Antigen-specific therapy of autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune diseases were suggested to be treated as an allergy
Scientists have found that an effective reduction in the pathological activity of the body's immune system can be achieved using the method of antigen-specific immunotherapy already used in allergic diseases with a gradual increase in doses of artificially synthesized autoantigens targets. The introduction of this technique into clinical practice will make it possible to abandon the use of immunosuppressive drugs with many negative side effects in autoimmune diseases. The work of Burton et al. Sequential transcriptional changes dictate safe and effective antigen-specific immunotherapy is published in the journal Nature Communications.
The functioning of the immune system is based on the principle of separation of foreign antigens (substances capable of stimulating the immune response) from their own antigens (autoantigens) formed inside the body. Normally, autoantigens are not recognized by the cells of the immune system and the activation of the immune reaction does not occur, but sometimes, under the influence of various factors that have not been fully studied, a failure occurs and immunological tolerance to its own proteins or protein complexes is lost. The result of this development of events is the activation of specific autoreactive T cells of the immune system and the production of autoantibodies, which eventually leads to the destruction of the body's own tissues.
The method of antigen-specific immunotherapy is experimentally used in allergic diseases, which are based on a pathologically violent reaction to a foreign antigen. The essence of the method is to present the target antigen (allergen) to the immune system in gradually increasing doses, which leads to its desensitization (reduction of excessive reactivity). At the same time, the restoration of immunological tolerance to the allergen does not violate the normal function of the immune system.
The results of some previous studies suggest that a similar approach is possible in the case of autoimmune diseases. A group led by Professor David Wraith, having studied the molecular basis of the processes occurring in this case, came to the conclusion that subcutaneous injections of artificially synthesized autoantigen in increasingly high doses effectively increase the level of immunological tolerance to it and deactivate specific autoreactive CD4+T lymphocytes. A biomarker of such a positive process is an increase in their secretion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10), which indicates a decrease in the pathological reactivity of the immune system.
A heat map reflecting a decrease in the activity of specific autoreactive CD4+ T-lymphocytes
under the influence of the administration of increasing doses of the target autoantigen. Image of the authors
Wright and his colleagues hope that their results will lead to the introduction of personalized antigen-specific immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus into widespread clinical practice and the rejection of the use of drugs in this situation that suppress the activity of the immune system and have a large number of negative side effects. Currently, the biotech company Apitope at the University of Bristol is preparing to conduct clinical trials of the method.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.09.2014