Unlocking the key to inflammatory disease

In today's world of medicine, patients have become accustomed to seeking out the right specialist. Have arthritis? See a rheumatologist. Irritable bowel disease? A gastroenterologist. Cystic fibrosis involves various physicians — a pulmonologist for lung issues, an endocrinologist for related diabetes and hormonal issues, and more.

But what if one medicine could treat many of those inflammatory diseases and others? Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) scientist Patrick Viatour, PharmD, PhD, is optimistic that he is on a path where one drug, while not erasing the need for other specialists, could make their jobs easier and patients' lives better.

The common thread

"Arthritis, irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease and cystic fibrosis all have one thing in common," says the Associate Professor. "They are chronic inflammatory diseases. You may not think of it this way, but cancer is in that family of diseases, too, hijacking the immune system and causing inflammation to promote the disease's growth."

Dr. Viatour has made a believer out of the federal government. He has been awarded a grant from the high-risk, high-gain Innovative Science Accelerator Program, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), which supports hematological research.

In chronic inflammatory diseases, blood stem cells are stimulated to accelerate the production of inflammatory cells. Dr. Viatour has identified a dual mechanism that drives this cycle and now seeks to develop a drug to attack both arms of it, restoring appropriate blood cell production.

Steroids suppress the immune system and are currently the most effective way to treat chronic inflammation. But they carry a risk for side effects, including weight gain. George Prendergast, PhD, President and CEO of LIMR, says Dr. Viatour's approach would be far less toxic.

"This is extraordinary work that ties into what medical science learned during the battle against COVID-19," Dr. Prendergast says. "The innate immune system is like the front lines of an army, trying to limit infection and buying time until the adaptive immune system can learn a strategy to fight back more effectively. But COVID can trigger a cytokine storm, sending the innate system into overdrive. The body would fight so hard that it was actually killing itself. Patrick's approach would regulate the innate system without steroids' side effects."

Continuing research

Dr. Viatour's research journey has taken him many places. During his postdoctoral training and as an independent investigator, he has been working on two arms of research. One is cancer. The other is blood cell formation, part of immunology. He sees an important connection.

Although the NIDDK grant focuses only on inflammatory diseases, Dr. Viatour continues his cancer research on a parallel track and is optimistic his work will benefit liver cancer patients.

As for inflammatory diseases, after 20 years of searching for a mechanism common to all of them, he believes a drug he is investigating will work.

"We still have a lot of work to do, but we're very excited by it," Dr. Viatour says.

Next steps:

Meet Patrick Viatour, PharmD, PhD
Meet George Prendergast, PhD
Learn about Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR)