- Researchers say they are learning more about how gut bacteria can be used to treat autoimmune diseases.
- In a study involving mice, researchers say they have developed a probiotic that could be a treatment for multiple sclerosis.
- Experts say the probiotic would work in the same general way as diets do to control inflammation but may have longer-lasting effects.
Gut bacteria have been shown to be vitally important to overall health.
Now, a new
Researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital say they have bioengineered a probiotic that effectively suppresses autoimmunity in the brain, at least in animal studies.
The research, published in the journal Nature, suggests that probiotic therapy could be used to treat MS and other autoimmune diseases where the immune system dysfunctionally attacks the cells of the central nervous system.
“Engineered probiotics could revolutionize the way we treat chronic diseases,” said Francisco Quintana, PhD, a lead author of the study and a professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in a statement. “When a drug is taken, its concentration in the bloodstream peaks after the initial dose, but then its levels go down. However, if we can use living microbes to produce medicine from within the body, they can keep producing the active compound as needed, which is essential when we consider lifelong diseases that require constant treatment.”
Quintana and colleagues reported in their study that probiotic bacteria engineered to produce lactate can activate a biochemical pathway used by dendritic cells — immune cells found in both the brain and the gastrointestinal tract — to stop other immune cells from attacking the body.
“The mechanism we found is like a brake for the immune system,” said Quintana. “In most of us, it’s activated, but in people with autoimmune diseases, there are…
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