Combating chronic autoimmune diseases
BIOSS member Prof. Dr. Sitaru is involved in an international research project
Led by Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, an international consortium of 11 class-leading academic and industrial research organisations from Europe and Brazil kicked off to a research project to develop new ways of treating chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Supported financially by the European Union's 7th research framework programme, this project promises to develop anti-inflammatory drugs with a novel mechanism of action.
Chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis affect one in 100 people and cause deterioration of the quality of life of the affected individuals and major burden on health care systems worldwide. Currently available treatment strategies either cause significant side effects or are extremely expensive, and about one third of the patients do not respond to those therapies. Members of the consortium have discovered novel details of how autoimmune diseases develop and will use that knowledge to develop new treatment strategies. “This is a unique opportunity for the participating European and Brazilian scientists to translate their current understanding of chronic inflammatory diseases into novel therapeutic strategies that may improve the quality of life of the affected individuals” says Attila Mócsai, coordinator of the consortium and associate professor at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.
Prof. Sitaru
The role of Src-family kinases in autoimmune diseases
In cooperation with Dr. Mócsai's and other groups of the consortium, the laboratory of BIOSS member Prof. Dr. Sitaru from the Department of Dermatology Freiburg will address the role a class of intracellular signaling molecules called Src-family kinases play in autoimmune diseases. Together with biotechnology companies that are also members of the consortium, the groups are developing inhibitors of Src-family kinases to block inflammatory reactions in cell culture. The consortium will further analyze and improve these compounds in animal models of chronic autoimmune diseases.
The project will strengthen ties between the EU and Brazil
The unique expertise of the consortium members in in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation will be crucial in the project. The project will also strengthen ties between the EU and Brazil, one of the World's largest emerging economies with significant expertise in testing animal models of inflammatory diseases. The goal of the four-year project is to develop a novel class of drug candidates that can efficiently treat animal models of chronic autoimmune diseases and can enter clinical testing towards the end of the four-year project period.