Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-term disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the protective layer around nerve cells, known as the myelin sheath. This leads to nerve damage and worsening disability. Current treatments, like immunosuppressants, help reduce these harmful attacks but also weaken the overall immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to infections and cancer.
Scientists are now exploring a more targeted therapy using special immune cells, called tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs), from the same patients. TolDCs can restore immune balance without affecting the body's natural defenses. However, since a hallmark of MS is precisely the dysfunction of the immune system, the effectiveness of these cells for auto transplantation might be compromised.
Therefore, it is essential to better understand how the disease affects the starting material for this cellular therapy before it can be applied. In this study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , researchers examined CD14+ monocytes, mature dendritic cells (mDCs), and Vitamin D3-treated tolerogenic dendritic cells (VitD3-tolDCs) from MS patients who had not yet received treatment, as well as from healthy individuals. The clinical trials , led in Spain by Dr.
Cristina Ramo-Tello and Dr. Eva Martínez Cáceres (Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute), are designed to assess the effectiveness of VitD3-tolDCs, which are loaded with myelin antigens to help "teach" the immune system to stop at.
