Severe skin rash is a symptom of a family of rare autoinflammatory diseases that can occur at birth and persist throughout life.
Scientists in Brisbane and Ireland have developed a small molecule that blocks a key driver of inflammatory diseases - a finding that could inspire new treatments for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and a family of rare autoinflammatory diseases. University of Queensland scientists worked with an international team, including experts from Trinity College Dublin, to study the molecule known as MCC950. The molecule can suppress activation of a key process in inflammation caused by inflammasomes, crucial drivers of many autoinflammatory diseases. The researchers have identified inflammasomes as promising therapeutic targets, and hope MCC950 will help develop better treatments for inflammatory diseases. Dr Rebecca Coll, from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience , said current inflammatory disease treatments could be improved. "Inflammatory diseases result when our immune system is unable to switch off and so causes chronic inflammation in the body," Dr Coll said. "Current therapies for inflammatory diseases, such as asprin, ibuprofen and steroids, don't work well in severe cases and are not targeted, which can limit their effectiveness and cause side-effects.
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