Evolutionary Backtrack Offers Up Novel Rheumatoid Arthritis Candidate
A peptide found exclusively in Old World monkeys has been shown to completely reverse joint disease in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and could represent a new form of "retroevolutionary’" therapy for RA in humans, according to researchers in the U.S. The peptide, known as rhesus θ-defensin 1 (RTD-1), is the prototype of a family of small cyclic θ-defensins, which are the only circular proteins found in animals. Studies headed by Michael Selsted, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of pathology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, found that RTD-1 was more effective than either of the current gold standard treatments methotrexate or etanercept at treating a severe form of induced RA in rats. "Our findings strongly suggest that RTD-1 has potential as a completely new agent for treating rheumatoid arthritis,” Selsted claims. “RTD-1-like molecules may also be effective in the treatment of ...
Original Article: Evolutionary Backtrack Offers Up Novel Rheumatoid Arthritis Candidate
