The immune-system agents called natural killer cells (artificially coloured) can be bioengineered to attack cells that produce dangerous antibodies.Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health/Science Photo Library Results from two small clinical trials suggest that researchers can engineer natural killer cells ' immune cells that destroy infected or diseased cells ' to assassinate the renegade cells that produce antibodies against the body's own tissues. These 'autoantibodies' can damage tissues, fuelling autoimmune diseases such as lupus and systemic sclerosis. 'Natural killer cells have evolved to seek and destroy abnormal cells,' says Nadir Mahmood, president of Nkarta, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco, California. 'And if that's deep enough to drive an immune-system reset, then you can have the reconstitution of a healthy and naive immune system.' Findings from one trial were announced in June at the European Alliance...
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