2024-03-09 00:12:27
A team from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute of Barcelona, in collaboration with researchers from the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, develops a fusion protein that avoids unwanted side effects in the medium and long term.
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Organ, tissue and cell transplantation has become a global practice that can prolong and improve the quality of life of patients. Since the first decade of this century, immunosuppressive transplant treatment has been practically standardized throughout the world and has not changed significantly, significantly reducing the rate of graft rejection during the first year. However, this therapy has failed to significantly improve longer-term graft and patient survival as would have been expected. Although there are multiple factors that contribute to the long-term results being more discreet, the unwanted side effects of these same immunosuppressive drugs contribute very directly.
A team from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, led by Oriol Bestard, is developing a new drug with a very selective effect when it comes to inhibiting the immune response to avoid rejection both acute and chronic, while avoiding the unwanted off-target effects of common immunosuppressants, thereby improving the safety profile and, ultimately, improving transplant results.
Researchers have developed a fusion protein, called bi-specific, by having two very selective targets in the same molecule. That is, it can simultaneously bind to two cellular receptors that exert different and very specific biological functions and synergistically enhance its effect to effectively block the cells of our immune system responsible for transplant rejection, but avoiding the adverse effects associated with current immunosuppressants. “In addition, we think that it could be more effective against a specific type of cell, B lymphocytes, the main actors in the so-called chronic rejection and one of the causes of transplant failure in the medium and long term,” explains Bestard.
The results obtained at the in vitro level, in the laboratory, in different cellular experiments emulating what happens in vivo, that is, in the body when a transplant occurs, are very interesting and encouraging, says Bestard. The group is now working on the in vivo model of preclinical transplantation, to be able to demonstrate that the data observed in the laboratory are confirmed.
Research has also shown interesting data in areas other than transplantation, in some autoimmune diseases, such as kidney involvement due to systemic lupus erythematosus. M.B.
#drug #prevent #organ #transplant #rejection #Health #Medicine