(2014-06-06) Verbeke, Catia; Mooney, David J.; Wucherpfennig, Kai; Joshi, Neel
The field of immunology has advanced tremendously over the last 40 years, with seminal findings that have guided the development of powerful new therapies. However, the ability to induce safe and long-lasting antigen-specific tolerance has remained elusive. A therapy that could prevent the immune system from aberrantly destroying self-tissues, without impairing its capacity to eliminate dangerous pathogens, would be transformative for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. In addition, such a therapy could also greatly advance the field of organ transplantation by inducing antigen-specific tolerance to prevent graft rejection.
