A recent study conducted by neurologists from the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburg has discovered that immune cells that amass in the brain following a stroke help boost neural functions, as observed in mice models. The research, which was reported in the “Immunity” journal, showed that regulatory T cells, which are specialized immune cells, help boost functional recovery following a stroke.
The researchers stated that boosting the regulatory T cell levels through the use of an antibody complex treatment enhanced cognitive and behavioral functions in mice following a stroke. This was in comparison to the mice that didn’t receive the antibody treatment.
Pitt’s School of Medicine associate professor of neurology, Xiaoming Hu, was the senior author of the study.
Prior studies on strokes had centered on the development of new therapies to decrease neuronal death. This study found that while conventional stroke therapies lose their efficaciousness quickly after neuron death, regulatory T cells remained active even weeks after injury. The cells, which are also known as Treg cells, help regulate the body’s immune response by reducing any excessive inflammation that could be harmful. The researchers observed that Treg cell levels began to increase almost a week after the stroke had occurred, noting that this trend continued for almost five weeks.
This led the researchers to focus on the brain’s white matter as they conducted various tests in mice that had had strokes. White matter is brain tissue through which thoughts are turned into actions, as neurons receive messages.
In their findings, they reported that mice that weren’t able to produce Treg cells had a more difficult time in comparison with those that exhibited a strong Treg cell response. In addition, they noted that when IL-2:IL-2Ab, the antibody treatment, was administered to normal mice to increase the level of Treg cells following a stroke, the integrity of the white matter in their brains improved and their neurological functions returned.
Furthermore, mice that could genetically produce more regulatory T cells had better memories and less difficulty moving, which enabled them to navigate mazes faster after they’d suffered a stroke, in comparison with their counterparts who didn’t receive the antibody complex. The treatment had originally been developed as a treatment for diabetes.
Hu noted that their findings strongly suggested that regulatory T cells impacted white matter regeneration and repair in the long term, adding that regulatory T cells possessed neuro-restorative potential for recovery in stroke patients.
The approach of boosting T cells in order to improve stroke patients’ outcomes is one way of advancing precision medicine in much the same way that companies such as Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ: POAI) seek to customize cancer treatment to each patient.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Predictive Oncology (NASDAQ: POAI) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/POAI
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