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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

DNA Tension Probes to Map the Transient Piconewton Receptor Forces by Immune Cells
Published on: March 20, 2021
A physical tug-of-war and the evolution of immune cells
Akshay Tiwari1, Narendra M Dixit
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science.
Abstract:
Antibodies form an important component of our immune response to pathogens. A robust antibody response can lead to the swift clearance of infection. The protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines has been attributed in large measure to the antibodies they elicit (Padmanabhan et al. 2022). Yet, with other pathogens like HIV-1, vaccines that elicit potent antibodies have remained elusive despite intense efforts over decades (Burton 2019). It is important, therefore, to understand how our body mounts a robust antibody response specific to an invading pathogen or vaccine. A remarkable manifestation of Darwinian evolution happens to be at the heart of such a response.
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