Time for Lyme Researcher Karen Newell Published

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Work supported by a grant from Greenwich based Time for Lyme appears in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in the October 2010 issue.
Greenwich, CT (PRWEB) December 1, 2010

Work supported by a grant from Greenwich based Time for Lyme appears in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in the October issue. The article is entitled "TLR-mediated B-cell Activation Results in Ectopic CLIP Expression that promotes B-cell-dependent Inflammation" by Dr. M. Karen Newell and her team members from the University of Colorado, Texas A and M Health Sciences Center, University of Ottawa School of Medicine, and the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Proteins on the surface of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia, can behave as "toll ligands," that rev up the immune system by attaching to toll ligand receptors (TLR) on the surface of white blood cells. These are the cells that are responsible to fight off infection. That attachment induces the production of a small, external protein called "CLIP," that traps and impedes other white blood cells from reining in the production of antibodies in the body. If "CLIP" does not detach, antibodies are cranked out in abundance, and oftentimes nonspecifically, resulting in widespread inflammation in the body. (A peptide or protein product manufactured by Viral Genetics may have the capacity to detach CLIP and dampen the inflammatory response.)

The study may shed light on the chronic inflammatory response and symptoms shared by a significant subset of Lyme disease patients. “We are excited to learn about a mechanism that has the potential to offer new therapeutic interventions to chronic inflammatory diseases,” Newell stated. “This ‘auto-immune’ reaction of sorts may be partly responsible for symptoms of chronic Lyme disease,” adds Dr. Kotsoris,medical director at TFL.

About Time for Lyme: Time for Lyme’s mission is to fund innovative Lyme and tick-borne disease research, and to combat and prevent those diseases through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, information sharing and support. (203) 969-1333 http://www.timeforlyme.org

Save the Date: Time for Lyme Gala Fundraiser, April 2, 2011: Illusions of Lyme, at the Hilton Hotel in Stamford, CT, from 7:00 pm to 11:30 pm. Call 203-969-1333 for more information and to get involved.

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