Will eliminate disease – without weakening the entire immune system
A new KG Jebsen Center will develop a treatment that removes the cells that drive autoimmune diseases – without weakening the entire immune system. The goal is safer and more effective treatment, with fewer side effects.
Caption: – The new KG Jebsen Center will develop groundbreaking treatment. Laboratory research will be closely linked to patient treatment. This way, new research findings can be quickly put into use. In the photo you see Deputy Director Øyvind Molberg and Director of the Center, Ludvig Sollid.
“We want to develop treatment that is more precise than today. The goal is for patients to avoid both disease and unnecessary side effects,” says center director Ludvig M. Sollid at the University of Oslo.
The center aims to first develop treatments for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, celiac disease and antisynthetase syndrome.
The new KG Jebsen Center is a collaboration between the University of Oslo, Oslo University Hospital and Diakonhjemmet Hospital.
– If the center succeeds in its ambitions, this could bring the treatment of autoimmune diseases a big step forward, says the head of research at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Espen A. Haavardsholm.
Must suppress the immune system
If cells in the immune system switch from protecting the body from disease to attacking it, it can cause autoimmune diseases, some of which cause severe inflammation in the body.
Many patients therefore receive medications that suppress their entire immune system, making them more vulnerable to infections.
– We often manage to slow down the disease well with various medications. But many people live with great suffering from the diseases for a long time. We are therefore working to find better treatment methods, says Øyvind Molberg, deputy director of the center.
From CAR-T to greater precision
The center is based on CAR-T therapy, which is used for serious cancer. The treatment changes the patient's own immune system so that it can attack the disease. T cells are taken out of the body, modified in a laboratory and reinserted. They can then find and attack the B cells that are driving the disease.
“Today, the treatment practically removes all the B cells. It works well, but also makes the patient vulnerable to infections for a period of time,” says Molberg.
The goal is to take this a big step further.
The goal is ambitious.
– We try to remove only the cells that drive the disease in each patient group, says Sollid.
Why is this important?
B cells are necessary to protect us from disease. But some B cells can also attack healthy cells. In this way, they create disease. But if they are all removed, the body becomes vulnerable to other diseases.
The researchers will therefore move from broad treatment to what they call precision surgery in the immune system.
Starting where the knowledge is best
To achieve this, researchers need to know exactly what the immune cells are attacking.
Therefore, they start with diseases where knowledge about B cells is best.
– This is a good place to start. Here we know a lot about what drives the diseases, and what the B cells attack. Similar treatment has already been tried, where all the B cells are removed. It has had a good effect, says Molberg.
The researchers emphasize that they need more knowledge about the effect and possible side effects, especially in younger patients.
– If we succeed in only taking the cells that cause disease, it could open up a completely new way of treating autoimmune diseases, says Sollid.
A short path from research to patient
The center will closely link laboratory research with patient treatment. The goal is to quickly put new research findings into practice. This is called translational research.
Researchers and clinicians in immunology, rheumatology and gastroenterology will work together in the center.
In addition to Sollid and Molberg, Guro Løvik Goll, Knut Lundin, Marthe T. Mæhlen, Rasmus Iversen and Johanne Jacobsen are group leaders in the new center.
Important boost for the field
Espen A. Haavardsholm highlights the importance of the support from the Jebsen Foundation for translational medicine.
“Long-term support like this makes it possible to connect basic research and patient-centered clinical research. It is crucial for developing new and better treatment methods,” he says.
Facts about the KG Jebsen Center for Specific Autoimmune Therapy
- The goal is to develop more targeted treatment for serious autoimmune diseases
- Autoimmune diseases: Diseases in which the immune system attacks the body's own cells.
- Ambition: To remove only disease-causing B cells and preserve more of the immune system
- Strategy: To link laboratory research closely to patient treatment in order to put new research findings into use more quickly, so-called translational research.
- Specialties: Rheumatology, immunology and gastroenterology
- Diseases in the first place: Systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease and antisynthetase syndrome
- Located at: University of Oslo, in collaboration with Oslo University Hospital and Diakonhjemmet Hospital
- Led by: Professor Ludvig M. Sollid and deputy leader Professor Øyvind Molberg. Guro Løvik Goll, Knut Lundin, Marthe T. Mæhlen, Rasmus Iversen and Johanne Jacobsen are group leaders.
- Funding: 25 million kroner from the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation (2026–2031)
Read more on NRK's website
