Glycopolymer binds pathogenic IgM autoantibodies and pulls them into the mononuclear phagocyte system for degradation
Butrint Aliu, Delphine Demeestere, Lijuan Pang, Timothy Sharpe, Wolf Heusermann, Ruben Herrendorff, Beat Ernst, Pascal Hänggi · 2025
Read Glycopolymer binds pathogenic IgM autoantibodies and pulls them into the mononuclear phagocyte system for degradation by Butrint Aliu, Delphine Demeestere, Lijuan Pang, Timothy Sharpe, Wolf Heusermann, Ruben Herrendorff, Beat Ernst, Pascal Hänggi (2025) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12706049.txt.
Description
Butrint Aliu and seven co-authors report a 2025 study of a sugar-coated polymer built to clear harmful antibodies from the blood. The target is a nerve disease in which the immune system makes IgM antibodies against a sugar mark on nerve insulation. Those antibodies strip the insulation and cause numbness and weak balance. The polymer, called PPSGG, copies the sugar mark so the antibodies bind to it instead.
Tests show the long, strongly charged polymer is picked up by scavenger cells in the liver and spleen. It binds the harmful antibodies one-to-one or one-to-two, without forming clumps. The paired loads are then eaten and broken down by those cells, in mice and in human cells in the lab. No liver harm was seen, and the team calls it a path to the first targeted care for the disease.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Butrint Aliu, Delphine Demeestere, Lijuan Pang, Timothy Sharpe, Wolf Heusermann, Ruben Herrendorff, Beat Ernst, Pascal Hänggi |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 40 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |