Our Bimal Desai, PhD, has discovered an electrical switch within a certain type of immune cell that could let us treat inflammatory diseases including inflammation of the brain, as seen in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, for the first time.
What he found was that this switch, called an ion channel, controls the flow of calcium into immune cells called macrophages. Block the calcium entering through this ion channel and you can stop the inflammation. This could be useful not just against inflammation such as seen in arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease but also chronic inflammation seen in cardiovascular diseases and in the brain, where most biological drugs can’t reach.
His team was able to make this discovery because of something rather rare in immunology labs: the additional ability to do both electrophysiology – the study of the flow of electrical currents in cells and tissues – and calcium imaging in living cells.
“Both techniques are fairly sophisticated and require a great deal of experience to do right,” said Dr. Desai, of the Department of Pharmacology. “You are dealing with complex equipment, you have to have a good understanding of imaging, optics and biophysics. The training required is in order of years and it requires a significant amount of time to get good at it. The physical setup is not easily established, so if an immunologist comes across an ion channel in their area of disease they’re interested in, they can’t just say, ‘OK, we’ll start doing that in the lab.’ That depth of technical talent is a big help when it comes to research like this.”
Because Dr. Desai’s lab can do both electrophysiology and calcium imaging in immune cells, he gets requests from immunologists all over – so many he can’t keep up. “These are skill sets that are now heavily courted throughout the nation” he said.
He noted that there is a shortage of expertise in electrophysiology in general. UVA is fortunate to have several expert electrophysiologists, such as Douglas Bayliss and Julius Zhu, two outstanding neuroscientists in the Department of Pharmacology.
We’re lucky to have such technical abilities, and we’re also lucky to have great expertise in the white-hot field of neuroimmunology, which studies the interaction of the nervous system and the immune system. You may recall that our Dr. Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, made the astounding discovery that the brain is connected to the immune system by vessels long thought not to exist.
“UVA is very strong in neuroimmunology, with Dr. Kipnis and BIG [our Center for Brain Immunology and Glia],” Desai said. “So I think we sit at a great juncture in history where we have the right technical expertise to move forward but also an environment here to do ground-breaking neuroimmunology that is tremendously strong.”
Learn more: The Switch That Could Shut Down Inflammation – Even in the Brain
The Latest on: Inflammation
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Inflammation” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Inflammation
- Inflammation-Busting Foods: A Review by Nutrition Professionalson May 9, 2024 at 2:28 pm
This article explores the potential anti-inflammatory properties of alfalfa sprouts and other foods with anti-inflammatory properties. It discusses the various minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals ...
- Intermittent fasting protects against liver inflammation, liver cancer: Studyon May 9, 2024 at 5:18 am
Intermittent fasting has been found in multiple studies to be an effective way to lose weight and alleviate some metabolic disorders. Heikenwalder's team has now investigated in mice if this method ...
- Takeda culls cancer, gut and inflammation drugs in R&D rethinkon May 9, 2024 at 2:13 am
Takeda has made some cuts to its clinical-phase pipeline, hacking off midphase programs and early-stage prospects as part of a push to focus on its most promising candidates. | Takeda has taken an ax ...
- How Does High Temperature Affect Skin Infections, Allergies, And Inflammation? A Review By Doctorson May 8, 2024 at 2:28 pm
Expert opinion from Dr. Anuvitha KamathMBBS · 3 years of experience · IndiaHigh temperature leads to excess sweating and can aggravate skin allergies, irritation, and inflammation. It leads to heat ...
- 5:2 fasting diet's anti-inflammatory effects come down to two proteinson May 8, 2024 at 12:38 am
A 5:2 intermittent fasting regime – eating for five days, fasting for two – protected against liver inflammation and didn’t cause weight gain, say researchers, who also identified the proteins that ...
- Study sheds new light on the links between infections with inflammation and empathy for painon May 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
But how does illness affect our empathy? The current study sheds new light on the links between infections with inflammation in the body and the ability to empathize with the pain of others. The team ...
- Inflammation may be behind infection-dementia link: studyon May 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The authors noted that they found a link with dementias across more infection types, so they think the inflammation or another process occurring during an infection may be the culprit of the ...
- Study shows that high Mediterranean dietary adherence lowers systemic inflammation in elderson May 7, 2024 at 2:55 am
The relationship between high Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP) adherence and decreased low-grade systemic inflammation.
- Intermittent fasting protects against liver inflammation and liver canceron May 6, 2024 at 4:59 pm
Fatty liver disease often leads to chronic liver inflammation and can even result in liver cancer. Scientists have now shown in mice that intermittent fasting on a 5:2 schedule can halt this ...
- The #1 Thing to Avoid If You Have Chronic Inflammation, According to Dietitianson May 6, 2024 at 12:27 pm
You may think of it as an emotional issue, but it also has physical repercussions. Getty Images Reviewed by Dietitian Maria Laura Haddad-Garcia Chronic inflammation plays a central role in the ...
via Bing News
