New AIDS treatment?.. Possible cure?, page 1

Body's defences not immune to brain control

Previous work conducted by Kevin Tracey, the senior author in the present study, had shown that stimulating the Vagus nerve, which runs from the brainstem to supply tissues in many parts of the body, could stop the immune system pumping out inflammatory signals. The signal responsible seemed to be a well-known nerve transmitter chemical called acetyl choline. But the wrinkle in the story was that the Vagus nerve did not appear to be producing it!

Now, by studying the spleens of experimental mice, the team have solved the mystery. White blood cells in the spleen called CD4 lymphocytes, when activated by inflammatory processes, become sensitive to the nerve transmitter chemical noradrenaline, secreted in the spleen by the splenic branch of the Vagus nerve. The CD4 lymphocytes themselves then secrete acetyl choline, which in turn switches off the production of inflammatory chemicals by other nearby cells.

The team proved this by carrying out experiments in mice lacking their own CD4 cells; these animals did not switch off the supply of inflammatory mediators when their Vagus nerves were stimulated. But when activated CD4 cells were transfused into the animals from donor mice, they immediately began to churn out acetyl choline, inhibiting the inflammatory process. Switching off the ChAT gene, which makes acetyl choline in these cells, also prevented any response.

Importantly, as the team point out in their paper, the regulatory system they have discovered is not confined to the spleen because the same sorts of CD4 lymphocytes are present throughout the body, particularly in lymph glands and specialised lymphoid tissue in the intestine called Peyer's Patches. This means that the system almost certainly plays a major role in controlling inflammation throughout the body and manipulating it could hold the key to controlling autoimmune and other related disorders...

I'm not gonna lie.. a fair bit of this article goes way over my head, but what I have managed to gather is that through research like this we could learn how to control the human immune system?

Which in turn means that we could stop AIDS from being deadly?..

I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion.. someone please correct me. I am pretty sleep deprived.
Link

Originally posted by TechUnique


I'm not gonna lie.. a fair bit of this article goes way over my head, but what I have managed to gather is that through research like this we could learn how to control the human immune system?

Which in turn means that we could stop AIDS from being deadly?..

I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion.. someone please correct me. I am pretty sleep deprived.
Link

edit on 26/10/2010 by TechUnique because: (no reason given)

CD4 lymphocytes: CD4 (cluster of differentiation 4) is a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

CD4 is a part of the immunoglobulin superfamily.
en.wikipedia.org...

immunoglobulin superfamily: The immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) is a large group of cell surface and soluble proteins that are involved in the recognition, binding, or adhesion processes of cells. Molecules are categorized as members of this superfamily based on shared structural features with immunoglobulins (also known as antibodies); they all possess a domain known as an immunoglobulin domain or fold.
en.wikipedia.org...

Vagus Nerve: The vagus nerve (play /ˈveɪɡəs/ US dict: vā′·gəs), also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X, is the tenth of twelve (excluding CN0) paired cranial nerves. Upon leaving the medulla between the medullary pyramid and the inferior cerebellar peduncle, it extends through the jugular foramen, then passing into the carotid sheath between the internal carotid artery and the internal jugular vein down below the head, to the neck, chest and abdomen, where it contributes to the innervation of the viscera. Besides output to the various organs in the body, the vagus nerve conveys sensory information about the state of the body's organs to the central nervous system.
en.wikipedia.org...

Noradrenaline: Origins

Norepinephrine is released when a host of physiological changes are activated by a stressful event.

In the brain, this is caused in part by activation of an area of the brain stem called the locus ceruleus. This nucleus is the origin of most norepinephrine pathways in the brain. Noradrenergic neurons project bilaterally (send signals to both sides of the brain) from the locus ceruleus along distinct pathways to many locations, including the cerebral cortex, limbic system, and the spinal cord, forming a neurotransmitter system.

Norepinephrine is also released from postganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system, to transmit the fight-or-flight response in each tissue, respectively. The adrenal medulla can also be counted to such postganglionic nerve cells, although they release norepinephrine into the blood.
en.wikipedia.org...

I'm not going to pretend to know enough to speak intelligently about the topic, but from my humble ignorant understanding... I'd say you are fairly accurate in your description.

If anybody can shed some light on this subject, that would be great! I'm going to shoot my buddy an email, who went to college for this fun stuff, and see what he say has to say... if there's anything worth mentioning from his response... I will be back to post it!

reply to post by TechUnique

---

Wow. Basically these guys have found or think they found the bodies response system that includes inflammation. Arthritis, immune response diseases (caused my inflammation) can be possibly cured if they stimulate the Vegas to secret a chemical that tells cells to stop releasing inflammatory chemicals.

Kind of like when you get a nasty bruise and it swells up. Or when you get a nasty bug bite.. when you touch it its warm. Inflammation. Heat to a certain level (not to much to damage those to important proteins) increases the chemical reaction in our bodies. Inflammation is one way of our body telling us something is wrong.. usually around the tendons and ligaments area, places that experience lots of motion and rotation.

Huge news for arthritis sufferers. An injection and the swelling goes down. Hooray! If it pans out.

Originally posted by TechUnique

I'm not gonna lie.. a fair bit of this article goes way over my head, but what I have managed to gather is that through research like this we could learn how to control the human immune system?

Which in turn means that we could stop AIDS from being deadly?..

I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion.. someone please correct me. I am pretty sleep deprived.
Link

edit on 26/10/2010 by TechUnique because: (no reason given)

No, what they have learned is how the complex inflammatory reaction system works, and how to control this one aspect. This should in theory have applications for auto-immune diseases and allergies. HIV is not an auto-immune disease. AIDS is deadly because HIV destroys the immune system, this has zero application for AIDS.

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