INFLAMMATORY DISEASES: A NEW APPROACH TO THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION
The recent advancement of scientific knowledge regarding leukocyte subsets involved in innate immunity, especially neutrophils, has brought about a re-appraisal of their role in a variety of diseases. Building on this cutting-edge research, scientists at Celtaxsys are developing new “smart” drugs targeting the cells of innate immunity for patients with inflammatory diseases.
Inflammatory Disease: Our Protective System Gone Awry
Ironically, inflammatory diseases are often born of the protective role of the immune system that is important for life and health. Even though we don’t normally see it, our body is under constant threat of invasion from microorganisms in our environment that want to make our body into their home. When these invaders get past our first lines of defense (our skin, for example), we experience a broad range of unpleasant symptoms, depending on the nature of the organism and our ability to respond to it. In order to survive with such hostile neighbors, the human body has developed a number of sophisticated systems designed to quickly and effectively attack and eliminate the invaders. A consequence of this attack response is inflammation and local tissue damage, such as when you get a small scratch or paper cut and it turns red, swollen and much more painful than you’d expect. That’s your immune system, largely your innate immune system, at work. Once any threat has been eliminated, the immune cells can signal that it is time to clean up the mess and repair the damage, and they can even participate in the repairs. With this constant battle going on, it is inevitable that sometimes there is a breakdown of the proper communication signals that tell our body when the invasion is real or when the fighting is over. Because the cells of the immune system, especially those of the innate immune system, are highly armed with potent biochemical weapons, the result of such a breakdown in communication can be inflammatory disease. That is, the body thinks it is under attack and unleashes its most destructive warriors even when it should be calling in the clean-up crew.
In some cases, the body begins to mistake its own components for those of an invader, leading to set of diseases called autoimmune diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), or Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). In other cases, a persistent infection can yield an ongoing inflammatory battle, such as in Gastric Ulcers caused by the microbe Helicobacter pylori. In rare cases, such as Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a genetic mistake can cause dysregulation of the immune system, leading to an ineffective elimination of invasive microorganisms and a constant influx of inflammatory immune cells. In yet other cases, an overzealous immune response to a specific chemical substance can cause an intense inflammatory reaction, as observed in Seasonal Allergies or Rhus Dermatitis (poison ivy). A specialized case of this type of inflammation is observed in the medical treatment-induced inflammatory skin condition called Reactive Iatrogenic Dermatitis (RID, commonly known as injection site reaction), where the immune system attacks a medically necessary drug injected in the skin. Finally, in many cases such as Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, the exact root of the problem is not yet known for certain, but the characteristics and symptoms of the disease are clearly linked to improper regulation of the immune response. Celtaxsys is focused on identifying and treating the subset of inflammatory diseases, such as those described above, which are now known to involve dysregulation of innate immune cells.
