Scientists capture images of antibodies attacking neuron receptors
Using the UT Southwestern Cryo-Electron Microscopy Facility, researchers have for the first time captured images of autoantibodies bound to nerve cell surface receptors, revealing the physical mechanisms behind neurological autoimmune disease. The findings, published in Cell, could lead to new ways to diagnose and treat autoimmune conditions, the study authors said. “We are entering a new era of understanding how autoimmune diseases work in the central nervous system,” says Colleen M. Noviello, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at UTSW who specializes in obtaining cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). ) images up to atomic resolution. Dr. Noviello led the research with Ryan Hibbs, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Biophysics, Effie Marie Cain Scholar in Medical Research, and Investigator Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Harald Prüss of the Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Researchers have studied autoimmune diseases — a class of conditions in which the immune