In a new study, researchers have found a new way to treat the inflammation involved in chronic diseases such as psoriasis, asthma, and HIV.
The research was conducted by a team from Denmark and the United States.
A group of transmitter substances (cytokines) in the immune system, the so-called IL-1 family, has been shown to play an important role in many of these diseases by regulating the body’s immune responses.
In the study, the team examined a more efficient way of reducing the effect of the IL-1 and how to improve treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.
Previous research has often focused on blocking a single cytokine or signaling pathway at a time. However, many diseases and sequela are driven by more than one cytokine.
This has caused researchers to wonder if it could be possible to block more important signaling pathways of the IL-1 family at the same time, and in this way make it possible to develop better treatments.
The researchers try to find a broader anti-inflammatory treatment impacting several important cytokines at the same time, but also trying to avoid that this causes unintended side-effects.
In this study, the researchers have investigated if a receptor (IL-1R3), which is not just involved in the signaling of one but six different inflammatory cytokines in the IL-1 family, could be a possible target in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disease.
Using an antibody to block the effect of IL-1R3, it was possible for the researchers to investigate the effects in both studies on cells and mice.
In this way, researchers could study some of the consequences of the blocking of this receptor on the immune system.
At the same time, the researchers specifically studied the effect of blocking IL-1R3 in mice with either gout, acute allergic inflammation (asthma) or psoriasis.
The team says it was possible to effectively block the receptor and reduce the manifestation of diseases, which underlines the potentials in our new approach.
The new findings describe a new and effective approach to block IL-1 family-driven inflammation, and in this way, scientists have possibly contributed with a new direction to treat chronic inflammatory conditions driven by the IL-1 family.
One author of the study is Professor Charles A. Dinarello from the University of Colorado Denver.
The study is published in Nature Immunology.
Copyright © 2019 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
