
Immune System Error: How Antibodies in Multiple Sclerosis Mistake Their Targets
Researchers at HSE University and the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBCh RAS) have studied how the immune system functions in multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease in which the body's own antibodies attack its nerve fibres. By comparing blood samples from MS patients and healthy individuals, scientists have discovered that the immune system in MS patients can mistake viral proteins for those of nerve cells. Several key proteins have also been identified that could serve as new biomarkers for the disease and aid in its diagnosis. The study has been published in Frontiers in Immunology. The research was conducted with support from the Russian Science Foundation.