As the many challenges facing cell therapies are being addressed, the CAR T field continues to evolve beyond its original design of T cells engineered to target hematological malignancies. During the 32nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT), held in Seville Oct. 7-10, several studies showed how this technology is being redefined as programmable and adaptable immune cells with expanded functional versatility.
Chinese researchers have published preclinical data regarding the potential of never in mitosis A (NIMA)-related kinase 2 (NEK2) as a therapeutic target in multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) in which B cells play a key role.
Researchers from Onco3r Therapeutics BV presented preclinical data on O3R-5671, a novel salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3) inhibitor developed for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune diseases.
Recent evidence in atopic dermatitis (AD) points to the involvement of additional pro-inflammatory pathways besides core Th2 responses. Current therapeutic approaches that work target mostly the IL-4/IL-13 pathway, but the duration of response and depth could be improved.
At the recent European Respiratory Society meeting, researchers from 35Pharma Inc. presented data on HS-235, an activin receptor inhibitor designed to neutralize activins and growth differentiation factors (GDFs). Disorders such as heart failure (HF) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are associated with dysregulated activin and GDFs without neutralizing bone morphogenetic proteins such as BMP-9 and BMP-10, which play key roles in lymphatic and vascular homeostasis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rapidly progressing lung disease with high unmet needs and characterized by an excess in matrix deposition that leads to severe decline in lung functioning, where arginase expression and arginine metabolism seem to be involved and could be a promising target. Astrazeneca has presented data regarding their arginase inhibitor, AZD-8965, for the potential treatment of IPF.
Vitiligo is caused by autoreactive CD8+ T cells that react against skin melanocytes, where IL-15 has been shown to activate these T cells. Innovent Biologics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. recently presented data on their monoclonal antibody (mAb) – IBI-3013 – that targets IL-15. IBI-3013 was evaluated in vitro in immune cell expansion and CD8 T-cell activation assays, as well as in vivo in a skin inflammation model and in a graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) model.
OGG1 is a key enzyme in the base excision repair pathway, responsible for removing oxidized bases from DNA. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), emerging evidence suggests that OGG1 also contributes to profibrotic gene expression, indicating a role beyond DNA repair.
At the recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference on Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Research, researchers from Cellectar Biosciences Inc. presented preclinical data on [225Ac]CLR-121225 (CLR-225), a novel actinium-based radio conjugate alpha-emitter for treatment in hypoxic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
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