This insight conforms beautifully
with the clinical presentation of such diseases and allergies also. It is really saying that we are for some
reason responding imperfectly to the food we eat. It could well be because of prior dietary
issues and even more plausibly because the diet has become way too benign.
It certainly clarifies why absurd
therapies that challenge the gut often help resolve the problem. That it is all affected by a single molecule
makes the search for effective therapies rather simple. This is a little like the discovery of the
bug that produced ulcers.
This is more excellent news on
the allergy front and we can expect a complete rethink of present therapies.
Scientists discover a 'master key' to unlock new treatments for
autoimmune disorders
New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology demonstrates
how the human intestine generates and maintains 'immune tolerance' under
healthy conditions
"Currently we do not have special methods to radically treat most
immune diseases; all we can do is to temporarily inhibit the clinical symptoms
for those diseases," said Ping-Chang Yang, a researcher involved in the
work from the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster
University in Ontario, Canada. "Our findings have the potential to repair
the compromised immune tolerant system so as to lead the body immune system to
'correct' the ongoing pathological conditions by itself."
Scientists made this discovery in mice when they noticed that their
intestines secreted alphavbeta6, when absorbing food. Alphavbeta6, together
with the absorbed food, induced the body to produce immune tolerant cells,
which ensured that the food did not cause an excessive immune reaction.
Researchers then generated alphavbeta6 using cultured intestinal cells and
found that both could be used to generate the immune tolerant cells needed to reduce
or eliminate out-of-control immune reactions.
"Development of new treatments and cures for diseases is usually a
long process involving a series of incremental steps taken from the laboratory
all the way through to the patient's bedside," said John Wherry, Ph.D.,
Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. "Occasionally,
however, scientists make large leaps forward instead.
While considerable work remains to determine whether or not this
discovery will directly translate into new therapies, the alphavbeta6 discovery
reported by these scientists is exciting, if not stunning."
The Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) publishes
peer-reviewed manuscripts on original investigations focusing on the cellular
and molecular biology of leukocytes and on the origins, the developmental
biology, biochemistry and functions of granulocytes, lymphocytes, mononuclear
phagocytes and other cells involved in host defense and inflammation. The Journal
of Leukocyte Biology is published by the Society for Leukocyte Biology.
Details: Xiao Chen, Chun-Hua Song, Bai-Sui Feng, Tong-Li Li, Ping Li,
Peng-Yuan Zheng, Xian-Ming Chen, Zhou Xing, and Ping-Chang Yang. Intestinal
epithelial cell-derived integrin αβ6 plays an important role in the induction
of regulatory T cells and inhibits an antigen-specific Th2 response. J Leukoc
Biol. 2011 90:751-759; doi: 10.1189/jlb.1210696 ;http://www.jleukbio.org/content/90/4/751.abstract
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