Scientists Discover a Cause of Lupus, Possible Way to Reverse It
Scientists discovered a molecular defect in lupus, aiming to reverse it to potentially cure the disease affecting 1.5 million Americans. Targeting immune imbalance could lead to safer and more effective treatments.
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Scientists at Northwestern Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have identified a molecular defect contributing to the immune response in lupus. Published in Nature, the study suggests reversing this defect could potentially reverse the disease, which affects over 1.5 million people in the U.S. Lupus can cause severe organ damage and current treatments have limitations and side effects. By targeting a specific immune imbalance, researchers believe they may have found a potential cure for lupus. The study revealed a pathway driving the disease and demonstrated that activating certain molecules could reprogram disease-causing cells, potentially promoting healing. The team is now focused on developing safe and effective treatments based on these findings. The research was supported by various grants from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. This discovery offers hope for improved therapies for lupus patients in the future.
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27 commentsI did a lot of research and tried various treatments. Functional medicines and expensive vitamins didn’t help. I read about long-term fasting and tried different routines at home. I did several 1-day, 3-day, and 7-day fasts. During the 7-day fasts, my pain disappeared, but it returned once I resumed eating. This led me to believe that food was causing inflammation.
Previously, I ate a lot of lean meat and occasional red meat. I then cut down to eating meat once a week and ate mostly raw leafy vegetables the rest of the time. My pain would come back after eating meat and decrease over the week. I eventually stopped eating meat entirely and consumed a ton on greens, and within six weeks, I was pain-free.
I also tried Benlysta for months, but it didn’t help much. Vegetables seemed to reduce my inflammation more effectively. I stopped taking Benlysta but continued regular blood tests. After a year, my doctor agreed I could stop the medication. I’ve been in remission for the last two years with no pain or inflammation.
I hope this helps, though it’s just my personal experience.
Kudos to them for landing a nature publication but I really would temper this level of excitement (??a top link on HN??) at a basic science research publication discussed in a press release from a university highlighting it's researchers.
My read is it is down to decreased CXCL13 expression and type I interferon expression in blood of a small number of patients, controls, and cell culture which gives direction for further study. CXCL13 was published as a possible RA biomarker half a decade ago and crickets since then clinically. Is it causal or a consequence of chronic inflammation? Type I interferon signature has been looked at heavily for over a decade and is clearly relevant in SLE but still only just over about half of lupus patients have it and the signature is by definition broad expression of hundreds of genes that affect innate and adaptive immune system components.
We DO need better treatments for lupus patients but it's a very variable disease in severity, clinically, and in terms of biomarkers making it difficult. I mean the best drug that everyone with lupus should be on barring a good reason is an old antimalarial (that doesn't treat COVID) and then we add to it. If you are interested in other new-ish therapies for lupus take a look at anifrolumab, belimumab, voclosporin, and even newer CAR T stuff. Important to consider the manifestations being treated with those in the studies e.g. belimumab with skin, joint, kidney but nothing for hematologic/cardiac/neurologic manifestations.
I haven’t read the paper yet, so I can’t comment on how this discovery might generalize to other autoimmune diseases, but one interesting bit about autoimmune diseases is that they tend to run in packs. This is suggestive there may be underlying mechanisms that are shared across autoimmune diseases.
" insufficient activation of a pathway controlled by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which regulates cells’ response to environmental pollutants, bacteria or metabolites. Insufficient activation of AHR results in too many disease-promoting immune cells, called the T peripheral helper cells, that promote the production of disease-causing autoantibodies.
To show this discovery can be leveraged for treatments, the investigators returned the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-activating molecules to blood samples from lupus patients. This seemed to reprogram these lupus-causing cells into a cell called a Th22 cell that may promote wound healing from the damage caused by this autoimmune disease.
“We found that if we either activate the AHR pathway with small molecule activators or limit the pathologically excessive interferon in the blood, we can reduce the number of these disease-causing cells,”
On the other side quick search on AHR activation brings for example cancer related stuff like this :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10570930/
"AHR activation to promote tumor cell intrinsic malignant properties and to suppress anti-tumor immune responses [14], [17], [18]. Specifically, the AHR drives cancer cell migration, invasion, and survival, regulates cell cycle progression and promotes cancer stem cell characteristics [14], [19], [20], [21], [22]. Simultaneously, it inhibits anti-tumor immunity "
Human body by its complexity and our lack of understanding of it sometimes reminds the codebases i've worked on :)
In that rabbit hole of articles on AHR there is also :
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-020-00585-5
"The aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the gut–brain axis"
which in particular discusses what looks to me (i'm not a doctor) like a connection/correlation : gut microbes -> AHR -> glioblastoma.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are nasty, carcinogenic, molecules that are commonly found in smoke, tar, and char. Basically burnt organic matter. On the other side of the coin AhR is also activated by a bunch of Polyphenols, which are found in a variety of plant derived foods.
Does this mean, it is possible that Lupus (and Psoriasis) are diseases of affluence caused by processed food (low in Polyphenols), and a reduced exposure to smoke byproducts in the environment?
Glucosinolates seems to be a key compound for the production of AhR. Has anyone tried Sulforaphane Glucosinolate supplements?
This was its response.
AhR itself is not found in food, but certain foods contain natural compounds that can activate or modulate the activity of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Here is a list of foods that are known to contain high concentrations of AhR activators:
Cruciferous Vegetables
* Broccoli: Contains glucosinolates, which are converted to indole-3-carbinol, an AhR activator.
* Brussels Sprouts: Rich in glucosinolates and indole-3-carbinol.
* Cabbage: Contains glucosinolates and their breakdown products that can activate AhR.
* Cauliflower: Another cruciferous vegetable high in glucosinolates.
* Kale: Contains a variety of phytochemicals, including indole-3-carbinol.
* Blueberries: High in polyphenols, particularly anthocyanins, which can activate AhR.
* Strawberries: Contain a variety of polyphenols and antioxidants.
* Blackberries: Rich in anthocyanins and other polyphenols.
* Grapes: Especially red and purple varieties, which are high in resveratrol and other polyphenols.
* Turmeric: Contains curcumin, a known AhR modulator.
* Garlic: Contains organosulfur compounds that can influence AhR activity.
* Ginger: Contains gingerols and shogaols, which can modulate AhR.
* Soybeans: Contain isoflavones like genistein, which can activate AhR.
* Black Beans: High in various polyphenols.
* Walnuts: Contain a variety of polyphenols and antioxidants.
* Flaxseeds: High in lignans, which can have AhR-modulating effects.
* Green Tea: Contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a potent polyphenol that can activate AhR.
* Red Wine: Contains resveratrol and other polyphenols.
* Coffee: Rich in various polyphenols that can modulate AhR activity.
* Olive Oil: Particularly extra virgin olive oil, which contains polyphenols like oleocanthal.
* Dark Chocolate: High in flavonoids and polyphenols.Now all he needs is a cure for poor "Pull-Out" game syndrome.
Cheers
Plant toxins include pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, both human created and sprayed on and natural ones to stop animals and bugs eating them. They also include glysophate
Thousands of people on Reddit have put Rheumatoid arthritis and other Auto immune diseases into remission using the carnivore diet. Ie manually removing Plant toxins from their food and not letting the toxins enter their damaged bodies
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