Autoimmune Disease

Think B lymphocytes just produce antibodies? Think again! Although, of course, B cells are vital for the humoral immune response, many studies in recent years have begun to uncover antibody-independent actions of B cells: regulating T cells and thus also playing a part in cellular immunity. For example, B cell depletion therapy, a new treatment for autoimmune disorders, has been found to influence T cells in addition to antibody titers.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease affects 3% of the United Kingdom's population and 7.5 million people in the United States are affected. This disease causes plaque formation on the skin due to an increased rate of skin cell growth. Psoriasis is triggered by environmental factors such as alcohol and stress, throat infections, injuries and other immune disorders.

FOXP3, a forkhead family transcription factor specially expressed in regulatory T (Treg) cells, controls the expression of many key immune-regulatory genes. Treg cells are a population of T lymphocytes that have critical roles in the immune system homeostasis and tolerance to self and foreign antigens, the body's response to cancer and infectious agents.

Vimentin is a fundamental 10 nm type III intermediate filament (IF) protein found in many mesenchymal and epithelia tissues, tissue culture cells, and developing neuronal and astrocytic precursor cells of the central nervous system.

Originally identified as autoantigens from a Scleroderma Polymyositis Syndrome patient (1), the Ku protein family consists of nuclear proteins found in eukaryotes. Autoantibodies to both Ku subunits were subsequently found in other autoimmune diseases such as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

We at Novus Biologicals recently added two new MCP1 antibodies to our antibody catalog. MCP1, also known as MCAF (monocyte chemotactic and activating factor) is released by a diverse range of cell types as part of the inflammatory response. A member of the SIG (small inducible gene) family, it is selective for monocytes and basophils, mainly to recruit monocytes to injury and infection sites.