Researchers identify ‘molecular switch’ in lupus that could stymie harmful immune response Isabella Cueto By Isabella Cueto July 10, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/07/10/lupus-research-molecular-switch-possible-new-treatments/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_FtiiWqQ0CzxjB3_KGZltSSqeIJaoRZ5_KAsn_z1JIyB-dwFYtOLf-fYBLZUnq3VFYmAsEvbV4QYUAltBtMt3XI_k78A&_hsmi=315250855&utm_content=315250855&utm_source=hs_email A “molecular switch” for lupus could help treatment Think of lupus in superhero terms, as STAT’s Isa Cueto explains it. Loyal heroes (immune cells) become the villains, destroying their own people (the skin, lungs, and kidneys). But what if a villain could turn back into a hero — that is, if immune cells could actually help save tissue damaged by autoimmune disease? That’s the central question in a new study focused on the type of helpful T cells that lupus patients lack and the destructive cells they have in higher concentrations. “We wondered if there was a molecular switch that sort of controlled how these cells can toggle between these two,” Jaehyuk Choi, the paper’s senior author, told Isa. Without spoiling the ending: The team found the switch. Read more in Isa’s story on the action-packed science.