Promoting gut plasmablasts for MS

Researchers from the University of Toronto and colleagues have linked the gut-brain axis to multiple sclerosis by showing gut plasmablasts and plasma cells suppress CNS inflammation during active MS, and suggested therapies that promote the cells’ survival could treat the disease.

Previous studies have found IgA-positive cells in the CNS of MS patients, but not the cells’ origin or function. In its study this month in Cell, the Toronto team found lower counts of IgA-bound bacteria -- a marker of IgA-positive plasmablasts and plasma cell numbers in the gut -- in fecal samples of MS patients with relapsing disease than in patients undergoing remission or healthy volunteers...