—Potential Applications for Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Inflammatory Diseases

A research team led by Yonsei Biotechnology Professor Lee Sang-kyu has developed a novel therapeutic strategy for treating autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Joining Proessor Lee in the research were Dr. Park Tae-yoon and Professor Lee Sang-won, both from Yonsei’s College of Medicine. The results were published December 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) with the title “RORγt-specific transcriptional interactomic inhibition suppresses autoimmunity associated with TH17 cells.”

Funding for the project was provided by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.  According to Professor Lee Sang-kyu, “The results show possibilities for the development of new protein medicines. Our strategy is an important technology which could be applied to the development of various medicines relevant to protein expression factors.” In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, the research paves the way for new treatments of many other inflammatory diseases.