An experimental cancer drug might be able to help prevent the organ damage caused by severe COVID infections, a new study finds.
The drug, called eganelisib, inhibits an immune system enzyme called PI3K gamma that boosts damaging inflammation in cancerous tumors.
The P13K gamma enzyme causes a type of white blood cell called myeloid cells to flood tumor tissue, creating inflammation that worsensUnfortunately, they can do a lot of damage if the immune system overreacts to a severe infection, said senior researcher Judith Varner, a professor of pathology and medicine at the University of California, San Diego .
“But if you get an infection that's too strong, you get overproduction of these alert signals and the substances they release to kill these infective agents can also kill yourself,” Varner added. “That's what happens in “When we treated with the drug, we showed that eganelisib prevents entry of myeloid cells into tissue so they can't do all that damage,” Varner added. “Further studies will determine if it can actually reverse damage.”Eganelisib works by targeting the person's immune system, preventing a damaging overreaction that causes tissue scarring. No other drug with a similar approach to treating COVID has been approved yet.
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