Exo Therapeutics Inc. has announced its lead program directed against TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The company is now approaching identification of a development candidate for its lead program, an exosite-targeted compound that selectively reprograms the activity of TBK1 in the STING pathway that drives pathogenic signaling in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Aicardi-Goutières syndrome and others.
Sensitized nociceptors, such as during inflammation, respond to non-noxious stimuli. The precise molecular mechanisms for sensitization to mechanical stimuli are not well defined. Recent findings have suggested piezo-type mechanosensitive ion channel component 2 (Piezo2) to be part of these mechanisms.
Blocking signaling through the ectodysplasin A2 receptor (EDA2R), a member of the TNF receptor family, protected tumor-bearing mice from developing muscle atrophy associated with cancer cachexia. Upstream and downstream of EDA2R, “we identified two distinct pathways and we demonstrated their involvement in muscle wasting,” Serkan Kir told BioWorld. Kir is a professor at the Koç University Center for Translational Medicine and corresponding author of the paper reporting the findings, which appeared in Nature on May 10, 2023.
A new mouse model of an inherited form of dystonia has shown the spinal cord is the driver of the condition, overturning previous understanding that the movement disorder is caused by disruption of neural circuits in the brain. The connection was demonstrated by selectively deleting torsin family 1 member A (TOR1A), the gene that causes dystonia, in the neurons of the spinal cord only.
Albatroz Therapeutics Pte Ltd. has secured $3 million in funding to accelerate the development of therapeutic antibodies against a novel target that degrades the extracellular matrix, a key contributor to cancer and arthritis.
Janssen Pharmaceutica NV has disclosed IL-17A/IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) interaction modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), multiple sclerosis, asthma and more.
Bone remodeling involves a process of continuously cycling bone formation by osteoblasts balanced by resorption by osteoclasts. Development of osteoclast cells is initiated by RANKL and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) ligands leading to differentiation of bone marrow-derived monocytes (BMDMs) to generate osteoclast specified cells expressing TRAP, CTSK and MMP9.
Bone development is a continuous process, but in some cases, soft tissues can mineralize due to some anomalies in repairing processes, thus leading to heterotopic ossification (HO). Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics researchers aimed to find the genetic causes tied to this abnormal bone-formation disorder.