Ricercatori britannici dell'Università di Bristol hanno trovato l'interruttore molecolare per “spegnere” le malattie autoimmuni, come sclerosi multipla o diabete giovanile, e trasformare le “cellule anarchiche” in “angeli custodi”. Lo studio, pubblicato su “Nature Communication”, apre la strada ad un nuovo tipo di immunoterapia contro queste patologie.
Ispirandosi ai successi ottenuti nella lotta contro alcune forme di allergie, una tecnica nota come desensibilizzazione allergica, i ricercatori hanno scoperto un metodo per “educare” le cellule “anarchiche” del sistema immunitario utilizzando frammenti di proteine. Piuttosto che tentare di sopprimere le cellule immunitarie aggressive, questa tecnica ha permesso di ripristinare il loro funzionamento corretto.
La speranza dei ricercatori è che questa intuizione possa portare allo sviluppo di nuovi trattamenti contro molte malattie autoimmuni, come sclerosi multipla, diabete di tipo 1, malattia di Graves e lupus eritematoso sistemico.
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