http://www.ms-network.com/newsflash/show.asp?ID=223
From:
11 July 2001
University of Pittsburgh researchers
have identified a new cellular target for aspirin.
In the June 15 issue of the Journal
of Immunology, the researchers report for the first time that aspirin has
a profound effect on bone-marrow derived dendritic cells -- the powerful
immune system cells that are responsible for initiating an immune response
-- by preventing their maturation and hence, their ability to signal other
cells to attack.
The findings help to explain why
aspirin taken in high doses significantly reduces inflammation and provides
relief to patients with various autoimmune diseases, including arthritis
and rheumatic fever, says lead author Holger Hackstein, M.D., a visiting
research fellow at the University of Pittsburghs Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation
Institute, who is working in the lab of Angus Thomson, Ph.D., D.Sc., professor
of surgery and molecular genetics and biochemistry and senior author on
the paper.
And while the research used a mouse
model to look at aspirins effect on myeloid dendritic cells, the findings
point to possible novel therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases
as well as approaches that could induce tolerance in organ transplant recipients.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/06/010605080118.htm