Scimex: Scientists who have discovered the mechanism of a protein that
suppresses inflammation in the body, say the information could
potentially be used to develop new drugs to control inflammation. The
international study, led by Victorian researchers focused on a powerful
inhibitor of inflammation that is generated by the body.
Scientists who have discovered the mechanism of a protein that
suppresses inflammation in the body, say the information could
potentially be used to develop new drugs to control inflammation.
The
international study, led by a husband-and-wife team, Associate
Professor Marcel Nold and Dr Claudia Nold from The Ritchie Centre at
MIMR-PHI Institute of Medical Research and Monash University, focused on
interleukin 37 (IL-37), a powerful inhibitor of inflammation that is
generated by the body.
Previous research by the same team
identified that IL-37, one of the rare anti-inflammatory mediators, acts
much more broadly than others to regulate the immune response and
protect the body from damage.
The new study, published in Nature
Immunology, deciphers the mechanisms of how the body uses IL-37 as a
molecular signal to regulate and control inflammation.
The team
found that to achieve its protective effects, IL-37 utilises a set of
very specific receptors on target cells. By binding to these receptors,
IL-37 instructs those target cells to execute a cascade of events, which
temper several of the molecular pathways by which the body mounts
inflammatory responses.
Associate Professor Marcel Nold said inflammation is a double-edged sword.
"We
all need inflammation to protect us from the harmful effects of
bacteria, viruses or cancer. But in many diseases, there is too much
inflammation; good examples are stroke, heart attack and auto immune
diseases such as Crohn's Disease or lupus," he said.
"Rampant
inflammation is harmful and leads to tissue damage, resulting in all
kinds of side effects like pain, fatigue and regrettably also organ
failure and death" Associate Professor Nold said.
Dr Claudia Nold
said the study is universally applicable to all types of inflammation in
patients of all ages, in conditions ranging from the common cold to
serious life-threatening illnesses.
"IL-37 is able to override the
body's own destructive responses to injury and disease, harnessing its
fundamental mechanisms of action," she said.
To unravel the
mechanistic details of IL-37's powerful effects, the research team used
the Nobel Prize winning technique, Super Resolution Microscopy at Monash
Micro Imaging and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The
advanced instruments allowed the scientists to see single molecules of
IL-37 and its receptors, showing how IL-37 positions itself on the
surface of target cells - something that had never been done before in
previous studies in this field.
Dr Claudia Nold said the new findings make the vast potential of IL-37 accessible to drug development.
"IL-37
is extremely potent and effective in controlling inflammation, but to
make it medically useful we needed to know how it works and what it does
to cells," she said.
"Now we have deciphered these mechanisms we
can pursue the medical potential of IL-37. This can be done by mimicking
its effects when there is too much inflammation, or by blocking it when
there is too little, like in cancer," Dr Nold said.
"It's
important to note that this research is very early stage, but if we
build on our discoveries and develop them further, it will be possible
to deliver substantial and meaningful benefits to patients suffering
from lots of diseases, be they acute or chronic, in a newborn baby or a
centenarian," added Associate Professor Nold.