Can New Stem-Cell Tools Change How We Study Autoimmune Diseases?
Scientists at CHUV in Switzerland have validated a new way to study autoimmune diseases that affect organs we can’t easily biopsy, like the brain. This technique reprograms ordinary cells into stem-like cells that can then be converted to nearly any cell type. This allows researchers to create brain cells, such as neurons, from ordinary cells collected from blood or skin and observe how a patient’s immune system interacts with these brain cells. The breakthrough offers a safer, more accurate way to study diseases such as autoimmune encephalitis and multiple sclerosis.
Autoimmune diseases can impact nearly every part of the body, and they happen when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. Studying what’s happening inside the brain has always been difficult, since taking biopsies isn’t practical or safe. Traditional research tools, like animal models, can provide clues but don’t always reflect what actually happens in humans. To address this gap, the CHUV team turned to induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) technology, which reprograms cells from blood or skin samples into stems cells that can then be differentiated into almost any cell type, including neurons.
Using these lab-grown neurons, the team investigated autoimmune encephalitis, a condition where the immune system targets the brain. They discovered that a type of immune cell known as CD8+ T cells (commonly referred to as killer T cells) directly attacked the neurons. Another unexpected finding was that a special subgroup of these T cells, regulatory CD8+ T cells—normally thought to help calm the immune system—appeared to actually drive the immune response in autoimmune encephalitis. These insights give researchers a clearer picture of the mechanisms causing inflammation and damage in the brain.
The new method doesn’t just help scientists understand autoimmune encephalitis—it may also be useful for studying other hard-to-reach organs, like the pancreas or heart. The team is already applying this methodology to multiple sclerosis, and early signs suggest it could improve understanding of how the disease progresses. Ultimately, this approach may help lead to more precise treatments and better long-term outcomes for people living with autoimmune conditions.
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