B-cell depletion therapies, in which B cells of the immune system that may drive disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) are temporarily removed, have contributed significantly to improved treatment for patients in recent years. Researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn (UKB), the Universities of Bonn, Basel, Toronto and Yale, along with their collaborators, have uncovered a previously unknown mechanism through which B-cell depletion therapies contribute to a better disease course in patients with MS.
Surprisingly, the treatment appears to exert part of its beneficial effect by mobilizing regulatory immune cells that naturally reside in the gut. This study has now been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
In multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, B cells, which are part of the immune system, mistakenly attack the protective sheath surrounding nerves, known as the myelin sheath. This role in the development and progression of MS has brought this type of white blood cell into focus as a therapeutic target.
It is important to note that researchers now know that not all B cells are harmful in MS. In addition to disease-causing B cells, there are also beneficial B cells that, in accordance with their actual function, help regulate immune responses and may have a positive effect on the course of the disease.
