Current therapies to treat pathological inflammation generally focus on quieting the overactive immune response, but in suppressing the immune system, patients are vulnerable to severe infections arising from other sources.
Intrigued by the ability of certain polymers to mop up DNA and RNA for gene transfer, Sullenger and colleagues tested the idea that these chemical compounds might also be effective targeting such nucleic acids as they arise in cell death.
"Essentially what you have in an autoimmune disease is a vicious cycle," said lead author Eda K. Holl, Ph.D., assistant professor in Duke's Department of Surgery. "Our goal was to break this cycle at its onset. What we saw in animals with lupus when we used these compounds was a dramatic reduction in inflammation, which gave the body a chance to heal."
Sullenger and Holl said the approach was further tested to see if it compromised the mice's ability to fight outside infections. When they exposed the treated mice to the influenza virus, the animals recovered from the illness even better than healthy mice infected with flu that had not undergone the treatment.
"This approach has the potential to treat a wide range of inflammatory conditions - from lupus to diabetes to even obesity," Sullenger said.