Your nose knows

Your nose has a big role to play in never getting the same kind of flu again?  If you get the flu, your nose recruits immune cells with long memories to be on the lookout for the virus.  These special cells are called “resident memory T cells” and they serve as sentinels to keep that flu from recurring.  In the future, a nasal spray vaccine that boosts the army of T cells in the nose, just might replace that flu shot.  Boosting the immunity in the nose may lead to greater protection of the lungs.  T cells also patrol the brain, liver, intestines, skin and lungs once you’ve had an infection.  Each kind of tissue has its own T cells.  If the disease returns, they quickly kill it off.  Combined with memory B cells that produce antibodies against virus and bacteria, we just might be able to avoid some nasty diseases for the rest of our lives!