3 ms·
On one side we have in this article : " insufficient activation of a pathway controlled by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which regulates cells’ response
by trhway 2y ago
On one side we have in this article :
" insufficient activation of a pathway controlled by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), which regulates cells’ response to environmental pollutants, bacteria or metabolites. Insufficient activation of AHR results in too many disease-promoting immune cells, called the T peripheral helper cells, that promote the production of disease-causing autoantibodies.
To show this discovery can be leveraged for treatments, the investigators returned the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-activating molecules to blood samples from lupus patients. This seemed to reprogram these lupus-causing cells into a cell called a Th22 cell that may promote wound healing from the damage caused by this autoimmune disease.
“We found that if we either activate the AHR pathway with small molecule activators or limit the pathologically excessive interferon in the blood, we can reduce the number of these disease-causing cells,”
On the other side quick search on AHR activation brings for example cancer related stuff like this :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10570930/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10570930/
"AHR activation to promote tumor cell intrinsic malignant properties and to suppress anti-tumor immune responses [14], [17], [18]. Specifically, the AHR drives cancer cell migration, invasion, and survival, regulates cell cycle progression and promotes cancer stem cell characteristics [14], [19], [20], [21], [22]. Simultaneously, it inhibits anti-tumor immunity "
Human body by its complexity and our lack of understanding of it sometimes reminds the codebases i've worked on :)
In that rabbit hole of articles on AHR there is also :
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-020-00585-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-020-00585-5
"The aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the gut–brain axis"
which in particular discusses what looks to me (i'm not a doctor) like a connection/correlation : gut microbes -> AHR -> glioblastoma.
- elcritch 2y agoBoth reactions make sense to me. Too much AHR activation suppresses immune response leading to cancer proliferation due immune cells not culling cancerous cells, but too little leads to auto-immune conditions. It's definitely like a large sloppy code base with lots of implicit overlaps and global effects.
- wizzwizz4 2y agoIf all you have is a hysteresis, everything looks like a chemical imbalance.
- trhway 2y agoseems to be saying just that : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140757/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140757/ "Autoimmunity and cancer as two sides of the same coin. The figure depicts how tuning of immune system regulatory mechanisms can contribute to autoimmunity, health, or cancer development." One can wonder if induction of some autoimmune condition may be used as a treatment of some cancers.
- worstspotgain 2y ago> One can wonder if induction of some autoimmune condition may be used as a treatment of some cancers. This is one of the bases of the checkpoint inhibitor revolution in immunotherapy. [1] The checkpoint is there to prevent immunity excesses. Temporarily turning it off is effectively an autoimmune disorder [2], one that can take out the cancer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_inhibitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_inhibitor [2] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02306/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10....
- zeagle 2y agoSimilarly checkpoint inhibitors can cause autoimmune conditions that look a lot like lupus, arthritis, inflammatory bowel, endocrine disorders, etc. and it's sometimes difficult to be able treat both as it can be antagonistic. E.g. one of the checkpoint inhibitors has the opposite effect of a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.