Against everyone

Universal medicine will stop the development of autoimmune diseases

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

With the help of the new drug, scientists plan to treat diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. The discovery of the Rockefeller University team will also explain the nature of some diseases.

The immune system is programmed to cleanse the body of viruses and other dangerous pathogens, but sometimes a malfunction occurs and immune cells attack healthy tissues. Now scientists have found a way to influence the enzyme cGAS, which leads to immune activation. The work is published in Nature Communications; a popular retelling (New compounds could be used to treat autoimmune disorders) can be read on the Rockefeller University website.

The potential relationship of cGAS with the development of autoimmunity became known several years ago. For a long time, scientists have been looking for a cGAS inhibitor for human cells. After analyzing almost 300 thousand small molecules, we managed to find two suitable ones.

Both molecules showed some activity against cGAS, which was the starting point for the development of a treatment, the scientists reported.

The team managed to create three compounds that blocked the activity of cGAS in human cells – these are the first molecules with this ability.

Now researchers are improving the drug for use on patients. According to them, the therapy has the potential for many autoimmune diseases, and possibly for neurodegenerative diseases.

"Now we have a simple tool for inhibiting cGAS in human cells. Perhaps this will point to a new understanding of the mechanisms leading to autoimmune reactions," concluded scientist Lodo Lama.

Stress also contributes to the development of autoimmune diseases. Scientists cannot yet name unambiguous mechanisms that provoke the disease, but a potential scenario has recently been discovered.

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