Gut Immune Cells Help in Multiple Sclerosis Diminution
University of California San Francisco (UCSF) researchers led an international research team, who were able to discover for the first time, gut immune cells traversing the brain during Multiple Sclerosis (MS) outbursts in patients.
According to the release by UCSF, the gut cells seem to be playing a vital role in protecting and helping the symptoms of multiple sclerosis into abrogation.
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According to the National Health Service (NHS) multiple sclerosis is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord which can result in a vast number of potential symptoms including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, and balance or sensation.
NHS added that MS symptoms could possibly be cured. However, they stressed that for MS patients, their life span is slightly reduced. NHS added that MS is a condition that concerns the immune system, in which the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord of the nervous system instead of the foreign bodies.
UCSF in their release stated that experts are aware of this situation, where other types of the immune system attack the myelin sheath, a protective covering of the cells which is also a good conductor for the brain and the cells communication. That is how relapse in the communication of the brain and other parts of the body.
Methods and result of the study
The findings according to the researchers suggest that certain types of immune cells from the gut that produces IgA (immunoglobulin). According to the release, these cells are the first line of defense against foreign invaders that can cause infections. It can be remembered a study where results showing that the gut trains the immune system and these trained immune system cells travel to the brain and guard the brain against infections.
READ ALSO: Immune Cells Trained by the Gut To Protect the Brain
In a statement in the release, the member of UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and professor of neurology, Sergio Baranzini, Ph.D., said that this kind of phenomenon is a very new idea. He added that nobody ever thought to look for this kind of immune cells.
Including scientists from Germany, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden, the international research team was able to find traces of IgA antibody in the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients during blow-ups, but not when episodes are in remission.
The release further said that the researcher was also able to find immune cells that produce IgA located in the donated postmortem brain tissue that is damaged during the MS attacks.
To find out how these gut immune cells get in the brain, the release added that the researchers observed what kind of molecules the IgA antibody reacts to. They also mentioned research where shreds of evidence show that an unhealthy gut microbiome has a connection with multiple sclerosis and happens when a certain species of possible damaging bacteria multiply.
With the observation, the release furthers that the researchers were able to see how IgA binds itself to harmful bacteria and not on the myelin protein. The researchers said that unlike other immune cells that cause damage resulting to multiple sclerosis, IgA plays a protective role and may lessen the harmful bacteria in the brain.
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Nov 23, 2020 09:40 AM EST
