Originally published July 12 2005
Protein may suppress immune response and help with eye afflictions
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A press release published by Ascribe.com reports that a protein known as F4/80 may help limit the inflammation caused by immune response in the eye, according to a study conducted by The Schepens Eye Research Institute; the development may help treat eye afflictions in which the immune system often goes awry.
Scientists at The Schepens Eye Research Institute have discovered that a protein known as F4/80 found on immune cells in the eye and other parts of the body may have a function in the regulation of the body�s immune response and protect delicate tissues that cannot survive the "inflammation" inherent in full-blown immunity.
"We believe that this discovery may ultimately help in the development of therapies for blinding eye diseases such as macular degeneration and autoimmune diseases that occur when the immune system goes awry," says Joan Stein-Sreilein, PhD, senior author of the study published in the May issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine and senior scientist at The Schepens Eye Research Institute.
In an attempt to understand F4/80, Stein-Streilein and her team have been following the immune cells (also known as antigen presenting cells) containing the protein.
In previous studies, the team found that when these F4/80 containing cells bring antigens (foreign substances) from the eye to the spleen, the spleen stimulates the production of what is known as a "regulatory" T cell which stops the immune response throughout the body as well as at the site where the invasion took place -- in this case, the eye.
Since the F4/80 protein was identified as a crucial player in the development of immune privilege, the Schepens� team postulated that the protein had an important role in immune regulation.
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