NOVEL POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS TO TREAT INFLAMMATION

Inflammation is a component of the pathogenesis of a number of human diseases. The inflammatory response is initiated by the recruitment of leukocytes from the circulation to the site of inflammation. Although it is important to mount such response when needed, it is crucial to avoid it in order to limit the excessive deleterious immune activity under some situations. Most of the research on the factors controlling leukocyte infiltration has focused on the activity of chemo-attractant cytokines and indeed many peptides and compounds are being tested for chemokine inhibitory activity. However, recent evidence suggests that chemo-repulsion may also play an important role in controlling localized inflammation.

The UCSF investigators have discovered the anti-inflammatory effects of two naturally occurring human proteins. They have demonstrated that in vitro these two proteins have the ability to repulse peripheral monocytes and neutrophils and potentially other lymphocytes. These proteins appear to function as chemokine inhibitors by activating an anti-inflammatory response that utilizes the same kind of receptors involved in the pro-inflammatory signaling. Furthermore, they have also been successful in generating a mutated version of one of these proteins that in its native state is sensitive to biological inactivation during inflammation in vivo. This point-mutated version of the protein is in an “always on” state and thus could potentially be beneficial in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory disorders.

These two proteins could thus be ideal novel targets that can be used to develop anti-inflammatory compounds to treat disorders such as asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis, as they represent the evolutionary selected factors whose biological function is to down regulate immune activity.

If you would like to receive further information about this technology and potential licensing opportunities, please contact:

Sunita Rajdev, Ph.D.
Licensing Officer
(415) 353-4470 phone
(415) 348-1579 fax
Sunita Rajdev

Reference: OTM Case #SF03-052