Immune system discovery paves way to lengthen organ transplant survival: Study

New Delhi, May 10 (ANI): While the chronic rejection of transplanted organs is the leading cause of transplant failure, a new discovery suggests that the innate immune system can specifically remember foreign cells, which could pave the way to drugs that lengthen long-term survival of transplanted organs. The new discovery, led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Houston Methodist Hospital, based on results in a mouse model, were published in the journal Science. The immune system is composed of innate and adaptive branches. The innate immune cells are the first to detect foreign organisms in the body and are required to activate the adaptive immune system. Immunological "memory" -- which allows our bodies to remember foreign invaders so they can fight them off quicker in the future -- was thought to be unique to the adaptive immune system. Vaccines, for example, take advantage of this feature to provide long-term protection against bacteria or viruse