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The writer is a science commentator
Vaccines teach the immune system to remember, by laying down molecular memories of viruses and bacteria. Infection reawakens memories of these pathogens, stimulating the immune system to bite back at a known foe.
However, in recent years scientists have been exploring a different approach called “inverse vaccines”. These vaccines aim to make the immune system forget, specifically targeting autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes. These conditions occur when the immune system wrongly identifies the body’s healthy tissue as hostile and attacks it.
Excitingly, researchers in Illinois have made a breakthrough with an inverse vaccine that seems to reverse the progression of MS-like disease in mice by resetting immunity through the liver. This discovery opens up new possibilities for treating autoimmune disorders and further validates the potential of immunotherapy, a treatment method that utilizes the patient’s own immune system to combat disease.
It’s important to note that our biological defenses don’t overreact to every foreign invader. For example, the liver processes our food intake in a way that doesn’t constantly trigger our immune system.
Jeffrey Hubbell and his team from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering wanted to investigate if the liver could induce tolerance to the antigens responsible for triggering autoimmune diseases. In multiple sclerosis, the immune system mistakenly attacks myelin, the protective sheath around nerves and the spinal cord, leading to symptoms like dizziness, spasms, and difficulty walking. By introducing myelin antigens attached to a sugar molecule, the researchers were able to lessen the immune response in affected mice. The findings were published this month in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
A particularly interesting outcome of their study was that when the vaccine was given to recovering mice, they didn’t relapse. This suggests that the vaccine could potentially be used for both treatment and prevention, offering hope to current sufferers. The same technique previously showed promise in stopping the onset of type 1 diabetes in mice as well.
Hubbell went on to co-found a company called Anokion, which aims to translate these ideas into clinical applications. They are currently conducting early-stage human trials on liver-targeted vaccines for coeliac disease and MS, while also exploring a vaccine candidate for type 1 diabetes.
Current treatments for autoimmune diseases often involve lifelong immunosuppressants, leaving patients vulnerable to infections and cancer. With autoimmune disorders affecting a significant portion of the global population, there is a high demand for more tailored approaches. Anokion isn’t the only player in this field, as BioNTech is also working on an mRNA vaccine for multiple sclerosis and has reported encouraging preliminary results in 2021.
While Eric Topol, a noted cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, applauded Hubbell’s team’s work, he cautioned that developing a working vaccine for MS would be a “huge challenge” due to limited understanding of the disease in humans. Hubbell remains optimistic but acknowledges that there is still much work to be done.
Given the complexities of autoimmune diseases, it is more likely that progress will be a steady and gradual rather than a miraculous breakthrough. This is in line with the slow beginnings of immunotherapy as a whole. In the late 19th century, William Coley, an American bone surgeon, sought better treatments for bone cancer after losing a teenage patient. He discovered that bacterial infections triggered beneficial changes in the immune system by studying medical records of patients who experienced spontaneous remission. Although he faced opposition from those favoring radiation therapy, Coley’s contributions to immunotherapy are now recognized. Today, Hubbell expresses gratitude for the scientists who paved the way for a new era in translational immunology, reminiscent of Coley’s determination to find better treatments.
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