New targets for anti-inflammatory drugs

Abstract

Inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and asthma, provide drug discoverers with a tremendous challenge. The precise causes of these diseases are not known, but our understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with inflammatory diseases has increased dramatically. As a consequence, a wide array of gene targets have emerged that control cell influx and activation, inflammatory mediator release and activity, and tissue proliferation and degradation. Since multiple gene products have been identified at the sites of inflammation, there has been a surge of interest in identifying intracellular signaling targets, including transcription factors that control inflammatory gene expression and which are amenable to drug discovery.