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Science 27 November 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5394, p. 1609
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5394.1609l
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This Week in Science

Some sites in the body, such as the anterior chamber of the eye, are "immune privileged"--immune responses do not take place. These tissues were thought to be protected by their constitutive expression of Fas ligand (FasL), which induced apoptosis in meandering T cells. However, in many experimental systems where FasL is inserted as a protective element, inflammation is incited. Chen et al. (p. 1714) found that FasL can activate granulocytes to kill other cells. Fluid from the eye inhibits this killing--and the active agent appears to be transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b). TGF-b could prevent the rejection of tumors that was instigated by FasL in vivo. Thus, immune-privileged sites may require FasL to kill the T cells and TGF-b to thwart the inflammation.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)