Autoimmune Disorders and T-Cells
Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, are diseases where your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells.
Your immune system has T-cells, a type of white blood cell, that usually fight infections and diseases. But in autoimmune disorders, these T-cells attack your healthy tissues instead.
The Potential of Canagliflozin
Researchers at Swansea University made an interesting discovery. They found that a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, canagliflozin, could potentially be used to treat autoimmune disorders.
You might be wondering, how does a diabetes drug help with autoimmune disorders? Well, canagliflozin, which is also known as Invokana, controls blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
But these researchers found it has another unexpected role. It targets T-cells, making it a possible weapon against autoimmune disorders.
This is backed by existing research that suggests targeting T-cell metabolism could have therapeutic benefits for autoimmune disorders.
Their new study, which was published in the journal Cell Metabolism, showed that canagliflozin lessens T-cell activation. This indicates the drug could be used as a treatment for autoimmune disorders caused by T-cells.
From Diabetes to Autoimmune Disorders
Dr. Nick Jones, who led the study, said their findings were significant. They provide the basis for using canagliflozin in the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases.
One advantage of this drug is that it’s already widely used and has a known safety profile in humans.
This means it could potentially get to the clinic faster than newly developed drugs, quickly bringing benefits to patients with autoimmune disorders.
Ben Jenkins, the first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Swansea, said it’s exciting to find new roles for drugs that are currently used for other diseases.
He hopes their findings, which mainly target the metabolism of immune cells, could have potential therapeutic benefits for a wide range of conditions.
The researchers are optimistic about canagliflozin’s potential. They hope it will enter a clinical trial for treating certain autoimmune disorders in the future.
If successful, this could open a new chapter in the treatment of autoimmune disorders.
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The study was published in Cell Metabolism.
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