Targeting Nucleic Acids to Combat Inflammation: A New Therapeutic Strategy
Inflammation plays an important role in responding to danger signals arising from damage to our body and in restoring homeostasis. However, excessive or chronic inflammation can lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, and wound healing. Controlling the inflammatory response is a major strategy in managing these diseases. Conventional drug therapies are still the norm, but biomaterials are increasingly being proposed as an alternative approach. Biomaterials can be used to deliver drugs to the site of inflammation, improving their bioavailability and reducing side effects. They can also be used to scavenge pro-inflammatory factors, thereby reducing inflammation. The scavenging approach has proved promising for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. A central event in the pathogenesis of these diseases appears to be an aberrant activation of innate immune sensors, most prominently the Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs), by nucleic acids that are released from dead and dying cells. In this presentation, I will discuss the application of nucleic acid-binding polymers as a molecular strategy to combat inflammation and as a therapeutic carrier for drug therapy.
~Coffee/tea will be served prior to the lecture
Hosted by Professor KiBum Lee