammatory foods, while still allowing the immune system to fight infections.

The breakthrough could pave the way for new treatments for food allergies, sensitivities and disorders such as celiac disease.

By understanding how this system works, scientists hope to be able to overcome problems when the body mistakenly attacks food.

Researchers have also found that during an infection, the immune system can temporarily put food intake on hold to focus on attacking and destroying pathogens, before returning to normal.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phat-hien-vi-sao-co-the-nguoi-nap-thuc-an-ma-khong-bi-he-mien-dich-tan-cong-20250528112221671.htm