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),…

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, “Persistent antigen…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here to see the latest stories from the conference. Reducing the essential amino acid methionine in the diet lessened multiple sclerosis (MS)-like symptoms in a mouse model of…

Editor’s note: The Multiple Sclerosis News Today news team is providing in-depth and unparalleled coverage of the virtual ACTRIMS Forum 2021, Feb. 25–27. Go here 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…

Proteins called PSGs suppress the pro-inflammatory activity of immune Th17 cells during pregnancy, potentially playing a protective role against complications and miscarriage, a study finds.  The impaired regulation of Th17 is associated with pregnancy complications, like preeclampsia and preterm delivery — and also with the development…

A newly identified subset of astrocytes — cells long thought to be responsible for simply providing nutrition and support to neurons — can prevent brain inflammation by promoting the destruction of pro-inflammatory immune T-cells, scientists report. Their work also found that the anti-inflammatory activity of this astrocyte subpopulation is dependent on…

A new primate model uncovered by researchers can help scientists understand the immune and inflammatory processes underlying the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans, a study reports. It was already known that Japanese macaques — also called snow monkeys — can spontaneously develop encephalomyelitis (JME), a disorder that…

In addition to significantly reducing subsets of B-cells — its main immune cell target — Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) lessens pro-inflammatory immune T-cells in people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), a small study shows. Notably, the suppression of immune cell subsets thought to be involved in the abnormal immune responses…

Scientists at the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center have developed a technique able to more efficiently isolate specific T-cells — immune cells involved not only in the fight against infections and cancer but also in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) — for research. In particular, the…

Obesity and a higher body mass index (BMI) are associated with both increased multiple sclerosis (MS) risk and harmful autoimmune activity that is induced by leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, a study finds. These results indicate that leptin, which helps regulate…

Exposure to air pollution, particularly to particulate matter 10 (PM10), small airborne and inhalable particles, may trigger inflammatory reactions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an Italian study reported. The study “Air pollution as a contributor to the inflammatory activity of multiple sclerosis” was published in the Journal of…

A newly identified population of immune cells contributes to inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests. The study, “A distinct GM-CSF+ T helper cell subset requires T-bet to adopt a TH1 phenotype and promote neuroinflammation,” was published in Science Immunology. MS is an…

The HLA-DR15 haplotype — a set of gene variants that tend to be inherited together — in the HLA-DRB1 gene plays a role in autoimmune response and, in combination with environmental factors, contributes to the development of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The study, “…

The European Patent Office granted a patent for IMP761, Immutep‘s experimental antibody to be used in treating inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). IMP761 targets a receptor found on the surface of immune system T-cells called lymphocyte-activation gene 3,…

Rituximab, an investigational B-cell depletion therapy that target CD20 to treat people with multiple sclerosis (MS), has significant effects on the characteristics of B-cells that return after treatment is stopped, with cells being less mature yet more activated toward a pro-inflammatory state, a study showed. Treatment also…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted an investigational new drug application (IND) for ANK-700, a treatment candidate for multiple sclerosis (MS) that is being developed by the Swiss company Anokion. With this approval, Anokion can enter clinical testing and is planning to…

Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) — immune cells that normally dampen immune and inflammatory responses by inhibiting the activity of pro-inflammatory immune cells — enabled mice in a model of multiple sclerosis to partly recover from limb and tail paralysis, scientists reported. Tregs can do this by preventing a subtype of…

ATA188, Atara Biotherapeutics’ investigative T-cell immunotherapy, is safe, well tolerated, and able to ease disability and improve exercise capacity in patients with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to one-year data from a Phase 1 trial and its long-term extension study. Findings also showed that, after…

A comparison of immune cells isolated from identical twins — in which only one of each pair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) — identified a population of immune-regulating T-cells present in those with asymptomatic brain inflammation, a study has found. …

Two specific bacteria present together in the gut led to more immune attacks on myelin and harsher symptoms in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis (MS). These findings add to existing evidence supporting the link between gut microbiota and MS, and highlight the need to consider potential combined effects of these…

A person infected through the skin by the hookworm Necator americanus shows a spike in  regulatory T-cells, specialized immune T-cells that work to limit inflammation, and a controlled infection by these generally safe worms may benefit some relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, research suggests. “The…

Atara Biotherapeutics has enrolled a first patient in a clinical trial testing ATA188, its off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy for people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The Phase 1b trial (NCT03283826) follows promising safety and tolerability results from its open-label Phase 1a part, including a…

A new research project will seek to understand the development of immune cells that drive autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The project will be led by Leszek Ignatowicz, PhD, a professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, and will be funded by…

After repeated exposure to a fragment of the myelin protein — the target of autoimmune attack in multiple sclerosis (MS) — immune cells in mice were reprogrammed to be tolerant to myelin, suppressing the immune response associated with the disease, a study revealed.  Researchers showed that in these…

Molecules in the blood of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients promote a pro-inflammatory state and impair the metabolism and integrity of the blood-brain barrier, a study suggests. In MS, the disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) — a highly selective and protective membrane — allows immune cells to reach the central nervous…

Atara Biotherapeutics‘ cell-based therapy ATA188 is safe and well-tolerated in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), and induces a sustained reduction in disability in a dose-dependent manner, findings from the first part of a Phase 1 clinical trial show. ATA188 had an…

In the brains of people with advanced multiple sclerosis (MS), memory immune cells reside in the brain tissue rather than entering through the bloodstream, a new study suggests. The study, “Tissue-resident memory T cells invade the brain parenchyma in multiple sclerosis white matter lesions,” was published…

NurOwn, believed to have neuroprotective and repairing effects, may also be able to curb the damaging immune responses that contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) progression, a recent study found. This newly identified potential may extend the benefits of this cell-based therapy, its researchers believe. The findings were to be presented…

Using rituximab to prevent multiple sclerosis (MS) in people at risk or in patients still without motor symptoms, and continuing treatment as the disease develops, may be a promising way to avoid inflammation and myelin loss in the brain, a study in mice suggests. In an animal model of MS,…

With the development of a cell line that produces significant amounts of Immutep‘s treatment candidate, IMP761, the company is preparing to advance its antibody into clinical testing for autoimmune conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Immutep also reports that is adapting its manufacturing operations to comply with…