Information provided to us from Gerson G., in South Florida
A new study in mice where researchers replicated a rare type of immune cell in the lab and then infused it back into the body, is raising hope for a new treatment for severe autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.The researchers, from Duke University Medical Center in the US, write about their work on a type of B cell, in a paper that was published online in Nature at the weekend.
B Cells
B cells are immune cells that create antibodies to attack unwanted pathogens like bacteria and viruses.The type that the researchers on this study focused on are known as regulatory B cells or B10, after interleukin-10 (IL-10), a cell-signalling protein that the cells use. B10 cells help control immune response and limit autoimmunity, which is where the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy tissue as if it were an unwanted pathogen.Although there aren’t many of them, B10 cells play a key role in controlling inflammation: they limit normal immune response during inflammation, thus averting damage to healthy tissue.
Regulating Immune Response Is a Highly Controlled Process
Study author Thomas F. Tedder is a professor of immunology at Duke. He says in a statement that we are only just beginning to understand these recently discovered B10 cells.He says these regulatory B cells are important because they “make sure an immune response doesn’t get carried away, resulting in autoimmunity or pathology”.“This study shows for the first time that there is a highly controlled process that determines when and where these cells produce IL-10,” he adds.
What they Did
For their study, Tedder and colleagues used mice to study how B10 cells produce IL-10. For IL-10 production to start, the B10 cells have to interact with T cells, which are involved in switching on the immune system.They found B10 cells only react to certain antigens. They found that binding to these antigens makes the B10 cells turn off some of the T cells (when they come across the same antigen). This stops the immune system from harming healthy tissue.This was a new insight into the function of B10 cells that spurred the researchers to see if they could take this further: what if it were possible to use this cellular control mechanism to regulate immune responses, particularly in respect of autoimmunity?
Replicating Large Numbers Outside the Body
B10 cells however are not common, they are extremely rare. So Tedder and colleagues had to find a way to make a ready supply of them outside the body.They found a way to isolate the B10 cells without damaging their ability to control the immune responses. And they found a way to replicate them in large numbers, as Tedder explains:
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