Why the sniffles don’t last forever – research
January 19, 2007 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Ever wonder why your sniffles and congestion don’t last forever? They may feel like it after 3 boxes of Kleenex, but after a week or two, you’re suddenly bright and cheery again. (Thank God!)
Scientists have now discovered what stops the sniffles from continuing for eternity. Its called Carabin, “a protein that’s like a built-in timer to keep the immune system in check”.
All that slimy snotty mucus is a sign that your body is trying to rid itself of a virus. The white blood cells rush to the nostril area and attack the virus, and the extra slush of mucus clears the viral particles from your nasal passages. After a week or two, the virus runs its course, and the battle is over. But if there was no check and balance to our immune, the same cells that protect against invading particles will begin attacking the body itself and cause what are called autoimmune diseases.
Calcineurin is one such molecule that whips the white blood cells into an attack mode and boosts mucus production. It also ramps up the production of Carabin, which acts as as a stopper for Calcineurin itself.
The team of Jun Liu of Johns Hopkins University published their findings in the online edition of Nature. LiveScience has more on these findings:
As for stopping the sniffles, Liu said: “We do not have direct evidence that this would be directly responsible for the duration or length of people’s responses to a cold. But it is imaginable that the level of this protein could dictate that to a certain extent. If you don’t have enough [Carabin], the symptoms could last longer.”
One possible application for this discovery is using Carabin to prevent rejection of transplanted organs or grafts.
Sources:
Cold Case: How Sniffles are Stifled
Feedback inhibition of calcineurin and Ras by a dual inhibitory protein Carabin
Tags: common cold, Carabin, research, feedback, Johsn Hopkins University, Jun Liu, calcineurin
