Discovery may lead to new drug treatments for Alzheimer’s and obesity

Researchers hope the discovery of a new class of molecules could lead to the development of targeted drug treatments for inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s, asthma, arthritis and obesity.

A study led by Queen’s University Belfast has characterised a new molecule which can block the inflammation associated with a range of diseases.

The study was co-led by Dr Rebecca Coll from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine (WWIEM) at Queen’s and Dr Kevin Wilhelmsen from BioAge Labs, the US biotech company which discovered the new class of molecules.

The researchers studied inflammation within the body which persists for a long time and the immune response ends up damaging healthy cells, tissues and organs.

This damaging inflammation contributes to a number of diseases including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, arthritis, IBD, asthma, COPD and obesity.

Researchers are currently looking at ways to regulate inflammation to slow or block this process to stop disease from developing and worsening.

Research over the last 20 years has shown that a protein complex called the NLRP3 inflammasome plays a key role in causing damaging inflammation in many of these diseases.

Whilst previous clinical trials have tested molecules that restrict NLRP3 activity, the new study investigates a class of molecules that block NLRP3 in a new way.

Dr Rebecca Coll, senior lecturer in immunobiology and a senior author on the research paper, said: “In this study, we have characterised a totally new class of molecules that work very differently to existing molecules, blocking NLRP3’s inflammation-causing activity completely.

“This research breakthrough highlights the benefit of combining academic expertise with industry to make real-world impact.

“We hope this discovery will lead to the development of new, targeted anti-inflammatory drugs which will help treat these devastating diseases.”

Kristen Fortney, chief executive and co-founder of BioAge Labs said: “We are now starting clinical trials to take the next critical step, testing whether this novel approach can help patients.

“What’s particularly exciting to us is that our new drug can reach the brain, not just the body, opening new possibilities for treating conditions where inflammation in the brain plays a key role, such as obesity and some forms of neurodegeneration.”

The research also involved collaboration with the University of Lyon, University of Bonn and the University of Tubingen, and was also supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The results have been published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.