Endometriosis could be controlled with monthly antibody injections

Injections that block inflammatory proteins halved the size of endometriotic lesions in monkeys.This treatment is now being tested on people

To Alice Klein

Antibodies that reduce inflammation partially improve endometriosis with monthly injections. After successful monkey trials, it is now being tested in humans.

Endometriosis occurs when endometrial tissue, the lining of the uterus, grows in other parts of the body, usually in the pelvis. It affects about 1 in 10 women of childbearing age and can cause severe pain and infertility.

Ayako Nishimoto of the Japanese company Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and her colleagues found that endometriosis tissue contained high levels of a gene called the gene. IL8, produces an inflammatory protein called interleukin-8 (IL-8). This made me wonder if blocking IL-8 could reduce the inflammation associated with endometriosis, slowing its progression or even reversing it.

To find out, researchers developed an antibody called AMY109 that blocks IL-8. Endometriosis was then surgically induced by transferring tissue from the monkey’s endometrium to other sites within the pelvis, mimicking endometriotic lesions in humans.

Eleven of these monkeys were injected with AMY109 and 6 received placebo every 4 weeks for 6 months.

By the end of the study, the endometriotic lesions in the AMY109-treated monkeys had shrunk to about half their original size, while those in the placebo group continued to grow.

To investigate the safety of the treatment, researchers injected high doses of AMY109 into male macaques and endometriosis-free females. AMY109 did not affect various health indicators, including animal weight and food consumption, sperm quality in males, and menstrual cycle in females.

Chugai is currently testing AMY109 in human volunteers with and without endometriosis in Japan to further evaluate the safety of AMY109 and investigate whether it reduces endometriotic lesions in humans. are conducting clinical trials.

This will be important to establish whether there are side effects in humans, says Pav Nanayakkala of Jean Hayles East Melbourne, Australia.

Endometriosis is usually treated with hormone-suppressing drugs that can shrink the lesions, but they often cause side effects such as headaches and mood swings. It also interferes with menstruation, so it is not suitable for those trying to conceive.

Surgery can also remove endometriotic lesions, but recurrence is possible.

“Researchers [who are developing AMY109] It gives hope to the long-term goal of providing non-invasive treatments to help manage the symptoms of endometriosis.