A Protein to Help The Immune System By Sondra Forsyth Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University have found that the enzyme SPPL3 activates T cells, which defend the immune system. Because the enzymeΓÇÖs structure is similar to that of presenilin enzymes, which have been implicated in AlzheimerΓÇÖs disease, a university news release said, the researchersΓÇÖ finding could shed more light on how presenilin functions, in addition to providing new insight into how the immune system is controlled. The study was published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. The researchers studied the process by which a protein called NFAT helps to prepare T cells for battle against malicious invaders. They found that SPPL3 increased NFATΓÇÖs activity cells. The discovery represents a further understanding of SPPL3ΓÇÖs function. ΓÇ£SPPL3 is a relatively uncharacterized protein that had never before been implicated in immune system function,ΓÇ¥ said Joel Pomerantz, an associate professor of biological chemistry. ΓÇ£It opens up a whole new set of scientific questions.ΓÇ¥ According to a university news release, Pomerantz said that SPPL3 could be used as a drug target to either enhance the activation of T cells in immunodeficient individuals or to suppress it in those with overactive immune systems.