NEWS: Spanish scientists develop a cellular therapy for rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis

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Spanish scientists develop a cellular therapy for rheumatoid

arthritis and multiple sclerosis

[Date: 2005-09-09]

A research team at the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine of

the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), in Grenade, has

successfully developed in mice a cellular therapy for two major

autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. The

scientists succeeded, in both experimental models, in making the

symptoms disappear and inducing a reversion of the degenerative

process. The results of the research were published this week in the

digital edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences (PNAS).

Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system that normally

protects the body from disease and infection attacks itself.

Autoimmune diseases can affect many parts of the organism, like the

nerves or the muscles, and cause significant and chronic morbidity

and disability.

The therapy uses a certain type of cells (dendritic cells), which

when injected in animals affected by these disorders, generate T

regulating (Tr) cells, responsible for the maintenance of immune

tolerance. CSIC scientist and lead of the research team,

Delgado, explains: 'the analysis of the cellular mechanisms has

unveiled that these dendritic cells induce new Tr cells in the

treated animals, and that these cells specifically neutralise the

immune cells that attack components of the joint, in the case of

rheumatoid arthritis, or the myelin covering the nerves, in the case

of multiple sclerosis'.

The therapy was also effective with Tr cells generated in vitro. In

both cases, the response was induced by using a known

immunosuppressive neuropeptide, the vasoactive intestinal peptide

(VIP), a protein that is produced by lymphoid as well as neural

cells, that the scientists know acts like a powerful anti-

inflammatory agent. The research team lead by Dr Delgado has studied

the use of the VIP on a multiple sclerosis model for ten years.

The therapeutic process would start by extracting blood or marrow

cells from the patient suffering the autoimmune disorder. These cells

would be treated with VIP so that they turn into dendritic cells.

Finally, these cells could be injected in the patient so that they

induce new Tr cells and the immunological tolerance is recovered. An

alternative therapy could be based on using these regulating

dendritic cells in vitro to generate the Tr cells that could be then

injected into the patient.

Dr Delgado, explains that 'the results with animals are very

promising', although, he is cautious about its eventual use in

humans, warning that this would be a 'customized personal cellular

therapy implying high costs'. Its use could be justified though as

some degenerative disorders do not have any alternative effective

treatment. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and severe

neurological disease, largely diffused all over the world. MS

preferentially affects young adults and has high social costs,

representing a real emergence at both clinical and social levels.

To download the abstract of the PNAS paper, please consult the

following web address:

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0504484102v1

http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?

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