A dangerous „date“ of immune cells makes rheumatoid arthritis disappear
Appointments don’t always go the way you want them to. Based on this realisation, a team of the Inflammation Research Labs in Erlangen have developed a new therapeutic approach to combat autoimmune diseases. They brought two types of immune cells, B and T cells, to the same table – with the result that the T cell killed the B cell. The organiser of this „date“ with a dramatic outcome was a drug called blinatumomab (BLINA). The death of the disease-causing B cells led to the disappearance of a serious autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis („rheumatism“). The results appear in the renowned scientific journal NatureMedicine (https://lnkd.in/e6YSadPd).
Normally, both B cells and T cells play a central role in the development of autoimmune diseases. The FAU team has now been able to trick the T-cells into killing their accomplices, the B-cells. This enabled them to achieve a resounding success in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis („rheumatism“).
In principle, rheumatoid arthritis can be treated well today. However, it is not possible to stop the disease in all patients. The active substance BLINA works like a Tinder molecule: It arranges a murderous date between the B and T cells. BLINA manages to find all the B-cells and bring them into contact with the T-cells so that they kill the disease-causing B-cells.
The results are impressive. The inflammatory reaction in rheumatoid arthritis has been resolved. These findings are essentielle for the development of new therapies against autoimmune diseases.
Melanie Hagen, Laura Bucci, Tobias Rothe, Gabriella Raimondo, Filippo Fagni, Carlo Tur, Andreas Wirsching, Artur Wilhelm, Jean-Philippe Auger, Milena Pachowsky, Markus Eckstein, Stefano Alivernini, Angelo Zoli, Gerhard Krönke, Stefan Uderhardt, Aline Bozec, Maria Antonietta D’Agostino, Georg Schett, Ricardo Grieshaber-Bouyer Maria Raimondo
FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – German Research Foundation