Eyeing the inflammasome
Two academic teams have independently shown that targeting the inflammasome reduces retinal damage in mouse models of age-related macular degeneration.1,2 One study favors inhibiting inflammasome activation to treat dry AMD, whereas the other suggests boosting it to treat wet AMD. The approach for treating dry AMD has been licensed to iVeena Pharmaceuticals Inc., and the academics focused on wet AMD are developing their own gene therapy.
Inflammasomes are a family of cytosolic protein complexes that consist of three subunits: one of several nod-like receptor proteins (NLRPs), the PYD and CARD domain containing (PYCARD; ASC) protein, and caspase-1 (CASP1). In immune cells, activation of the inflammasome by pathogens triggers release of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1b and IL-18, which then recruit effector cells to the site of tissue injury or infection as part of the innate immune response...