"Autoimmune diseases are triggered when receptors on the outside of immune cells called T-helper 1 (Th1) cells start binding "self" antigens rather than pieces of foreign invaders. Anything that decreases the amount of binding should suppress the autoimmune response."

"Previous studies suggested that glucosamine, a dietary supplement commonly taken by people with osteoarthritis, has some immunosuppressive effects. This led Michael Demetriou and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, to investigate a similar but more potent compound called N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc)."

"A large number of proteins in the body are modified by the attachment of sugar molecules to their surface through a process called glycosylation, and altered glycosylation has been implicated in some autoimmune diseases. Demetriou's team found that naturally occurring GlcNAc molecules attach to T-cell receptors and these GlcNAc "branches" form a lattice on the cell surface that prevents the receptors from clustering near where the antigens are located "

". Less clustering means less antigen binding, and less activation of Th1 cells, reducing the autoimmune reaction."

"Mice given oral GlcNAc supplements had twice as much GlcNAc branching on their T-cell receptors as untreated mice. The researchers also found that T-cells engineered to cause the mouse equivalent of MS failed to do so if they had been incubated in GlcNAc first. A daily oral dose of GlcNAc also prevented type 1 diabetes in mice genetically engineered to develop the disease ("

""I'm astounded by their outcomes," says Nick Giannoukakis, a pathologist at the University of Pittsburgh
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