Researchers discover new drug molecule that inhibits inflammation

This discovery is the result of many years of research by Thomas Helleday's group on how DNA is repaired by the body. To fight cancer by targeting damage to the tumour cells' DNA was one of the objectives of the research.

Editorial Team | Published: November 16, 2018 1:54 pm

It acts on a protein that they believe is a general mechanism for how inflammation arises in cells. ©Shutterstock

In Sweden, a multidisciplinary team of researchers led from Karolinska Institutet have developed an anti-inflammatory drug molecule with a new mechanism of action. According to the Economic Times report, the researchers were able to reduce the signals that trigger an inflammation by inhibiting a certain protein. The study was done in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch, Uppsala University and Stockholm University and was published in Science.

Professor Thomas Helleday, at the Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, who co-led the study with Dr Torkild Visnes and Dr Armando Cázares-Körner reportedly said that they have developed a new drug molecule that inhibits inflammation. It acts on a protein that they believe is a general mechanism for how inflammation arises in cells.

Basically, this discovery is the result of many years of research by Thomas Helleday’s group on how DNA is repaired by the body. To fight cancer by targeting damage to the tumour cells’ DNA was one of the objectives of the research. However, several breakthroughs have been reported so far, in fact, a new treatment known as PARP inhibitors has been available for many years for congenital breast and ovarian cancer.

When the researchers were developing a new molecule for inhibiting the enzyme that repairs oxygen damage to DNA, surprisingly they found that it also dampened inflammation. It turned out that apart from repairing DNA the enzyme OGG1 also triggers inflammation.

The inhibitor blocks the release of inflammatory proteins, such as TNF alpha. The researchers succeeded in dampening the inflammation in trials on mice with the acute pulmonary disease.

Professor Helleday reportedly said that this discovery could give rise to a new treatment for a very serious condition. They will now be developing our OGG1 inhibitor and examining whether it can lead to new treatments for inflammatory diseases in order to cure or relieve diseases such as sepsis, COPD and severe asthma.

In 1970, the repair pathway on which OGG1 operates was discovered by Tomas Lindahl at Karolinska Institutet, an achievement that earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015.

Published: November 16, 2018 1:54 pm

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