Rheumatoid Arthritis: A New Therapy?
Reported March 29, 2010
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Researchers may have found a therapy to protect against inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
By treating the activity of immune cells with an experimental drug, a particular enzyme is kept at bay, warding off inflammation.
Rheumatoid arthritis is considered an autoimmune disease prompted by the hyperactivity of conventional T cells that are typically meant to fight off infections. Recently, researchers at New York University began to look at another immune system component known as regulatory T cells. These regulatory T cells counteract the over-activity of conventional T cells which controls inflammation.
When looking at the communication within the immune system, researchers found an enzyme known as protein kinase C theta, which becomes partly activated in the regulatory T cells. When these T cells become most active in cell to cell communication, this enzyme is kept far away from the site of communication.
Based on these observations, researchers began testing an enzyme inhibitor known as Compound 20 developed by the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The compound increased the regulatory T cells’ activity about five times, and by blocking the enzyme’s activity, the natural communication channels of the regulatory T cells were augmented and enhanced the cells’ anti-inflammation activity.
This unusual new mechanism could provide a new therapeutic approach to treating autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Source: Science, March 25, 2010