This piece of investigation stores some good news for patients suffering from a number of diseases. Researchers from the University of Central Florida have identified a protein that may suppress inflammation. The newly discovered Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Induced Protein (MCPIP) can possibly aid in understanding the actual cause of disorders from arthritis to heart diseases.
MCPIP apparently curbs inflammation by restricting another protein which causes an inflammatory response in the body. Since the protein plays a regulatory role, it may be a potential target for novel drug development to tackle inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cancer and obesity-induced type 2 diabetes. Apart from gauging the root cause of a number of ailments, MCPIP can also be a door to unique treatments.
Pappachan Kolattukudy, director of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, and lead investigator and colleagues suggest that analyzing the protein helps understand the causes of debilitating diseases. The research findings can be extremely beneficial in the health world. Further investigations will be undertaken to distinguish drug candidates promoting or preventing MCPIP function for therapeutic applications.
The research is published in the December issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.