Scientists Find a Cause of Lupus and a Way to Potentially Reverse It:
Patients with lupus have an imbalance in a crucial chemical pathway in their bodies, according to a Nature study published on July 10.
Researchers found that this imbalance produces more disease-causing cells that promote lupus. They said that if this chemical imbalance can be corrected, lupus might be reversed.
Current lupus treatments often target symptoms or broadly suppress the immune system, leading to side effects. The researchers said that targeting the specific chemical imbalance identified could more effectively treat lupus without systemic immunosuppression interventions.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own tissues and organs, including the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.
There is currently no cure for lupus.
A Surprising ‘Molecular Switch’
The chemical that researchers identified is the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR).
AHR is a key protein involved in the imbalance of immune cells in lupus patients. It regulates the body’s response to environmental pollutants, bacteria, and metabolites. AHR is present in all cells, but it is not always active.
Researchers found that lupus patients have reduced AHR activity. This reduction leads to an increase in follicular and peripheral T helper cells, which are involved in inflammation and autoimmunity.
However, when AHR activity increases, these T-cells are reprogrammed to be T-cells that promote wound healing and barrier protection. --->READ MORE HERE
In lupus breakthrough, researchers say they may have found what causes the autoimmune disease:
The discovery could pave the way for a reversal of the disease, but others call for more research
Scientists may have pinpointed a primary cause of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease.
Researchers from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston claim they have found a "molecular defect" that leads to systemic lupus erythematosus (known as lupus).
The study findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
"Lupus is an autoimmune disease that at its core involves abnormal B cell activation and antibody production," study author Deepak Rao, M.D., PhD, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Fox News Digital via email.
"This B cell activation and antibody production requires help from T cells (white blood cells that are integral to immune system activity)."
In the course of the research, the scientists tested the blood of 19 lupus patients and compared it to a control group of healthy individuals.
The people with lupus shared certain molecular changes that caused a "dramatic imbalance" in the types of T-cells they generate, according to Rao.
This imbalance resulted in too many "harmful" T-cells — which cause cellular damage — and too few of the "helpful" type that are necessary for cell repair.
The researchers also identified a protein called interferon that promotes the excess accumulation of T cells, Rao said.
"We have known for many years that patients with lupus have too much interferon production, yet how interferon contributes to disease has been unclear," he said.
The study discovered that interferon contributes to the lupus disease by promoting the expansion of certain types of T cells and "amplifying pathologic T cell-B cell interactions," Rao said. --->READ MORE HERE
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