How IL-6 allows the immune response to develop for a key cell, the T follicular helper

A preclinical study shows how the interplay of two interleukin signaling proteins, IL-6 and IL-2, affects the development of T follicular helper cells and germinal centers. This interplay may either maintain or disrupt the balancing act of the immune system between attacking infections and benign surveillance of the body's own cells. Thus, the research may help guide future disease treatment for autoimmune diseases like lupus.

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Therapeutic strategies for pregnant women with lupus

A highly gender-biased disease, lupus afflicts females some nine times more than males. Because of the disease's unpredictable turns and debilitating flares — the risks of which are elevated in postpartum women — females with the disease are often advised to avoid pregnancy altogether.

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