Researchers say lung inflammation can be 'turned off'
Can inflammation in the lungs caused by influenza and other infections be a thing of the past? Latest developments in this area of research point in that direction. Treatments that could quell inflammation may be in the offing thanks to a discovery made by a team of researchers at the Imperial College London in the UK. The findings of their study were recently published in the journal Nature Immunology. The research showed that influenza symptoms are exacerbated not by the virus itself, but by the way the immune system reacts to the virus. While the virus has the capacity to leave the body as quickly as it erupts, the symptoms of the agent can course through the body for days, effectively putting pressure on the immune system to vanquish the bug from the lungs. Clearly the killing power of the immune system is a crucial factor in fighting any virus, but problems emerge when the immune system overreacts and causes greater damage to the body. With respect to influenza infection, by the time the immune system works its magic, the lungs become inflamed, thus blocking the airways and triggering breathing difficulties. This latest study showed that the so-called receptor 'CD200R', together with the molecule CD200, basically ensures the normal activity of immune cells in the lungs. Lungs contain high levels of CD200R, which can successfully limit the immune system's response and stop inflammation after it kicks in. The findings showed that not only does influenza make the CD200 molecule ineffective, but CD200R fails to stop the immune system from overreacting. The result? Inflammation in the lungs. For their research purposes, the team gave mice infected with influenza a mimic of CD200, or an antibody to stimulate CD200R. Their objective was to see if these would enable CD200R to bring the immune system under control and reduce inflammation, they said. The results showed that the mice that received treatment lost less weight than control mice and had less inflammation in their airways and lung tissue. The team said that the lungs were cleared of the influenza virus within a week and the immune system's ability to fight the bug was seemingly unaffected. The researchers are hopeful that these findings will stimulate the development of a therapy that can work with CD200R and turn off the immune system at the right time. This treatment can put symptoms at bay and contribute to stopping the immune system from overreacting. 'The immune system is very sophisticated and much of the time it does a fantastic job of fighting infection, but it has the ability to cause a lot of damage when it overreacts,' said Professor Tracy Hussell from Imperial College London's National Heart and Lung Institute and lead author of the study. 'Our new research is still in its early stages, but these findings suggest that it could be possible to prevent the immune system going into overdrive, and limit the unnecessary damage this can cause.' The study was supported by the European Union, the UK-based Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the US National Institutes of Health.
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