They found out how the production of antibodies is regulated depending on whether it is an allergy or a disease.

A team of scientists led by Luis Graça, head of the Portuguese research group at the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medicine (iMM), has discovered how antibody production is regulated depending on whether it is an allergy or an infection, opening the door to discovery new methods of treating allergic diseaseswithout affecting the immune system, as published in the journal Cell Discovery.

The production of antibodies, necessary to protect our body from infections, is very well regulated thanks to the action of a specific subtype of cells of the immune system: follicular auxiliary lymphocytes.

Now a team led by Luis Graça, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, has dedicated itself detailed characteristics of the functioning of these cellsand discovered that this type of cell can be divided into two groups: cells that contribute to the production of antibodies to protect against viral infections, and cells associated with the production of antibodies involved in defense against parasites and allergies.

Understanding how these two groups of cells work could pave the way for the discovery of new treatments. against allergic diseases without interfering with the beneficial immune system response to infections.

“We use computational biology methods identify genes that are active in the supporting follicular lymphocytes involved in the production of both types of antibodies,” he explains.

“Taking advantage artificial intelligence methodswe were able to characterize genes that are associated with antibodies involved in the response to viral infections or in protection against parasites and allergies,” explains Saumya Kumar, first co-author of the paper.

“Having learned this data, we used advanced microscopy techniques that allow us to link information about active genes to the location of cells in the body. -continues-. Thus, we found that cells with genes that we identified in computational models associated with viral infections actually appear when the body is infected with a virus,” continues Afonso Basto, also the first co-author of the paper.

“These discoveries determine new molecular targets that can be used in the development of therapys to regulate the production of antibodies in diseases such as allergies or autoimmunity. “They could potentially make it possible to reduce the production of antibodies associated with these diseases without reducing the ability to produce critical antibodies against viral infections,” says Luis Graça, speaking about the relevance of the work.

“It’s as if until now all these cells were inside a dark sac, and when the antibody-mediated immune response changes, we don’t know what’s going on inside that sac.. “This work identifies these cells and allows us to begin to understand how to control the response of each group of cells independently,” he adds.

To develop this work, it was essential to bring together a team of specialists in the field of medicine, biology and computer science, which demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations in understanding cellular function in health and disease. According to Luis Graça, “scientific teams are increasingly resembling orchestras in which specialists play different instruments.”