When Good Cells Go Bad...

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday! Wrapping up our second section on 'Animal Form and Function,' we discussed how the immune system detects and protects us from foreign 'invaders' (A.K.A. pathogens). At its core, being able to distinguish 'self' and 'other' is the most important function of the immune system. Unfortunately, sometimes the immune system fails to make this distinction, with often disabling effects on physiology.

Image courtesy of http://www.beatricebiologist.com/2014/05/autoimmune/

Of course, one of the most common examples of an 'autoimmune disorder' (i.e. the immune system attacking 'itself') in humans is multiple sclerosis, which involves the immune system destroying the insulating myelin sheaths of nerve cells. However, there are many other well-known human disorders that also involve dysfunction of the immune system.

For example, did you know that both Type 1 diabetes (also known as 'childhood diabetes') and Type 2 diabetes (adult onset diabetes), may have an autoimmune cause? In the 1970s, several lines of research indicated that Type 1 diabetes may be caused by the immune system destroying  insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas (recall from our lectures on Chapter 45, that insulin helps regulate blood glucose). On the other hand, it was thought that adult onset, Type 2 diabetes was exclusively the result of poor diet and excess weight.

However, more research suggests that Type 2, like Type 1, diabetes may have an autoimmune, environmental cause. In their landmark study, researchers found that killing off mature B cells prevented susceptible mice from developing Type 2 diabetes. To do this, researchers injected an antibody called anti-CD20, which specifically targets and destroys B cells. Although preliminary, this research may shed invaluable insight into the cause, and ultimate treatment, of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

If you want to read more about this, check out this 'pop-sci' article on the topic:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/222766.php

Or read the original research article here:
http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nm.2353.html