Immune system “exhaustion” could prove to be a key indicator of the prospects of patients who develop auto-immune disease, British researchers say.
The finding comes from a study of T cells – a key component of the immune system – conducted at Cambridge University.
Researchers say it may even be possible to trigger “exhaustion”.
The reverse process could also be used to restart the immune system when it seems to have given up against chronic infection or cancer.
The university’s head of medicine Professor Ken Smith said there could be “profound” clinical implications from the findings.
The research has shown how some people with autoimmune disease may see relief of their symptoms when the immune system exhausts itself.
Professor Smith said: “A test based on the concept is soon to enter the clinic, and we are exploring new treatments for autoimmunity based on manipulating T cell exhaustion.
“A focus on T cell exhaustion in cancer has led to a revolution in treatment and a multi-billion dollar industry. We now implicate the same pathways in determining long term patient outcome in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, which afflict up to one in ten of the population over the course of their lives.”
Fellow researcher Dr Eoin McKinney said: “For effective treatment, we need to exhaust our T cell responses in autoimmune diseases – and hence limit the attack on our body – and to reverse exhaustion when the fight is against unwanted invaders, such as viruses or cancer.”
McKinney, EF et al. T-cell exhaustion, co-stimulation and clinical outcome in autoimmunity and infection. Nature 29 June 1015
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