TolerRx: T regs to the rescue
Immunological tolerance is a natural phenomenon of the human immune system. However, how it occurs, and what cells are responsible for tolerance, is not well understood. TolerRx Inc. is attempting to understand and harness the ways the body recognizes self from non-self antigens in order to reprogram the immune system. Its goal is to induce tolerance to treat autoimmune diseases, or to block tolerance to treat cancer, while preserving normal immunological competence.
The company's scientific founder, Herman Waldmann, has identified and characterized the role of a subset of T cells, called T regulatory cells. "T reg" cells in conjunction with dendritic cells, are responsible for the induction and maintenance of immunological tolerance, according to the company. ...