Researchers from Anhui Medical University presented the discovery and preclinical evaluation of new vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors as potential therapeutic candidates for rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reported the discovery of novel colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) inhibitors as potential candidates for the treatment of osteoporosis.
It has been previously demonstrated that in zebrafish, the activity of UXS1, a gene that encodes UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase 1, is essential for production and organization of skeletal extracellular matrix. Now, researchers from the University of Oslo and affiliated organizations have identified a novel pathogenic variant in UXS1.
CD38 is an enzyme with NAD-depleting and intracellular signaling activity expressed on the cell surface, in intracellular compartments and in mitochondria, and is linked to inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Studies in CD38-deficient mice have revealed that these animals develop a type of collagen-induce arthritis (CIA) which suggests a link between CD38 and CIA pathogenesis.
Aria Pharmaceuticals Inc. has described C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2; MCP-1-R) modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis.
Exo Therapeutics Inc. has announced its lead program directed against TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The company is now approaching identification of a development candidate for its lead program, an exosite-targeted compound that selectively reprograms the activity of TBK1 in the STING pathway that drives pathogenic signaling in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Aicardi-Goutières syndrome and others.