Scientists Discover Molecular Defect Linked to Lupus: New Study

Scientists at two leading medical institutions say they’ve discovered a molecular defect that causes Lupus.

Lupus affects 1.5 million people in the U.S. and can result in life-threatening damage to multiple organs, including the kidneys, brain and heart.

Researchers from Northwestern Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital studied blood samples from people with and without Lupus and discovered those with the disease had both a chemical and cellular imbalance.

Dr. Jaehyuk Choi, lead author and professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine says, “What we found is that the cells that promote the production of these proteins called antibodies that cause the damage in the blood vessels, the kidneys, etc. are increased in patients with lupus. And there's a decrease in these cells that are called T22 cells, which we think are probably involved with wound repair."

Dr. Jae Choi says this imbalance disrupts an important pathway that regulates the cells’ response to bacteria and toxins. "We also found that if we take patient blood, that's totally altered, restore the chemical balance…we can reduce the levels of these lupus promoting cells."

Current Lupus treatments dampen the immune system leaving patients vulnerable to serious infections. Dr. Choi says the goal now is to develop drugs that precisely target just the disease-causing cells.

"We're hoping that we can get something that could be possibly usable within a year or so and then but, you know, obviously, that the actual clinical development takes time to de-risk it through phase trials. But we're really working hard to try to make this into something that can be given to patients."

Source: Nature

Author Affiliations: Northwestern Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School