A study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC finds that a peptide only found in Old World monkeys has the potential to stop rheumatoid arthritis progression better than established treatments
In the quest for a new and more effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC looked to a primate that mostly roams the land in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It was a particular peptide only found in Old World monkeys, called ?-defensin 1 (RTD-1), that the researchers believed had the potential to stop — or even reverse — the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects about 1.5 million people in the United States. The promising results of their study were published today in PLOS ONE.
“RTD-1 is the prototype of a family of small cyclic peptides (?-defensins), the only circular proteins in the animal kingdom,” says study author Michael Selsted, MD, PhD, chair and professor of pathology at the Keck School. “Previous studies have shown that RTD-1 modulates lethal inflammation in animal models of infection, and we predicted that RTD-1’s protective mechanism in those models would translate to rheumatoid arthritis, a disease in which chronic inflammation produces irreversible joint damage.”
To test their hypothesis, the researchers administered RTD-1 to rats with arthritis for 11 days and observed whether the treatment had any anti-arthritic effects. Within 24 hours of the first administered dose, RTD-1 had significantly reduced arthritis progression. At the end of the treatment, rats that received RTD-1 also had markedly lower arthritis severity scores as compared with rats that had not received RTD-1.
Next, RTD-1 was tested in rats with severe arthritis. The research team found that RTD-1 produced a rapid reduction in arthritis severity within 48 hours of treatment, with complete resolution of clinical disease in all treated rats by day 15.
RTD-1 was then compared to two gold standard treatments for rheumatoid arthritis — methotrexate and etanercept — in rats with severe arthritis. The team found that RTD-1 treatment resulted in greater disease resolution than methotrexate or etanercept. RTD-1 also achieved the highest rate of complete disease resolution of the three treatments.
“Since most available rheumatoid arthritis therapies achieve mild to moderate improvements, and disease remission is rare, there’s a continuing search for new therapeutics,” Selsted says. “Our findings strongly suggest that RTD-1 has potential as a completely new agent for treating rheumatoid arthritis. RTD-1-like molecules may also be effective in the treatment of other inflammatory diseases and cancer.”
Learn more: Old World monkeys could be key to a new, powerful rheumatoid arthritis therapy
The Latest on: RTD-1
[google_news title=”” keyword=”RTD-1″ num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]- 2 teens arrested after shooting death of man on RTD bus, victim's family sayson April 29, 2024 at 8:47 pm
DENVER — The daughter of a man shot and killed on a Regional Transportation District bus in January says two teenagers have been arrested in her dad's case.
- Calling all artists: RTD is hosting a contest for a new bus designon April 28, 2024 at 9:23 pm
The Regional Transportation District is hosting a contest in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, calling all artists to help with a new bus design.
- RTD's Doctor Who Has Fixed 1 Thing The Modern Show Always Got Wrong About The First Doctoron April 27, 2024 at 1:30 pm
Russell T. Davies' 60th-anniversary special, "The Giggle," fixes one major thing that New Who has always gotten wrong about the First Doctor.
- RTD operators can receive paid leave for exposure to illicit drug smoke on the jobon April 26, 2024 at 8:32 pm
DENVER — RTD employees reported nearly 70% more on-the-job injuries in 2023. Exposure to drug smoke was cited hundreds of times — almost half of injury reports last year. Starting last year, operators ...
- Google plans $1 billion data center investment in Northern Virginiaon April 26, 2024 at 11:43 am
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, welcoming the move, said it underscores the need for Virginia to push ahead with his “all of the above” energy plan.
- A short history of Colorado lawmakers’ magical thinking on RTD reformon April 25, 2024 at 3:00 am
As it struggles to come up with the funds to build a long-awaited rail line and maintain the reliability of its bus service, Denver’s Regional Transportation District is facing a barrage of criticism ...
- RTD train operators say drugs, crime plague transit systemon April 23, 2024 at 4:18 pm
RTD Transit Police plan to start 24/7 patrols of bus and light rail stations on May 5 to increase security. FOX31's Kim Posey spoke to RTD customers, operators and security about what should change.
- RTD plans to launch 24/7 patrols in response to concerns about safety and securityon April 23, 2024 at 8:47 am
After concerns about safety and security continued to escalate, RTD plans to launch 24/7 patrols.
- RTD Bottled Cocktail Market to Reach US$ 40,916.00 Million by 2034, Driven by Digitization and Innovative Flavorson April 21, 2024 at 9:54 pm
The ready-to-drink (RTD) bottled cocktail market is anticipated to witness significant growth with a projected CAGR of 10.90%. By 2034, the market is expected to reach an estimated valuation of US$ 40 ...
- Designing a calibration-free RTD temperature measurement systemon April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
as shown in Figure 1. The resistance of a Pt100 RTD is 100 Ω at 0°C, and its temperature coefficient is 0.385 Ω/°C over a certain temperature range. click for full size image Fig 1. Pt100 ...
via Google News and Bing News