A research team led by a University of Iowa investigator has generated DNA-like compounds that effectively inhibit the cells responsible for systemic lupus erythematosus -- the most common and serious form of lupus. There currently is no cure for this chronic autoimmune condition that damages the skin, joints and internal organs and affects an estimated one million Americans.
The team, which included researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of class R inhibitory oligonucleotides in laboratory experiments. The findings, which could eventually lead to new treatments, appear May 28 in BioMed Central's open access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy.
"The increased potency of class R inhibitory oligonucleotides for certain cells involved in lupus flare-ups could help patients by providing specific inhibition, yet allowing them to generate a protective immune response when needed," said the study's lead author, Petar Lenert, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.
During periodic flare-ups in people with lupus, the immune system overreacts and mistakenly attacks cells and tissues throughout the body, resulting in a range of symptoms including inflammation, pain and a characteristic "butterfly rash" across the cheeks.