3 ms·
Clonal expansion of hematopoietic precursors is something that we see generally as people age [1]. Rather than positing a beneficial role for clonal expansion o
by carbocation 7y ago
Clonal expansion of hematopoietic precursors is something that we see generally as people age [1]. Rather than positing a beneficial role for clonal expansion of cytotoxic T cells, my null hypothesis would be that this clonal expansion is simply another marker of aging.
1 = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonal_hematopoiesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonal_hematopoiesis
- corporate_shi11 7y agoThat disregards the possibility that certain clonal expansions could be beneficial. General clonal expansion may be correlated with aging, but some clonal expansion may concern extended longevity.
- carbocation 7y agoIt doesn’t disregard that hypothesis. The hypothesis is interesting. But it’s not my default hypothesis; it’s the alternative hypothesis.
- najarvg 7y agoVery possible and future experiments should probe this hypothesis too. We should never forget that the very beginnings of immunotherapy were paradoxes themselves (e.g. infecting someone with a disease to control cancer). Our immune system, like many other complex non-linear systems, have been known to behave unpredictably at local levels while behaving predictably at a global level. If you have not already read it, this is a fascinating review of the paradoxical progress of modern immunotherapy (cancer centric) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352304219300431 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235230421...