Title:Peptides Against Autoimmune Neurodegeneration
Volume: 24
Issue: 17
Author(s): Alexey Stepanov, Yakov Lomakin, Alexander Gabibov and Alexey Belogurov*
Affiliation:
- Shemyakin- Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 16/10, Moscow, 117997,Russian Federation
Keywords:
Multiple sclerosis, specific allergen immunotherapy, tolerance, cross-reactivity, autoreactive B cell
elimination, autoantibodies, immunotoxins, liposomes.
Abstract: The mammalian immune system is a nearly perfect defensive system polished by a
hundred million years of evolution. Unique flexibility and adaptivity have created a virtually
impenetrable barrier to numerous exogenous pathogens that are assaulting us every moment.
Unfortunately, triggers that remain mostly enigmatic will sometimes persuade the immune
system to retarget against self-antigens. This civil war remains underway, showing no mercy
and taking no captives, eventually leading to irreversible pathological changes in the human
body. Research that has emerged during the last two decades has given us hope that we may
have a chance to overcome autoimmune diseases using a variety of techniques to “reset” the
immune system. In this report, we summarize recent advances in utilizing short polypeptides -
mostly fragments of autoantigens - in the treatment of autoimmune neurodegeneration.
