Qatar University College of Medicine (QU-CMED) Professor of Biochemistry Prof Bared Safieh-Garabedian (pictured) was invited as a special speaker at the Joint Molecular Biosciences and Biomedicine Seminar Series, which was recently organized and hosted by Cardiff University School of Biosciences. Prof Bared gave a lecture entitled “Targeting unresolved neuroinflammation: Can Thymulin related peptide (PAT) come to the rescue?”.
Dr Bared noted that inflammation, as part of the innate immune response, plays an important role in homoeostatic processes such as tissue repair. He also noted that chronic inflammation is tightly linked to neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancer. He explained that the non-resolution of inflammation has many causes, which are not clearly understood such as an uncontrolled production of proinflammatory mediators, a failed phenotypic switch in macrophage and T cell population, an inadequate production of resolution mediators, a persistent stimulation by microbes and allergens, and a prolonged or excessive response or a subnormal response.
Over the last 20 years, the functional autonomy of the immune and nervous system has been challenged, Dr Bared said, adding, “The central nervous system (the brain) and the immune system are intimately linked and do not function as independent systems. During inflammation these interactions are more prominent. Understanding these pathways of communication has important clinical consequences for neurodegenerative diseases”. Furthermore, Dr Bared noted that the communication pathways between the immune and the nervous system are bidirectional, intricate and not well defined.
It is difficult to define physiological and behavioral signs of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, Dr Bared said. He added: “Chronic hyperactivation of brain immune cells can result in neurotoxic actions due to excessive production of several pro-inflammation mediators.” He went on to discuss the importance of developing new animal models for neuroinflammation and during the talk he described one such model developed by his group.
Dr Bared stressed the importance of establishing and implementing new approaches such as elucidating inflammatory reactions in the CNS, identifying the main players that can act as therapeutic targets (microglial cells), determining biomarkers for disease such as cytokines and neurotrophic factors, and characterizing molecular targets such as blocking toll-like receptors (TLR) expressed in the CNS. Dr Bared went on to the discuss the development of the PAT with powerful anti-inflammatory actions. This molecule has been patented by his group and undergoing clinical trials. He discussed the potential use of this drug as a novel therapeutic agent for use in neurodegenerative diseases.
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