Induction of Antigen-Specific Tolerance in a Multiple Sclerosis Model without Broad Immunosuppression.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe autoimmune disorder that wreaks havoc on the central nervous system, leading to a spectrum of motor and cognitive impairments. There is no cure, and current treatment strategies rely on broad immunosuppression, leaving patients vulnerable to infections. To address this problem, our approach aims to induce antigen-specific tolerance, a much-needed shift in MS therapy.

Comparison of emulsion and spray methods for fabrication of rapamycin-loaded acetalated dextran microparticles.

Rapamycin (rapa), an immunosuppressive medication, has demonstrated considerable effectiveness in reducing organ transplant rejection and treating select autoimmune diseases. However, the standard oral administration of rapa results in poor bioavailability, broad biodistribution, and harmful off-target effects, necessitating improved drug delivery formulations. Polymeric microparticles (MPs) are one such solution and have demonstrated promise in pre-clinical studies to improve the therapeutic efficacy of rapa.

Microparticles incorporating dual apoptotic factors to inhibit inflammatory effects in macrophages.

New approaches to treat autoimmune diseases are needed, and we can be inspired by mechanisms in immune tolerance to guide the design of these approaches. Efferocytosis, the process of phagocyte-mediated apoptotic cell (AC) disposal, represents a potent tolerogenic mechanism that we could draw inspiration from to restore immune tolerance to specific autoantigens. ACs engage multiple avenues of the immune response to redirect aberrant immune responses.

Particle-Based therapies for antigen specific treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) is the leading metabolic disorder in children worldwide. Over time, incidence rates have continued to rise with 20 million individuals affected globally by the autoimmune disease. The current standard of care is costly and time-consuming requiring daily injections of exogenous insulin.