There is evidence that increasing IDO expression can protect transplanted organs and counter autoimmune disease.
A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report.
Within a few hours of injecting empty-handed DNA nanoparticles, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers were surprised to see increased expression of an enzyme that calms the immune response.
In an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis, the enhanced expression of indoleomine 2,3 dioxygenase, or IDO, significantly reduced the hallmark limb joint swelling and inflammation of this debilitating autoimmune disease, researchers report in the study featured on the cover of The Journal of Immunology.
“It’s like pouring water on a fire,” said Dr. Andrew L. Mellor, Director of the GHSU’s Medical College of Georgia Immunotherapy Center and the study’s corresponding author. “The fire is burning down the house, which in this case is the tissue normally required for your joints to work smoothly,” Mellor said of the immune system’s inexplicable attack on bone-cushioning cartilage. “When IDO levels are high, there is more water to control the fire.”
Several delivery systems are used for gene therapy, which is used to treat conditions including cancer, HIV infection and Parkinson’s disease. The new findings suggest the DNA nanoparticle technique has value as well for autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, type 1 diabetes and lupus. “We want to induce IDO because it protects healthy tissue from destruction by the immune system,” Mellor said.
via Science Daily
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