BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Autoimmunity Gets Mincle and Dimed

October 2, 2008 7:00 AM UTC

Researchers at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology have identified MINCLE as a receptor that triggers neutrophil recruitment and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in response to necrotic cells derived from injured tissue.1 Companies next want to see data in animals demonstrating the link between the receptor and autoimmune diseases. If the mechanistic link is confirmed, the receptor could be a more specific and selective target than the targets of currently marketed drugs.

C-type lectin domain family 4, member e (MINCLE) falls into the class of c-type lectin receptors, which are involved in autoimmune responses. An earlier analysis of patient samples identified a correlation between MINCLE expression and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although a causal link was not established.2 In that study, nearly half of the bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell samples from RA patients had a 5- to 50-fold increase in expression of MINCLE compared with that seen in samples from healthy controls...