(Medical Xpress)—While our immune system protects us from myriad bacterial and viral attacks by producing antigen-specific antibodies, this process can sometimes go awry. In such cases, the antibodies target cells and tissues of our own bodies, leading to autoimmunity and a resulting autoimmune disease, examples of which include Type I diabetes, psoriasis and lupus. (Lupus produces antibodies that attack primarily the kidneys.) Recently, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School demonstrated that ablating the regulatory molecule microRNA-155 (also referred to as miR-155), which normally promotes antibody production, prevents harmful antibody production and thereby alleviates lupus-like disease in laboratory mice. The researchers say that their results suggest the possibility of targeting microRNA-155 to treat autoimmune diseases.
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