University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) researchers have developed a new vaccine that has completely reversed autoimmune disorders in laboratory settings. This “inverse vaccine” works by wiping out the immune system’s memory of a perceived irritant rather than suppressing the immune system to limit autoimmunity symptoms.
The immune system is essentially a battle-ready system of defenses ready to attack and destroy any threats at the drop of a hat. In some people, the immune system is overly sensitive and will react aggressively after mistaking harmless substances such as proteins, pollen and healthy tissues, for threats.
This results in the immune system attacking and even destroying healthy cells and tissues in the body and causing autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, pernicious anemia, reactive arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. There are more than 80 identified autoimmune disorders, and experts estimate that around 50 million Americans suffer from at least one or more autoimmune diseases.
With such a large number of autoimmune disorders, patients suffering from the less common types often have to endure their symptoms for years before being accurately diagnosed. Even after receiving accurate diagnoses, many autoimmune diseases have no known cures and can only be managed through ongoing therapy.
With the recently developed inverse vaccine, such patients won’t have to wait for years to receive a diagnosis or deal with autoimmune diseases and immunosuppressants.
Lead study author Jeffrey Hubbell noted that while immunosuppressants can be quite effective at limiting autoimmunity symptoms, they often reduce the immune system’s ability to fight off other infections. They can also cause side effects such as fatigue, headaches, acne, hair growth or loss, osteoporosis (thinning bones), weight gain and high blood pressure.
Inverse vaccines avoid all of these side effects by making the immune system forget about the threat it was previously attacking, essentially cutting off the disease at the root. For example, inverse vaccines could treat multiple sclerosis by preventing the immune system from attacking myelin, an insulating sheath that forms around nerves in the spinal cord and brain.
Hubbell and his team have tested the theory that the immune system can tolerate any molecule as long as it is attached to a sugar molecule called N-acetylgalactosamine (pGal) more than once. Recent research efforts revealed that attaching pGal to virtually any molecule could make it tolerable to the immune system, even if autoimmunity has already begun. Hubbell says researchers will have to advance the research past mouse models to test the effectiveness of inverse vaccines in humans.
These reverse vaccines could be a good complement to the immunotherapies that are being developed by entities such as Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI) to help in combating the increasing burden of autoimmune conditions in the world’s population.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Scinai Immunotherapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ: SCNI) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/SCNI
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