MONDAY, Nov. 19, 2012 — A nanotechnology approach to controlling multiple sclerosis in mice may benefit humans, a new study shows. 

Thanks to new high-powered microscopes, nanotechnology allows scientists to see and manipulate natural and man-made materials on a tiny scale. The nanoparticles in this study were made of the same material as biodegradable stitches, yet so tiny that they were approximately 200 times thinner than a human hair. And instead of helping to heal tissue, the nanoparticles delivered a valuable compound to heal the immune system of mice with MS.

The study offers scientists new insight into the potential of rebooting the immune system of people afflicted by MS, but it is still early to know whether the technique will benefit humans.  "There’s a big jump between animals and humans. The immune systems look different and behave differently," says Daniel Kantor, MD, president of the Florida Society of Neurology and member of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Kantor says that the study gives hope to researchers who are trying to come up with better treatments and one day a cure for MS. "The next stage is to make sure it's safe and works in humans. It could be under a decade or decades before the research is proven to be effective," says Kantor.

MS gradually destroys parts of the brain and spinal cord by inflaming or damaging the myelin sheath. This fatty tissue insulates nerve cells and greases the path of communication between thought in the brain and action in the body. This leads to numbness, balance problems, muscle spasms and other debilitating symptoms.

Autoimmune disorders like MS occur when T-cells — a type of white blood cell within the immune system — mistake the body's own tissues as a foreign substance and go on the attack. In the case of MS, they confuse myelin as foreign. Scientists aren't certain why MS attacks myelin, but they do know that if they can control the body's immune response to the disease, they may be able to stop its progression.

"Our approach resets the immune system so it no longer attacks myelin but leaves the function of the normal immune system intact," said Stephen Miller, PhD, in a press release about the  study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Miller is co-author of the study and professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Miller and his team were able to trick the body's T-cells in two ways. First, they developed an antigen that counteracts the negative immune response caused by MS. Next they encased it in biodegradable nanoparticles made from natural acids of the human body and injected the nanoparticles intravenously into mice. Instead of recognizing the antigen, the t-cells let the nanoparticle slide through undetected and stealthily suppress the autoimmune response triggered by MS

The same approach has been tested in human clinical trials using a patient's own blood cells to deliver the valuable antigen. But the technique is costly and labor intensive compared with the potential for using nanoparticles, which are easily and inexpensively produced in a laboratory. 

"We administered these particles to animals who have a disease very similar to relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and stopped it in its tracks," Miller said in the press release. And, he added, "We prevented any future relapses for up to 100 days, which is the equivalent of several years in the life of an MS patient."

Current treatments for MS suppress the entire immune system and make patients more susceptible to infections and cancer. The nanoparticle and myelin antigen have the potential to reset the immune system to normal. 

Miller and his team are testing the same technology to treat other diseases including Type 1 diabetes and asthma. "The beauty of this new technology is it can be used in many immune-related diseases. We simply change the antigen that's delivered," said Miller. 

Kantor is cautiously optimistic about the research one day benefiting MS patients. In the meantime, he is looking toward the release of a new drug, alemtuzumab.  Traditionally used to treat leukemia patients, it has been shown to entirely shut down the immune response of some MS patients. "It may be the next big breakthrough for MS patients in the near future,” he says.