A research team led by Eric Gershwin, professor of allergy, rheumatology and immunology, has discovered that apple extract is able to protect cells from damage and death by interfering with communication between cells. The findings appeared in Experimental Biology and Medicine. In the study, human endothelial cells, exposed to an extract of apples, were challenged by tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a compound that usually triggers cell death and promotes inflammation. The apple extract protected the cells from the normal lethal effects of TNF.