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Department of Neurology

Houston, Texas

BCM neurologists see patients through the Baylor Clinic and some of the world's leading specialty clinics.
Department of Neurology
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T Cell Vaccination

Principal Investigators

Jingwu Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Ying C.Q. Zang, M.D., Ph.D.
Victor M. Rivera, M.D.
James M. Killian, M.D.
George J. Hutton, M.D.

Myelin-attacking Cells and MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is believed to be one of the many autoimmune diseases in which the body's own defense mechanisms mistakenly attack and destroy self-tissue. In MS, the insulating fatty material surrounding the nerve fibers, known as myelin, is attacked by the cells of the immune system. The breakdown of myelin results in a variety of neurological problems typically experienced by patients with MS. Researchers have found that a group of autoimmune cells (cells of the immune system) may contribute to the destruction of the myelin in MS. These so-called myelin-attacking cells are capable of interacting with the protein components of myelin and are found in increased numbers in the blood and spinal fluid of patients with MS (ref. 1). A single injection of live myelin-attacking cells in experimental animals can cause an MS-like disease, creating an animal model for MS. Furthermore, this experimental MS-like disease can be cured by eliminating or suppressing these myelin-attacking cells, suggesting that the myelin-attacking cells are responsible for the disease.

T Cell Vaccination in the Treatment of a MS-like Disease

One of the approaches successfully used in the laboratory to treat the MS-like disease is called T cell vaccination. The principle of T cell vaccination originates from traditional microbial vaccination. In microbial vaccination (e.g. flu shots), viruses and bacteria are inactivated by chemical treatment or irradiation and lose their ability to induce infectious diseases. They can then be used as a vaccine to stimulate the immune system to develop a protective immune response. This immune response is powerful enough to kill the invading viruses or bacteria when the body encounters them during a subsequent infection. In T cell vaccination, the myelin-attacking cells are considered pathogens (similar to viruses and bacteria) because of their association with MS. They are isolated from the blood, inactivated by irradiation and injected as a vaccine to sensitize the body's immune system to recognize and ultimately eliminate them from the blood. T cell vaccination with myelin-attacking cells has proven effective in treating the MS-like disease in experimental animals (ref. 2).

T Cell Vaccination Trials in MS

Recently, T cell vaccination has been studied as a potential treatment for patients with MS. In a pilot clinical trial, a T cell vaccine was made in the laboratory by isolating the patient's own myelin-attacking cells from the blood, weakening them by irradiation and injecting them back into the patient. Three skin injections of the vaccine given in six months resulted in a complete elimination of the myelin-attacking cells in treated patients (see ref. 3). The vaccination treatment induced long-lasting immunity against the myelin-attacking cells and seemed to favorably alter the clinical course of the disease. The results of the clinical trial are described in Ref. 5.

Image of T cell vaccination

T cell vaccination.

Image of T cell vaccination results

T Cell Vaccination Results.

Selected References

  1. n-Nun, A., H. Wekerle, and I.R. Cohen. (1981) Vaccination against autoimmune encephalomyelitis with T lymphocyte line cells reactive against myelin basic protein. Nature 292:60.
  2. Zhang, J., R. Medaer, P. Stinissen, D. Hafler and J. Raus. (1993) MHC restricted depletion of human myelin basic protein-reactive T cells by T cell vaccination. Science 261:145.
  3. Medaer, R., P. Stinissen, L. Truyen, J. Raus and J. Zhang. (1995) Depletion of myelin basic protein-reactive T cells by T cell vaccination: A pilot clinical trial in multiple sclerosis. Lancet 346:807.
  4. Zhang, J., and J. Raus. (1993) T cell vaccination in autoimmune diseases: from laboratory to clinic (editorial). Human Immunology 38:87.
  5. Zhang, J., and J. Raus. (1995) Autoimmune disease and T cell vaccination. Springer-Verlag, Landes Medical Publishers, Austin, USA. (copies can be ordered directly from the publisher).
  6. Zhang, J., P. Stinissen, R. Medaer and J. Raus. (1996) T cell vaccination: clinical applications in autoimmune disease. Journal of Molecular Medicine 74:653.
  7. Zhang, J., P. Stinissen, R. Medaer and J. Raus. (1998) T cell vaccination: new treatment for multiple sclerosis. In Immunotherapy in Neuroimmunologic Diseases. Jingwu Zhang, et al. (eds.), Martin Dunitz Publishers, London, pp 215-232.
  8. Zang, Y., J. Hong, S. Li, J. M. Killian, V. M. Rivera, J. Zhang. (2000) Preferential recognition of hypervariable region sequence by anti-idiotypic T cells induced by T cell vaccination in-patients with multiple sclerosis. J Immunol. 164:4011.
  9. Hong, J. Zang, Y., Rivera, V., and Zhang. J. (2000) Reactivity and regulatory properties of anti-idiotypic antibodies induced by T cell vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis. J Immunol. 165:6858.
  10. Zang, Y., Kozovska, M., Li, S., Killian, J., Rivera, V., and Zhang, J. (2000) Th2 immune regulation induced by T cell vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis. Eur J Immunol. 30:908.
  11. Zhang, J. (2001) T cell vaccination in multiple sclerosis: Prospects for therapy. Crit Rev Immunol. 21(1-3):41-55.
  12. Zhang, J., Rivera, V.M., Tejada-Simon, M.V., Yang D., Hong J., Li, S., Haykal, H., Killian J., Zang, Y., (2002) T cell vaccination in multiple sclerosis: results of a preliminary clinical trial. J. Neurol. (249):212-218.
  13. Zhang, J. (2002) T cell vaccination for autoimmune disease: immunologic lessons and clinical experience in multiple sclerosis (invited review), Expert Review of Vaccines, 1,285-292.
  14. Kumar, V., Sercarz, E., Zhang, J., Cohen I. (2001) T cell vaccination: from basics to the clinic. Immunology Today 22, 539-540.
  15. Zhang J. (In Press) T Cell Autoimmunity and T Cell Vaccination. (Invited Review) Current Trends in Immunology