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Zahid M, Busmail A, Penumetcha SS, Ahluwalia S, Irfan R, Khan SA, Rohit Reddy S, Vasquez Lopez ME, Mohammed L. Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Blockade and Multiple Sclerosis: Exploring New Avenues. Cureus 2021; 13:e18847. [PMID: 34804701 PMCID: PMC8597935 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.18847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common disabling disease of the central nervous system (CNS) with a progressive neurodegenerative pattern. It is characterized by demyelination of white matter in CNS and apoptosis of oligodendrocytes. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha is a major cytokine in the pathogenesis of MS. However, the failure of TNF alpha inhibitors in preclinical and clinical trials disapproved of their use in MS patients. Nevertheless, failures and misses sometimes open avenues for new hits. In the later years, it was discovered that TNF signaling is mediated via two different receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2, both of which have paradoxical effects. TNFR1 mediates demyelination and apoptosis, while TNFR2 promotes remyelination and neuroprotection. This explained the cause of the failure of non-selective TNF alpha-blockers in MS. It also enlightened researchers that repurposing the previously formulated non-selective TNF alpha-blockers using a receptor-selective approach could lead to discovering novel biologic agents with a broader spectrum of indications and better safety profiles. This review focuses on a novel premier TNFR1 blocker, atrosab, which has been tested in animal models of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), where it demonstrated a reduction in symptom severity. The early promise shown by atrosab in preclinical studies has given us hope to find another revolutionary drug for MS in the future. Clinical trials, which will finally decide whether this drug can be used as a better therapeutic agent for MS or not, are still going on, but currently, there is no approved evidence regarding efficacy of these agents in treating MS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Zahid
- Research & Development, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Alberto Busmail
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Sai Sri Penumetcha
- Internal Medicine, Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar, IND.,Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Saher Ahluwalia
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Rejja Irfan
- Internal Medicine, Shalamar Medical & Dental College, Lahore, PAK.,Internal Medicine, Brooklyn Medical Services, New York, USA.,Research and Development, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Sawleha Arshi Khan
- Research, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Sai Rohit Reddy
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA.,School of Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, IND.,Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Maria Elisa Vasquez Lopez
- Research and Development, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
| | - Lubna Mohammed
- Internal Medicine, California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology, Fairfield, USA
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