Fibrosis vaccine

Chronic diseases often lead to excessive scar tissue formation in organs – fibrosis. Researchers from the University of Zurich have developed immunotherapy that specifically affects fibroblasts activated by the pathological process, leaving normal connective tissue cells unharmed. Fibrosis is the outcome of almost all types of chronic damage, it can occur in almost any tissues of the body, but most often the liver, lungs, heart and kidneys are affected. Fibrosis is the cause of up to 45% of all deaths in industrialized countries. Inflammation or vascular disorders often lead to chronic organ damage. They activate fibroblasts, which begin to multiply uncontrollably and create deposits of scar tissue, gradually replacing healthy cells. The affected organ loses its functions, and organ failure develops.

An international research group led by the University of Zurich (UZH) has developed a new strategy for targeted destruction of fibroblasts. The researchers managed to induce an immune response in animals, in which pathologically activated connective tissue cells were destroyed. As a result, they achieved a reduction in fibrosis in vital organs – the liver and lungs, leaving healthy tissues unharmed. This is the main advantage of the new study, since other strategies damaged inactive fibroblasts, which are critical for maintaining the structure and functions of healthy tissue. 

The researchers studied the differences between dormant and activated connective tissue cells and found that fragments of two surface proteins – Adam12 and Gli1, which can be detected by the immune system, are present in large numbers in activated fibroblasts, while in inactive cells there are very few of them. Gene expression of these two proteins is stimulated by chronic tissue damage.

The researchers used these surface proteins as targets for T-cell vaccines targeting pathologically active fibroblasts. 

Vaccination of mice led to the effective destruction of fibroblasts, reducing fibrosis in the liver and lungs, without affecting healthy tissues. If scientists succeed in successfully eliciting a comparable targeted immune response in humans, then immunotherapy can be used in the future to treat patients with organ fibrosis.

Article by M.Sobecki et al. Vaccination-based immunotherapy to target profibrotic cells in liver and lung is published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Zurich: Immunotherapy Reduces Lung and Liver Fibrosis in Mice