A team of researchers at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center recently developed an antibody that stops body's immune system from attacking itself.
The antibody, a molecule that prevents diseases, could help patients with rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, according Microbiology Professor Randolph Noelle, who led the research team.
The antibody that Noelle's team produced deactivates a specific molecule called "gp39." He said overproduction of this molecule causes it to attack the body's tissue while it attacks diseases.
Noelle said the team was aware of the link between the molecule and the immune system because individuals who have mutated forms of the molecule usually die before they are three years old.
The team was originally interested in lymphocytes which led them to investigate the actions of gp39.
"Lymphocytes are white blood cells which fight diseases. For them to function, they have to communicate with each other," Noelle said. "We've been interested in the molecules that mediate lymphocyte communication, and gp39 is one of the more important ones."
When a person has an autoimmune dysfunction, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the body cannot distinguish between diseases and its own tissue. In this case, the molecule is too active and signals the body to kill its own tissue.
Noelle said further research could help organ and bone marrow transplants. His research team is also investigating what effects the therapy could have on lupus, a disease that affects the joints and skin.
According to a report written by Noelle in Science magazine, the researchers used protein injections to induce rheumatoid arthritis in mice and then successively administered the antibody to them.
After these treatments, the mice no longer exhibited the symptoms typical of the disease.
Noelle would not comment on a possible timeline for testing the drug on humans.
Questions remain surrounding the possible side effects of blocking the immune system.
But Noelle said, "Compared to other treatments, this treatment would have less side effects, because some parts of the immune system would have to be shut down, but it would be very selective, and most immune systems would remain intact."
The study is being financed by the National Arthritis Foundation and The National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md.
