Researchers discover new ‘micro-organs’ that fight infections, appear during illness

Scientists have discovered new ‘micro-organs’ in the human body which could explain how we remember how to fight off illness, and they only appear when someone is ill. The discovery of the ‘micro-organs’ which scientists have nicknamed SPFs (subcapsular proliferative foci) could explain how vaccines train the body to remember what to do when infected.   […]

Scientists have discovered new ‘micro-organs’ in the human body which could explain how we remember how to fight off illness, and they only appear when someone is ill.

The discovery of the ‘micro-organs’ which scientists have nicknamed SPFs (subcapsular proliferative foci) could explain how vaccines train the body to remember what to do when infected.  

SPFs contain a large gathering of immune cells which appear near the lymph node when a person begins fighting off an infection, according to researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. 

They discovered the SPFs in mice and found humans have the same tissues.

The scientists say the bands of cells act as headquarters for the body to plan attacks against returning infections, reports MailOnline. 

They contain memory cells which contain a library of immune information and can transform into white blood cells and join the fight against an infection.

Experts say how and where the body remembers immunity could help to develop better vaccines in the future.

Thin and flat structures, the collections of cells may not have been spotted in the past because they only appear temporarily when someone is ill.

And microscopes which can only see two-dimensional images may not have seen them because they are so thin.

They appear on the lymph nodes, the glands of the immune system of which there are between 500 and 700 clustered around the body.

This, the researchers say, is key to the body being able to react quickly because the lymph nodes are strategically placed at control centres for the immune system, which are positioned where invading bacteria or viruses can enter the body.

Senior researcher Tri Phan said: “When you’re fighting bacteria that can double in number every 20 to 30 minutes, every moment matters. To put it bluntly, if your immune system takes too long to assemble the tools to fight the infection, you die.

“This is why vaccines are so important. Vaccination trains the immune system so that it can make antibodies very rapidly when an infection reappears.”

After an infection has been fought off, the sheet-like organs then disappear until the next time the person becomes ill. 

And the SPFs only appear when the body is fighting an infection it has fought before, suggesting they contain a library of immune information.

The researchers describe them as a ‘one stop shop’ for fighting off remembered infections.

Vaccines work by introducing – or encouraging the body to produce – the memory cells which are contained in these SPFs.

However, the new findings suggest in future vaccines could focus on how the SPFs turn into the right type of white blood cells to fight specific illnesses.

 “It’s a remarkable reminder that there are still mysteries hidden within the body – even though we have been looking at the body’s tissues through the microscope for over 300 years,”  Dr Phan said.