Gutsy call on Th17 cells

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have shown that the small intestine regulates proinflammatory T helper type 17 cells via two mechanisms, including one that leads to an immunosuppressive, regulatory phenotype.¹ The findings could give companies and researchers new therapeutic options in T helper type 17 cell-associated autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis.

Originally identified in a pair of 2005 studies,^2,3 the IL-17 (IL-17A)-producing subset of CD4⁺ T cells known as T helper type 17 (Th17) cells has been implicated as a driver of proinflammatory processes and tissue damage in many autoimmune diseases, including MS.^4,5 Indeed, several preclinical-stage biotechs working in autoimmune diseases, such as Lycera Corp. and Tempero Pharmaceuticals Inc., have built their platforms around strategies to dampen the pathogenic Th17 cell response.⁶...