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National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research team has identified a protein
that it described as a key to treating osteoporosis, a disease that lowers a
person's bone density, the southern Taiwan university said.
Chang Ming-shi, a professor at NCKU's
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said the protein, called
interleukin (IL)-20, is found in higher than normal amounts in the blood of
osteoporosis patients, suggesting that IL-20 is involved in the progression of
the disease.
The professor described the finding as a
"revolutionary discovery" because the association between IL-20 -
which is secreted by the immune system - and osteoporosis had never been
explored.
According to Chang, there are two types of
bone cells - osteoclasts and osteoblasts - and bone mineral density is
determined by the balance between the two.
Osteoclasts promote a decrease in bone mass
and osteoblasts form bone. Osteoporosis results when osteoclasts break down
bones faster than osteoblasts can rebuild them.
Chang and her team found that IL-20 stimulates
the formation of osteoclasts by increasing the amount of two proteins - RANK on
osteoclasts and RANKL on osteoblasts - that are instrumental in bone metabolism
and in activating osteoclasts.
In a cell-based test, the team found that
IL-20 completely inhibited the formation of osteoclasts from stem cells.
The team then did an experiment on mice
showing symptoms of osteoporosis. After the IL-20 antibody was injected into
the mice, their bone mineral density increased and they were protected from the
low bone density affliction.
Chang said the results indicate that IL-20 is
a novel target for the treatment of osteoporosis and that the IL-20 antibody
could result in a potent anti-osteoporosis drug.
She said there is already an anti-osteoporosis
drug on the market approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, called
denosumab, that is an anti-RANKL antibody.
But a drug based on the IL-20 antibody would
go beyond that, she said.
"The IL-20 antibody not only blocks the
production of IL-20 but also the protein RANKL," Chang said. "If
further developed into a therapeutic drug, the IL-20 antibody should have many
advantages over denosumab."
According to the professor, a new drug based
on the discovery can be marketed in six to 10 years.
The discovery was published in the Journal of
Experimental Medicine, a noted international magazine in the field, in
September and has drawn widespread attention in the academic community and the
biotechnology industry, Chang said.
The chief editor of Nature Reviews wrote a
research highlight in the September issue of Nature Reviews Rheumatology
commenting on the finding while the Science-Business eXchange published a cover
story reporting on the discovery in the same month.
Focustaiwan
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