'Inverse vaccine' shows promise treating MS, other autoimmune diseases
New research effectively cured mice of multiple sclerosis–type symptoms. Could this work in humans?


Researchers at the University of Chicago completely reversed a multiple sclerosis–type autoimmune disorder in mice, using a new technique that tricked the liver into neutering a specific immune response, the team reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. Current treatments for autoimmune diseases suppress the entire immune system, making patients more susceptible to infections.
A body's protective T cells attack antigens, or molecules and molecule fragments, usually harmful viruses or bacteria. But with autoimmune diseases, the T cells attack a body's own healthy molecules, called self-antigens, Science explained. The University of Chicago team found that by attaching a sugar protein, N-acetylgalactosamine (pGal), to the self-antigen under assault, they could send it to the liver, which would teach the immune system to tolerate the molecule.
"Rather than rev up immunity as with a vaccine, we can tamp it down in a very specific way with an inverse vaccine," lead author Jeffrey Hubbell said in a statement. The hope is that these "inverse vaccines" will prove effective at treating MS, lupus, Type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis and other befuddling autoimmune disorders. A company Hubbell co-founded recently completed a phase 1 trial using this technique on people with celiac disease and has started a phase 2 trial.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scientists not involved in the research said the findings are promising but cautioned that previous methods for calming a body's immune response to self-antigens had come up short when moving from animal testing to human trials.
The paper is "a strong piece of work," introducing "a cool new way" to teach the body's defenses to stop attacking healthy tissue, Stanford Medicine neuroimmunologist Lawrence Steinman told Science. Whether this approach ultimately proves effective in humans, he added, "I hope that someday somebody is going to get it right and change the world."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Forever': Judy Blume's controversial novel gets a modern adaptation
The Explainer The Netflix series gives the 1975 novel all the trappings of modern teen life
-
Why does the GOP want to ban state-level AI regulation for a decade?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION House Republicans are pushing to block states from making their own AI laws for the next ten years, even as expert warn the results could be disastrous.
-
6 elegant Queen Anne Victorian homes
Feature Featuring original diamond-glass doors in New York and a registered historic landmark in Arkansas
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
-
Have we reached 'peak cognition'?
The Explainer Evidence mounts that our ability to reason, concentrate and problem-solve is in decline
-
Life after space: how will Nasa's stranded astronauts cope?
In the Spotlight Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are headed back to Earth after nine months on the ISS – but their greatest challenge may still lie ahead
-
There is a 'third state' between life and death
Under the radar Cells can develop new abilities after their source organism dies
-
Scientists report optimal method to boil an egg
Speed Read It takes two temperatures of water to achieve and no fancy gadgets