West LA Times

A new Autoimmunity Center of Excellence is set to be established at UCLA, supported by a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The center aims to explore the mechanisms behind autoimmunity and seek potential cures for these disorders.

Autoimmunity is a condition where the body's defense system mistakenly attacks its own tissues. For instance, in Type 1 diabetes, the immune system targets insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, necessitating lifelong insulin injections for patients. The majority of autoimmune disease patients are women, with 80% falling into this category.

The UCLA ACE will be under the leadership of Dr. Maureen Su, a professor specializing in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics. The center's focus will be on hormone-related autoimmune disorders such as Type 1 diabetes.

“We have medicines for these types of autoimmune conditions, but they fail to address the root of the problem,” said Su. “For example, we treat Type 1 diabetes with insulin in the clinic, but the primary problem is the immune system. Right now, we replace the insulin that is missing, but we don’t fix the immune system’s constant damage to the insulin-producing tissues.”

The center will undertake three main projects aimed at understanding different aspects of autoimmunity:

- The establishment of long-term autoimmune disease: Led by Dr. Manish Butte, this project will investigate why some autoimmune conditions become chronic while others resolve over time.

- Cancer immunotherapies causing autoimmune disorders: Dr. Melissa Lechner will explore how certain cancer treatments lead to autoimmune issues.

- Mechanisms creating sex differences in endocrine autoimmune disorders: This NIH-funded project will examine why these disorders affect sexes differently and will involve data analysis led by Willy Hugo.

“Last decade, we made great advances in how to use immunity to treat cancer,” Su stated. “This decade, I anticipate that we will make great strides in learning how to treat autoimmunity.”