New leads for treating autoimmune diseases | Arthritis Information

 

A lot of info from Newswise concerning AI diseases and inflammation.  I thought it was interesting

New leads for treating autoimmune diseases
Several inflammatory diseases have been linked to a group of genes that encode immune defense proteins, called NLRs. Post-doctoral fellow Benjamin Faustin, in Dr. John Reed’s laboratory, in collaboration with Dr. Arnold Satterthwait and colleagues, studied how endogenous inhibitors of NLRs function in hopes of developing strategies for mimicking their actions. The intended result is ameliorating various autoimmune and inflammatory diseases where hyperactivity of NLRs has been implicated. In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, the Burnham investigators show that short pieces of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins are sufficient to bind certain NLRs and suppress their activity. The findings have resulted in several new drug screening assays, which the team hopes to put to use to identify chemicals that mimic the endogenous inhibitors of NLRs and thus suppress inflammation.

Custom-made drugs to fight inflammation
Inflammation is a fundamental response to tissue injury. However, in many different diseases, including arthritis, asthma and psoriasis, inflammation causes harm. One of the key mediators of the inflammatory response is the T-cell. The T-cell is activated by a protein called Interleukin-2 inducible T-cell kinase (ITK). Recently, Dr. Gregory Roth and colleagues, in collaboration with a chemistry group at Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., have made new inhibitors of ITK. The inhibitors were designed by looking at small molecule compounds that are known to exert ITK inhibition, albeit not very effectively. By customizing such compounds, Dr. Roth and colleagues were able to make new agents that are more effective at inhibiting ITK. This work was recently published in the Journal of Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

Keeping B lymphocyte proliferation in check
In response to pathogenic challenge, B lymphocytes rapidly proliferate to generate antibody-secreting cells that can produce neutralizing antibodies in sufficient quantity to limit or eradicate infection. In collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Mark Ginsberg in the department of pharmacology at UCSD, Dr. Robert Rickert and colleagues in the Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Center at Burnham reported an essential role for the beta integrin-associated molecule CD98 in B cell proliferation. B cells in mice lacking CD98 are unable to respond to any mitogenic stimuli, resulting in a failure to generate antibody-secreting cells. These findings, reported in the current issue of Nature Immunology, raise the possibility that disruption of CD98 function could be useful as a therapeutic means to block B cell proliferation in the context of leukemia or lymphoma as well as antibody-dependent autoimmune disease.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/552315/Thanks Lynn for a quality post. [QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Thanks Lynn for a quality post.[/QUOTE]

you should try it some time
[QUOTE=Henrietta] [QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Thanks Lynn for a quality post.[/QUOTE]

you should try it some time
[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Thanks Lynn for a quality post.[/QUOTE] Lynn492009-05-13 09:57:06Some people seem to not know the reason for the board.[QUOTE=Jan Lucinda]Some people seem to not know the reason for the board.[/QUOTE] The concept of customized medications is, at least to me, so enticing, so intriguing, and so worthy of examination that nearly every other current concept fades in relationship to what is to come. I wonder about the customization when there are no blood markers.......  would that be a great inhibitor for those of us sero-negative? [QUOTE=babs10]I wonder about the customization when there are no blood markers.......  would that be a great inhibitor for those of us sero-negative?[/QUOTE]

In some instances certainly, however from my admittedly limited grounding in the subject of customized treatments, DNA sequences will, or should, play vital rôles is both diagnosis and treatment.

Right now seronegative RA is rather an orphan disease. At least sometimes treatment is dependent on the art of medicine rather than the science of and often the cumulative experiences of RA positive patients are the basis of seronegative treatment.

However, IIRC, there are at least three active members who were diagnosed (in part) on the laboratory findings of aspirated knee joint fluid.

With advances in customization, that same fluid might, stress the word might, be the building block for custom medications.

Thinking wishfully, Shug
[QUOTE=Spelunker] [However, IIRC, there are at least three active members who were diagnosed (in part) on the laboratory findings of aspirated knee joint fluid.

With advances in customization, that same fluid might, stress the word might, be the building block for custom medications.

Thinking wishfully, Shug
[/QUOTE] I will donate my fluid to science. I wasn't really using it anyway. Honestly it makes scense.Milly, I am sure that science would be very glad to get your fluid, however that is not exactly how customization of medication is used.

For instance, Babs and I are seronegative RA, diagnosed in part by fluid aspirated from our knees. IF customization of medications was currently available we would each be prescribed specific treatments and specific dosages based on a laboratory assay of our individual fluid. Chances are our therapies would be different and it is almost certain the dosages of medications would be.
I am sero negative too.  thank u for elaborating for me Spelunker.I hope it works better than the allergie shots. They do customized allergy shots by making them of all of the things you are allergic to. Guess what? I was allergic to it. Of course that some how makes sence.This article keeps the flame of hope burning bright and the discussion was equally interesting!  Thanks all!
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