A team of international researchers has taken an extraordinary step forward in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects the nervous system.
Led by scientists of the Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, together with collaborators from the Synlogic Therapeutics company in Cambridge, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the “Severo Ochoa” Molecular Biology Center UAM-CSIC of the Autonomous University of Madridthe team has developed an experimental probiotic that appears to have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
The discovery, published in the renowned scientific journal Nature, concerns an innovative approach: the use of engineered bacteria to produce a molecule capable of curbing the autoimmune response associated with Multiple Sclerosis. The disease, characterized by demyelination of neurons in the central nervous system, has seen significant progress in its study and treatment thanks to the biochemical investigation of researchers.
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Professor Francisco J. Quintana, one of the project leaders and professor of neurology at Harvard University School of Medicine, explained that the discovered mechanism can be likened to a “brake” for the immune system. In people with autoimmune diseases, this braking system appears to malfunction, which leaves the body vulnerable to attack by its own immune cells.
Researchers have identified a unique biochemical pathway in the nervous system of mice involving dendritic cells, which are responsible for presenting antigens and managing the immune response.
They then engineered “good” bacteria to produce a molecule called lactate, which appears to mimic the action of these dendritic cells, curbing inflammation and reducing symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis.
Through rigorous laboratory experiments, the researchers demonstrated that the experimental probiotic was able to suppress the autoimmune process in mice, counteracting brain inflammation caused by T cells attacking myelin. This finding is particularly significant since autoimmune diseases affecting brain tissue are notoriously difficult to treat due to the blood-brain barrier blocking the passage of drugs.
While the probiotic has proven effective in tests on mice, the researchers believe the promising results could extend to humans. Of course, more clinical trials are needed to confirm the probiotic’s efficacy and safety in humans, but the results so far are exciting.
Professor Quintana emphasized the breakthrough potential of this discovery, noting that the use of living cells as a source of medicine could pave the way for more personalized and targeted therapies. The protective action triggered by lactate, through biochemical signaling between cells of the intestine and those of the brain, could also prove effective for other autoimmune diseases.
In summary, this discovery offers a new perspective in the fight against multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. While there is still a long way to go before the therapy can be applied in a clinical setting, the potential positive impact on patients’ lives is evident. Research continues to push the boundaries of medicine and offer new hope for those suffering from debilitating diseases.
NurseTimes editorial team
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