Overactive immune system, TF, and 'Pro

[Guest guest]

I'v been reading up on immunology and what it means when we say we

have an " overactive " immune system in CFIDS. The immune

system is

pretty complex, and my expertise is quite limited, but there are a

couple of basic ideas which will help to understand what is going on

with us.

There are two " arms " of the immune system. Both arms use

helper T

cells (CD4s) to give the alert as to what kind of invader to attack,

and killer T cells (CD8s) as the soldiers in the attack.

Darga MD states:

" Two different methods exist by which the body fights infections:

humoral immunity (Th2) results in the production of antibodies to

neutralize foreign invaders outside of the cells, while cellular

immunity (Th1) directs Killer T-cells (CD8) to attack microorganisms

or abnormal cells at the sites of infection inside the cells. "

So we have these two arms of the immune system, one for killing

invaders inside the cells, one optimised for killing invaders outside

the cells. The type of immune disregulation found in CFIDS is an

upregulation in Th2 (extracellular) immunity. Our helper T cells,

the CD4's, are constantly pumping out messenger molecules called

cytokines (antigens) that alert our bodies that we are under attack.

One big problem in CFIDS is that we are trapped in the Th2 state,

sending out the alarm for invaders that aren't there. While this

arm

of our immune system that protects against extracellular infection is

in overdrive, the type of pathogens that we have problems with are

primarily intracellular infections i.e. HHV6, CMV, C. Pneumonia, and

mycoplasma. This shift in emphasis in the immune system is not

unique to CFIDS. The failure of the Th1 arm of the immune system and

an overactive Th2 arm is implicated in a wide variety of chronic

illnesses. These include AIDS, CFIDS, Candidiasis, Multiple

allergies, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), viral hepatitis,

Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) and cancer.

The problem then becomes: " What can we do about it? " Which

brings us

first to Transfer Factor. Transfer factor is basically a highly

concentrated form of Th1 cytokines. Our helper T cells are issuing

instructions to the killer T cells to target pathogens that

aren't

there. The transfer factor provides our killer T cells with the

information they need to target virus infected cells. Viruses that

have been proliferating in our system largely because our bodies are

mistakenly going after the wrong invaders. Not only that, the Th2

cytokines actually increase the replication rates of some viruses. So

PWC's receive benefit not only from reducing the viral load of

active

pathogens, TF is also is effective in shifting the balance from Th2

to Th1 immunity. The downside is that this process takes several

months and is fairly expensive, the upside is that many patients

improve while using this therapy.

The question remains: " What causes this shift from Th1 to Th2 in

the

first place? " This brings us back to our old pal Glutathione,

which

we have been discussing at length on this thread. For those new to

the discussion, glutathione is the primary active ingredient in

Immunopro.

JD et al reports:

" By using three different methods to deplete glutathione from T

cell

transgenic and conventional mice and studying in vivo and/or in vitro

responses to three distinct antigens, we show that glutathione levels

in antigen-presenting cells (helper T Cells) determine whether Th1 or

Th2 response patterns predominate. " (1).

1. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998 Mar 17;95(6):3071-6

In other words, low glutathione levels are perhaps the critical

factor in what causes this shift in the first place. And Dr. Cheney

states that in over 3000 cases of CFS he has treated, he has never

seen one that did not test low for Glutathione. So the Immunopro may

actually turn out to be a better way to target viruses than Transfer

Factor.

This is all in addition to the fact that glutathione is a powerful

inhibitor of viral reproduction inside our cells and increases NK

activity by 400%. NK cells could be called our first line of defense

against virus infected cells and their effectiveness is enhanced by

this switch from Th2 to Th1 states as well. Add this to the well

known detoxing effects and the fact that Immunopro is about 15%

immunoglobulins, the argument for taking it looks pretty strong.

Immunoglobulins is another word for antigens. I don't know if these

antigens favor Th1 or Th2 cytokine expression, but as they say on the

stock discussion boards, I'm long on Immunopro.

Luke