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Vienna. (Gral) Happiness hormones such as dopamine or serotonin cause intense theft. In addition, they also contribute to the maintenance of health – more specifically, they have a positive influence on the immune system. This knowledge has led researchers to explore the process behind them to apply the benefits of these neurotransmitters to therapies.
Scientists at the Molecular Biotechnology Institute have targeted diseases such as autoimmune diseases, allergies and cancer. As part of their research, they recognized that an important building block of these happiness hormones, namely the so-called tetrahydrobiopterin "(BH4) – activates the body's immune cells, which can attack pathogens and cancer cells, but also harmless grbad pollen and their own body, according to Josef Penninger's team in the current issue of the journal "Nature".
These immune cells – called T cells – patrol the body and expose pathogens or degenerate cells. In such encounters, T cells become activated, multiply and enter a sort of attack mode to specifically target invaders or cancer cells. However, poorly activated T cells are directed against the body's own cells, causing allergies or autoimmune diseases.
Inhibit or activate
BH4 controls the growth of T cells, the "soldiers of our immune system," the researchers said in a press release. In our body, he is involved in many metabolic processes.
Among autoimmune diseases and allergies, which are among the most common diseases on the rise in the world, this discovery is "extremely useful". "The inhibition of BH4 can inhibit the constant mode of attack of these self-aggressive T cells, so that they do not destroy healthy tissue and do not cause chronic inflammation" , says lead author Shane Cronin of Imba. In collaboration with US and German researchers, he has developed a new drug called QM385, which inhibits BH4 and tames immune cells excessively. The first clinical trials are in sight.
At the same time, the building block is also an important candidate for future cancer immunotherapies. In immunotherapy with certain molecules, the human defense system is activated so that the body can defend itself against the cancer cells. Researchers have now found in mice that BH4 helps T cells target the targeted tumor. In addition, it has been discovered that the formation of BH4 can be blocked by a specific molecule capable of blocking the immune system in tumors. The administration of BH4 causes new growth of immune cells.
New starting point
For Penninger, it is "fascinating" that a system originally known in neurobiology may play a key role in the immune defense of T cells. The researchers point out that this hormone is a promising new starting point in the fight against these diseases. "If you can find cross connections between different biological systems of the body, such as the nervous system and the immune system in this case, you can sometimes make amazing discoveries," says Cronin.
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