The Molecular Mechanism of a Diabetes Vaccine Revealed

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GOOD NEWS ISRAEL
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The Molecular Mechanism of a Diabetes Vaccine Revealed
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Prof. Irun Cohen of the Weizmann Institute has revealed the molecular
mechanism of a vaccine for Type 1 diabetes - findings that will hopefully
improve the vaccine's effectiveness.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system
mistakenly attacks the body's own insulin-producing pancreatic cells,
reducing and ultimately eliminating the production of insulin - a hormone
needed to convert sugar, starches and other foods into energy.

Several years ago, Prof. Cohen and his colleagues developed a vaccine that
arrests the progression of Type 1 diabetes in laboratory animals. They had
discovered that a particular protein, called HSP60, is able to shut down the
autoimmune response causing this disorder. The vaccine is currently being
tested in clinical trials in Europe and the United States, but its precise
mechanism has until now been unknown.

"When translating these findings into a practical vaccine, we knew enough
about the mechanism to understand that this protein is able to cause a
decrease in the immune response, but how it actually works eluded us," says
Cohen. In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the
scientists have managed to identify the exact immune cells that peptide p277
acts upon.

Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes occur when certain T cells in
the immune system attack the body's own cells and tissues. The scientists
discovered that peptide p277 directs the activity of the immune system in
two ways. First, the p277 steps up the activities of a different type of T
cell that regulates the amount of potentially harmful T cells. In addition,
T cells treated with p277 cause the delinquent T cells to secrete
anti-inflammatory substances instead of the inflammation-causing ones that
they usually make. This leads to an autoimmune disease. This double action
of the peptide weakens the damaging activities of the immune response
further.

"These findings are important, as it means that by identifying the molecular
activity of p277 with such precision, we can copy nature's own system in
regulating the immune system and therefore, help to boost the immune system
in preventing the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic cells," says
Cohen.

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