Are We Close To a Cure for Lupus? – In Mice Yes, In Humans Maybe

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May 12, 2-16 – A new mouse study done by University of Florida Gainesville researchers has published promising results fighting chronic autoimmune diseases. Their findings can be found in a study published last year in the journal, Science Translational Medicine.

A new drug shows promising results inhibiting metabolic pathways in the immune system. The work which was focused on limiting the metabolism of cancer cells appears to also work on T cells. T cells are the principle cells in our immune system. And lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease is caused by our own T cells attacking healthy cells in our bodies.

About 1.5 million Americans suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus, referred to as lupus, and 16,000 new cases get reported annually. Canada reports about 35,000 cases or 1 in 1,000 of the population. The disease is most common in people between the age of 15 and 45. It has been referred to as having “1,000 faces” because the symptoms vary dramatically and can be confused with other chronic diseases. Typically a person with lupus experiences:

  • extreme fatigue
  • abnormal swelling of the lower limbs
  • seizures
  • joint pain
  • rashes
  • oral sores in the nose and mouth
  • abnormal blood chemistry

 

lupus

Lupus patients report several different phases in the disease from flare ups to periods of chronic pain, swelling and rashes. Symptoms can disappear completely going into remission and then flare up again.

The treatment includes anti-inflammatory medication and steroids which have their own dramatic side affects.

The University of Florida team includes co-author Laurence Morel, Ph.D., Director of Experimental Pathology, at the university’s College of Medicine. The focus was on two things within T cells:

  • glycolysis, the process by which the body breaks down glutenous to release energy, and,
  • mitochondrial metabolism, the source of energy production in cells.

 

The energy state of immune cells is compromised when lupus occurs. They become hyper activated. So the researchers used two drugs to see if they could block the level of activity. The drugs are 2DG, short for 2-Deoxy-D-glucose, an experimental drug which targets glucose metabolism, and metformin, a commonly used drug for treating patients with Type 2 Diabetes. The application of these two reversed lupus in mice. In testing human T cells harvested from lupus patients,similar results were obtained with a noticeable slowing of cellular metabolism. In mice without lupus the two drugs had no affect on their T cells.

Dr. Morel believes this “may also open the door to targeting other metabolic pathways” replacing treatments for multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Huntington and even Alzheimer’s. It is still no known whether the treatment will produce a complete cure for lupus. It will be a few more years before we will know.

 

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