This picture is a natural killer cell (red) recognizing and attacking a cancer cell (blue) prior to destroying it. (courtesy of Dan Davis’ lab, Imperial College London)

Scientists have proven* that as the body fights Lyme disease over a period of time that a group of killer cells defined as cd-57 become diminished as our bodies struggle to kill the bacterial infection B. Burgdorferi.

Extensive testing by a reputable neurologist on my own immune system show that ALL my killer cell markers are subnormal (which could be the case in many people with chronic Lyme disease.)  Certainly the medical community can agree that there is a correlation between Lyme disease and a compromised immune system.

Well, once again, the researchers are providing new rays of hope for those of us who struggle for years with chronic and/or neurological Lyme disease.

A study funded by the charities CHILDREN with LEUKEMIA and Leukemia Research, and led by Dr Hugh Brady from Imperial College London’s Department of Life Sciences and  carried out by researchers (see end of post) at Imperial College London, UCL and the Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research.

The researchers were initially studying the effect of E4bp4 in a very rare but fatal form of childhood leukemia when they discovered its importance for NK cells.

What they found was a “master gene” that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting ‘Natural Killer’ (NK) immune cells.  Published in Nature Immunology in September of 2009, the discovery could one day help scientists boost the body’s production of these important killer cells, creating new ways to boost the body’s immune system so that it can better fight diseases such as HIV, chronic Lyme disease, cancer and other auto-immune diseases.

The researchers have ‘knocked out’ the gene in question, known as E4bp4, in a mouse model, creating the world’s first animal model entirely lacking NK cells, but with all other blood cells and immune cells intact. This breakthrough model should help solve the mystery of the role that Natural Killer cells play in autoimmune diseases, chronic Lyme disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Natural Killer cells – a type of white blood cell – are a major component of the human body’s innate, quick- response immune system. They provide a fast defense against tumors, viruses and bacterial infections, by scanning the human body for cells that are cancerous or infected with a virus or a bacterial pathogen, and killing them.

NK cells – along with all other types of blood cell, both white and red – are continuously generated from blood stem cells in the bone marrow over the course of a person’s lifetime. The gene E4bp4 identified in today’s study is the ‘master gene’ for NK cell production, which means it is the primary driver that causes blood stem cells to differentiate into NK cells.

Some scientists think that many auto-immune related diseases are caused by malfunctioning NK cells that turn on the body and attack healthy cells, causing disease instead of fighting it. Clarifying NK cells’ role could lead to new ways of treating these conditions.

Currently, NK cells isolated from donated blood are sometimes used to treat cancer patients, but the effectiveness of donated cells is limited because NK cells can be slightly different from person to person.

However, this new research shows potential of eventually developing a drug treatment for cancer patients which reacts with the protein expressed by their E4bp4 gene, causing their bodies to produce a higher number of NK cells than normal, to increase the chances of successfully destroying tumors.

Dr Brady explains: “If increased numbers of the patient’s own blood stem cells could be coerced into differentiating into NK cells, via drug treatment, we would be able to bolster the body’s cancer-fighting force, without having to deal with the problems of donor incompatibility.”

Dr Brady and his colleagues at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research proved the pivotal role E4bp4 plays in NK production when they knocked the gene out in a mouse model. Without E4bp4 the mouse produced no NK cells whatsoever but other types of blood cell were unaffected.

As well as proving their hypothesis about the function of the E4bp4 gene, this animal model will allow medical researchers, for the first time, to discover if NK cell malfunction is behind a wide range of medical conditions, including autoimmune disorders, inflammatory conditions, persistent viral infections, female infertility and graft rejection.

Dr Brady explains: “Since shortly after they were discovered in the 1970s some scientists have suspected that the vital disease-fighting NK cells could themselves be behind a number of serious medical conditions, when they malfunction.

Now finally, with our discovery of the NK cell master gene and subsequent creation of our mouse model, we will be able to find out if the progression of these diseases is impeded or aided by the removal of NK cells from the equation. This will solve the often-debated question of whether NK cells are always the ‘good guys’, or if in certain circumstances they cause more harm than good.”

Regardless of the outcome, the discovery of this “master gene” can only mean good things for additional research into treatment of previously impervious diseases.

* See more about the “Stricker Panel” researched and published by Dr. Raphael Stricker,  Dr. Joseph Burrascano and Dr. Edward Winger at http://www.lymediseaseresource.com/Diagnosis.html.

NOTE:  The correlation of chronic Lyme disease as it is presented in this article was not a part of the original press release and is conjecture of the author based on other medical research.

Duncan M Gascoyne (1), Elaine Long (1), Henrique Veiga-Fernandes (2), Jasper de Boer (2), Owen Williams (1), Benedict Seddon (3), Mark Coles (4), Dimitris Kioussis (2) and Hugh J M Brady (1,5).

(1) Molecular Haematology and Cancer Biology Unit, University College London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK.
(2) Division of Molecular Immunology and
(3) Division of Immune Cell Biology, Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, UK.
(4) Centre for Immunology and Infection, Department of Biology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, UK.
(5) Immunology and Infection Section, Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College, London, UK.