The "reverse vaccine" has appeared: scientists told who it will help
"Reverse vaccine" that selectively suppresses the immune system treats multiple sclerosis in mice.Scientists have created a new type of vaccine. Instead of activating the immune system, it selectively suppresses it. According to the researchers, the so-called reverse vaccine, which so far has only been tested on mice, will one day be useful for treating autoimmune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body.
The vaccine was injected into mice with a condition similar to multiple sclerosis. This is an autoimmune disease in which the myelin sheaths or insulating sheaths around nerves in the brain and spinal cord are systematically destroyed. Treatment reversed the symptoms of the disease and restored nerve cell function. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
The vaccine essentially works by getting the immune system to recognize the nerves as "safe" rather than pathogens to attack.
Normally, immune T cells protect the body from viruses and diseased cells, such as cancerous tumors. They determine which cells to attack by binding to specific antigens or molecules that normally appear on the outside of the virus or cell. In autoimmune diseases, however, T cells mistakenly target healthy cells in the body by going after "autoantigens," molecules that are only found on these normal cells.
As part of the experiment, the scientists induced a form of multiple sclerosis in mice that caused the T cells to attack a specific antigen found in myelin. To stop the "attack," they labeled this antigen with a special sugar. These sugar-labeled antigens were redirected to the liver, where they were picked up by tolerance-training cells. The liver cells then reprogrammed the T cells to leave myelin alone and protect it, essentially removing myelin from the immune system's "attack list."