The data extend positive results from a previous preclinical study in which treatment with the compound HE3286, initiated at disease onset, significantly reduced the illness. In that previous study, treated animals nearly double the frequency of regulatory T cells in their spleens suggesting that treatment with androstene hormones such as HE3286 can modulate the function and frequency of regulatory T cells in animals.
Regulatory T cells have been shown to play major roles in the control of all immune responses. Specifically, deficiencies in regulatory T cell activity are thought to play a crucial role in the development of many autoimmune diseases.
Hollis-Eden said that when treatments begin late in the disease course, HE3286 can still produce dramatic reductions in disease.
While the severity of arthritis worsened steadily in the placebo group, it nearly resolved or remained at a minimum in the HE3286 group. Treatment resulted in a difference in arthritis severity that was on average 45% lower in the HE3286 group than in the placebo group.
“We want very much to test this compound now in other models of autoimmunity because the stimulation of regulatory T cell activity predicts that benefit should be seen across a number of autoimmune conditions,” said Dr Halina Offner, professor of Neurology at Oregon Health Science University.