BIOL 358 Lecture Notes - Lecture 38: Gamma Delta T Cell, Ketogenic Diet, Rna Virus
Document Summary
Article title: ketogenic diet helps tame flu virus. The ketogenic diet was shown to block the formation of inflammasomes (which can cause a negative immune response) and release gamma delta t cells (which produce mucus in the lung"s cell lining). When they used knockout gamma delta t cell mice (aka mice lacking the gene that codes for that subset of t cells), the keto diet was no longer successful in protecting against the virus. They conclude that producing ketone bodies from burning fat is a crucial aspect for effectively fueling the immune system. The article is about the influenza virus, which is a single-stranded, rna virus enclosed in helical nucleocapsid. Characteristics (about the types): there are 4 types of influenza viruses: a, b, c, and d. Influenza viruses a and b are typically the types that cause seasonal epidemics in humans during the winter. Interesting facts: the influenza virus is considered the only actual pandemic viral infection of humans.
