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To: OLD JAKE JUSTUS who wrote (447)	6/15/1998 6:34:00 PM
From: OLD JAKE JUSTUS	Respond to of 4891

TO: ALL INTERESTING: Subject: "Naked DNA" effective against arthritis NEW YORK, Jun 15 (Reuteers) A new form of gene therapy dramatically reduced the inflammation and joint degeneration associated with arthritis in rats. This new therapy "can effectively suppress the development and progression of chronic arthritis even after the onset of disease," according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), both located in Bethesda, Maryland. The therapy "now offers an innovative approach for eventually treating human disease," according to an NIH statement. The study, which appears in the current issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation, focuses on a new line of gene therapy research involving an immune system protein called transforming growth factor beta (TGF-B). Experts have long believed that TGF-B might help influence the inflammation processes that help trigger arthritis pain. The authors of the current study say they realized that "the route of administration (of TGF-B) is critical," since previous research had already proven that direct injections of TGF-B into the outer area of affected joints actually exacerbated arthritis. Therapies which piggy-backed TGF-B gene factors onto "carrier" viruses also met with unsatisfactory results, due to an exaggerated immune reaction against the carrier virus. So the NIH/FDA team decided to use a new kind of gene transport focusing on the use of "naked DNA." This method involves the attachment of TGF-B DNA (TGF-B1) to a plasmid -- a gene fragment that is transmitted from cell to cell without triggering an immune response. Furthermore, instead of injecting the naked DNA directly into the arthritic joints of the rats used in their study, the researchers injected it into the animals' abdomens, allowing the DNA to reach affected joints via the bloodstream. The researchers say the results of these treatments were "dramatic." "Delivery of the TGF-B1... virtually eliminated subsequent inflammation and arthritis," they report. Tissue examination conducted at the cellular level revealed "essentially no cartilage and bone destruction" following each injection. These benefits occurred through all stages of arthritis, and were sustained "in some cases for several months after treatment," the study authors say. They note that naked DNA therapy administered before the onset of arthritis did not seem to prevent the outbreak of later disease. However, the investigators believe their findings "provide the first evidence that gene transfer of plasmid DNA encoding TGF-B1... effectively suppresses ongoing (inflammation) in arthritis." SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Investigation 1998;101. Previous Story: Specialist care urged for cystic fibrosis Next Story: MDs could learn from African healers Fri Jun 12 \| Thu Jun 11 \| Wed Jun 10 \| Tue Jun 09 \| Mon Jun 08 Index \| Top Stories \| Business \| Tech \| Politics \| World\| He X-Sender: postoffice.worldnet.att.net To: ojake@FTC-I.NET