T cells become tired and exhausted

An example of metaphors and simile in public science discourse:

DT: "The Y-negative cells cause an immune evasive environment in the tumour, and that, if you will, paralyses, the T-cells, and exhausts them, makes them tired and ineffective, and this prevents the Y-negative tumour from being rejected, therefore allowing it to grow much better."

NPH "Exhausted T cells have lost their ability to kill cancer cells, and have lots of proteins on their surface known as checkpoints, which put the brakes on immune responses. But this exhausting environment made by the tumours could also be their undoing"

Nick Petrić Howe talking to Prof. Dan Theodorescu, director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, on an episode ('Why bladder cancer cells that shed their Y chromosome become more aggressive') of the Nature Podcast. Read 'Explaining Y T cells stop working'

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Read about examples of science similes

Many examples of science similes are listed in 'Creative Comparisons: Making Science Familiar through Language. An illustrative catalogue of figurative comparisons and analogies for science concepts'. Free Download.