Is Influenza responsable for Multiple Sclerosis? + DNA Vaccines

Scientist at Stanford University think that they may be onto the primary cause of Multiple Sclerosis. They think that protient sequences in many viruses such as influenza and Ebsten Barr is similar to that contained in myelin which forms a sheath around nerves. The immune system in patients with MS attacks the myelin and destroys it reducing nerve conduction velocity.

Steinman does believe that pathogens of some sort may be involved in MS, but not in the traditional way. The pathogen itself may not cause direct inflammation of the myelin sheath, nor does it kill the oligodendrocytes. Instead, the pathogen may trigger the body's own immune system to attack itself in a process known as molecular mimicry.

Molecular Mimicry: Viruses That Resemble Our Nerve Insulation

There is evidence that this molecular mimicry may be one cause of multiple sclerosis. A portion of a protein sequence of many viruses--including influenza, adenovirus (a virus that can cause the common cold), papillomavirus (common warts), and Epstein Barr virus (a virus that is present in 90% of all adults)-- is highly similar to a portion of the myelin basic protein (MBP) sequence.

So, if a person is infected by one of those viruses or, theoretically, any pathogen that contains this particular sequence, his or her immune system has a chance of recognizing the normal MBP sequence as the invading enemy sequence. Studies have shown that autoantibodies and self-reactive T cells in some MS patients recognize amino acids 84-103 of MBP, including a specific five amino acid sequence VHFFK. Interestingly, many viral proteins have peptide sequences that are similar to this 84-103 region of MBP, and especially to the sequence VHFFK.
www.stanford.edu...

The team has proposed the possibility of a DNA vaccine to help. Its really facinating and the posibilites of using this technique for other problems seems limitless

From the same source:

One of the most promising discoveries for treating MS is the DNA vaccine. Steinman's team has been developing DNA tolerizing vaccines, or injection of DNA encoding proteins that program the immune cells to tolerate specifi c proteins rather than attack them.

Hmm, makes sense. Good find, FredT. I might have to bring this up with some of the other docs. I bet PubMed might have a few articles, too...hrmm....

MFP

Interesting, so MS is an autoimmune reaction, mistaking self for non-self? Or was that already known and now they have the specifics? Either way, fascinating.

Yeah. Id do anything to stop seeing Jerry Lewis.

But this seems to be the biggest advance in the whole MS game.

I wonder if you could immunosupress a person in the beginning stages of MS and slow the spread of the disease as a stop gap till a perfected treatment exists?

[edit on 6/1/06 by FredT]

Originally posted by FredT
Yeah. Id do anything to stop seeing Jerry Lewis.

But this seems to be the biggest advance in the whole MS game.

I wonder if you could immunosupress a person in the beginning stages of MS and slow the spread of the disease as a stop gap till a perfected treatment exists?

[edit on 6/1/06 by FredT]

I would imagine so. The only difficulty you would have is getting patients on immunosuppressants early enough. Most people won't report symptoms to the doctor until muscle atropy is occuring, and by then you probably have a pretty good store of memory cells, no matter how much you suppress the immune system.

MFP

It seems like the genetic therapy would be the way to go, 'tag' the human myelin in such a way as its recognized as 'self' and not attacked.

Woudl be interesting to watch the virii evolve to mimic those tags!



Hmm, could be a good 'test' of "Intelligent Design" too I think, create a tag that has enough 'complex specified information' as to not form via evolution.

Hmm, well, tagging doesn't quite work that way. Tagging is usually a procedure that allows scientists to locate certain portions of tissue in a body. There is no feasible way to tag EVERY bit of myelin in the body, unless you begin at about the blastula stage, heh. The body actually has the absolute best system of self vs. non-self checking system known to nature, we really can't improve on it. The key, however, may be finding an analog to the protein that the virus' receptors bind to, that way we can fill those up, rather than adding something to the human myelin in a long, non-cost effective and possibly non-functional ordeal.

MFP

Interesting. What did they mean by DNA therapy for this then??

DNA therapy is typically used to repair a damaged protein being produced by a defective gene sequence. This new theory of MS isn't a fault of the DNA a person has, it's that the viral protein is so close to myelin, making it easy for immune cells to mistake the two.

MFP