September 25, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Specific genes allow immune T-cells to infiltrate the brain, study finds Researchers have identified nearly two dozen genes that help to control the movement of immune cells into the brain and spinal cord during multiple sclerosis (MS). Findings may form the basis for the further development of MS treatments that aim to reduce disease activity by blocking the infiltration…
June 20, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD T-cell changes reflect pregnancy’s protective effects in MS Changes in the gene activity within immune T-cells explain why women with multiple sclerosis (MS) improve during pregnancy, a study reports. Gene activity changes during and after pregnancy were highly similar between MS patients and healthy women. Many of the genes whose activity was altered during pregnancy were associated…
May 25, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Ocrevus reduces B-cells’ diversity, but not T-cells’, in relapsing MS Long-term treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) doesn’t change the diversity of T-cells ā those needed to mount effective immune responses against foreign pathogens ā in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a small study shows. Consistent with its mechanism of B-cell depletion, however, Ocrevus did reduce the molecular…
April 5, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Findings may help optimize therapy for patients considering Ocrevus The way Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) affects immune cell profiles of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) varies depending on what treatments they were on previously, a new study shows. Understanding these differences could help to optimize treatment approaches for MS patients considering Ocrevus, scientists say. The study, “…
November 16, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS How Stem Cell Transplant Can āResetā Immune System in MS: Study Following an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), the population of ānaĆÆveā T-cells ā components of the immune system that enable the body to fight off new, unrecognized infections ā is completely renewed but some memory T-cells, which are responsible for rapid responses…
October 12, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Partnership Aims at Cell Therapy Targeting Epstein-Barr Virus in MS NexImmune is working with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to develop cell therapies for people with immunological disorders associated with certain viral infections, namely the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). A history of infection with EBV ā mostly…
September 13, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS T-cells Targeting Epstein-Barr Virus at High Levels in MS Patients People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have significantly more T-cells equipped with receptors that specifically recognize the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) than do healthy individuals, a study revealed. Notably, no such differences were detected for T-cells with receptors specifically against other viruses. These findings add to previous data highlightingĀ EBV infection…
August 29, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD TRE-515 Appears to Block Immune Cell Attacks in Mouse Study An experimental oral therapy called TRE-515 significantly reduced disease severity and the growth of the abnormal immune cells that drive multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) in two mouse models of the disease, a study found. Notably, the efficacy of Trethera Corp.ās potential treatment, administered either in a preventive or therapeutic…
August 22, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Oral Therapy TRE-515 Wins Orphan Drug Status for Optic Neuritis in US The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Trethera Corporationās experimental oral therapy TRE-515 for demyelinating optic neuritis, an eye condition that may progress to multiple sclerosis (MS) or occur during the disease course. The first-in-class therapy is expected to lessen the inflammation…
July 19, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Intermittent Fasting in MS Leads to Immune Cell, Metabolic Changes An eight-week calorie-restricted diet plan ā known as intermittent fasting ā led to immune and metabolic changes among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a small pilot clinical trial, data show. The findings could underlie some of the proposed benefits of calorie restriction on MS disease course, the researchers…
June 21, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS T-cells in Bone Marrow Work to Drive Inflammatory MS Attacks Unusual growth in anĀ immune cell classĀ called myeloid cells is evident in the bone marrow of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and these cells likely contribute to the inflammation that drives the disease, according to a new study. Experiments in mice suggest that myelin-reactive T-cells can migrate to the bone…
June 6, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Phase 1/2 Trial Is Testing Cutting-edge Immunotherapy in MS Patients A Phase 1/2 clinical trial is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a cutting-edge immunotherapy called extracorporeal photopheresis in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, dubbed PHOMS (NCT05168384), is enrolling up to 45 adults with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) at a…
May 5, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Study Finds New Molecules Targeted by the Immune System Researchers have identified four new brain proteins that are targeted by inflammatory T-cells in multiple sclerosis (MS), which could aid in the development of more specific and safer treatments for people with the condition. The study, “Identification of four novel T cell autoantigens and personal autoreactive profiles in…
April 19, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Atara Planning Phase 3 Trials of ATA188 in Non-active SPMS, PPMS Atara BiotherapeuticsĀ plans to launch two Phase 3 clinical trials of its investigational immunotherapy ATA188 in people with non-active, progressive forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). Whether efforts for these trials will go forward, however, depends on positive results from an interim analysis of the Phase 2 portion of the…
February 11, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Bacteria-fighting White Blood Cell ‘Traps’ Tied to T-cell Inflammation Molecular “traps” made by neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to fight bacteria may contribute to the excessive inflammatory activity of T-helper 17 immune T-cells, which are known to play a role in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). Neutrophils are equipped with a number of biochemical tools…
February 3, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD KAT7 Enzyme Spotted as Key to Training Immune System’s T-cells KAT7, an enzyme known to regulate gene activity, is essential for the process of teaching immune T-cells to correctly identify the bodyās molecules and cells as āselfā ā a process that goes awry in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. This enzyme is also critical for training T-cells…
January 25, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Tevogen to Develop T-cell Therapy That Might Prevent EBV Infection Tevogen Bio is planning to make use of its virus-fighting immune cell technology and turn it against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a common virus thought to greatly increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). The technology employs off-the-shelf cytotoxic T-cells ā a type of white blood cell that can…
December 10, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Researchers Identify Subset of Immune Cells Driving MS A new subset of type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) ā a type of immune cell known mostly for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects in the gut ā infiltrates the brain and promotes the abnormal immune attacks that drive multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), according to a study in a mouse model…
October 25, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: AHSCT, Ocrevus, CD20 T-cells, Spasticity App National MS Society Supports Stem Cell Transplant for Select, Aggressive RRMS Bravo! This statement is welcome after the recommendation of National Multiple Sclerosis Society advisers that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or AHSCT, could be useful for people younger than 50 and recently diagnosed with MS. Now, how long…
September 30, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD #ECTRIMS2021 – ATA188 Benefits in SPMS, PPMS Hint at Remyelination An investigational immunotherapy, ATA188Ā showed it could reverse disability and improve exercise capacity in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), Atara Biotherapeutics, its developer, reported in an update on a Phase 1 trial and its long-term extension study. EMBOLD trial findings based on MRI brain imaging…
July 12, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Sugar Molecules in Yeast Cells Prevent Inflammation in Mouse Model A component of yeast cell walls ā called MGCP ā prevented disease in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS) by activating anti-inflammatory immune T-cells while suppressing inflammatory T-cells, a study showed. This work also supporting the microbiomeās role in affecting inflammation in autoimmune diseases like MS. “We have…
May 4, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Repertoire, Yale Working to Identify T-cells Driving MS Repertoire Immune Medicines and Yale University have entered a research collaboration to identify what type of antigens are activating immune T-cells in patients withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). Antigens are molecular structures, such as a portion of a protein or a specific chain of sugars, that trigger an immune…
April 29, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM ā Exploring Mavenclad’s Effects on Immune Cells Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, held April 17ā22. GoĀ hereĀ to read stories from the conference. After starting treatment with the multiple sclerosis (MS) therapy Mavenclad (cladribine), some types of immune cells are more affected…
April 16, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Helper T-cells Drive Transition from RRMS to SPMS, Study Suggests A group of helper T-cell (Th cells), a type of immune cell, could be responsible for the transition from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), with important implications for diagnosing and treating SPMS, a new study found. The study, āInvolvement of cytotoxic Eomes-expressing…
April 1, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD SPMS Patient First To Be Treated With Antibody Given via Nasal Spray For a first time, an immune-modulating antibody will be given via nasal administration to treat a person with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a request to use the antibody ā a fully human anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody called foralumab ā under an…
March 25, 2021 News by Diana Campelo Delgado Dosing Begins in Trial of Anokion’s ANK-700 for RRMS A Phase 1 clinical trial investigating ANK-700 as a means to restore immune tolerance to myelin in people multiple sclerosis (MS) has begun dosing participants. Currently recruiting at a single site in Tennessee, the trial (NCT04602390) is expected to enroll up to 40 patients with relapsing-remitting…
March 8, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Lipid Signaling Molecule Regulates Immune Responses in Mice Lipid (fat) molecules can function as chemical couriers, taking messages from tissue to tissue, organ to organ as part of the body’s immune defense guidance system. But in certain diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), the courier service may go awry. One such lipid molecule, called sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P),…
March 4, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Antigen-loaded Red Blood Cells Help Promote Immune Tolerance in Mice Red blood cells carrying specific antigen proteins on the cell surface can be used to disarm overactive T-cells by promoting immune tolerance, a study in mice found. The findings may have important implications for the treatment of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. The study, āPersistent antigen…
March 3, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2021 – Reduced Methionine in Diet Eased Symptoms in MS Mice Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25ā27. GoĀ hereĀ to see the latest stories from the conference. Reducing the essential amino acid methionine in the diet lessenedĀ multiple sclerosis (MS)-like symptoms in a mouse model of…
March 2, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #ACTRIMS2021 – Leptin’s Pro-inflammatory Effects May Link Obesity to MS Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25ā27. GoĀ hereĀ to see all the latest stories from the conference. The fat-related hormone leptin has pro-inflammatory effects on immune cells, new data show, findings that help in better…