Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking medications that inhibit interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), a molecule that stimulates the immune system, are 300 times more likely to experience invasive Group A Streptococcal infections than patients not on the drug, according to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers. Their study, published in Science Immunology, also uncovers a critical new role for IL-1beta as the body's independent early warning system for bacterial infections.
"The more we know about each step in the body's immune response to bacterial infections, the better equipped we are to design more personalized, targeted therapies for autoimmune diseases -- therapies that are effective, but minimize risk of infection," said senior author Victor Nizet, MD, professor of pediatrics and pharmacy at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
