Researchers from the University of Tulane (USA) have discovered that a cancer medicine It could help the immune system eliminate damaged cells that cause pulmonary healingwhich could restore lung function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (FPI), A deadly and incurable disease that affects more than three million people worldwide.
In depth
The FPI is quickly progressive and causes scars on the lungs that hinder breathing. Approximately 50 percent of patients die three years after diagnosisand current treatments can only slow the disease, but not stop it or reverse it.
In healthy lungs, specialized cells called fibroblasts help repair lung tissue. But in people with FPI, some fibroblasts and nearby epithelial cells stop working properly. These cells, called senescent, They no longer divide or die as they should. Instead, they accumulate and contribute to the rigidity and healing of the lungs.
Tulane researchers discovered that these senescent cells seem to accumulate when the natural capacity of the immune system to eliminate them is blocked. The culprit: A protein called CTLA4, which acts as an emergency brake on the activity of the immune system.
More details
Through the use of iPilimumab -a drug of immunotherapy currently used to treat various types of cancer -the researchers managed to block CTLA4 in mice. Thus, The brakes of certain immune cells called lymphocytes t were releasedreactivating its ability to eliminate senescent fibroblasts. As a result, the mice showed a significant improvement in the regeneration of lung tissue and a reduction in scars.
“CTLA4 protein normally prevents excessive inflammation by blocking hyperactive T cells “he explained Victor Thannickalmain author of the study and professor of the Chair of Medicine Harry B. Greenberg of the Medicine Department John W. Deming of the University of Tulane.
“Too much of this blocker protein can make The good inflammation necessary to eliminate senescent cells is lost. What we are doing is blocking the blocker“He added.
The researchers focused on CTLA4 as a possible therapeutic target when they analyzed the human and mouse of the FPI and discovern unusually high levels of CTLA4 in the T cells of the areas where the healing was more prevalent.
Mice that received iPilimumab showed a significantly improved pulmonary repair capacity and recovered faster than mice that did not receive the drug. “This opens a completely new route for the possible treatment of the FPI“says the main author, Santu YadavDeputy Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tulane.
“Instead of using Drugs to eliminate senescent cells, we are reactivating our own immune system to eliminate them“Yadav added.
To take into account
At the moment, more investigations are needed to determine the effectiveness of the drugs directed against CTLA4 or others of the so -called control point proteins for rejuvenate the immune system. One of the main concerns is to determine a safe dosing strategy that allows the immune system to attack senescent cells without causing harmful levels of inflammation.
FPI is a disease of aging and rarely manifests itself before 50 years. These findings also offer the hope that this approach can work for other similar diseases related to aging.
“If it works on the FPI, This immune rejuvenation strategy could be effective in other diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or cardiovascularin which it is known that senescent cells accumulate, “said Thannickal.
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