Tailored Leukapheresis for treatment of immune mediated inflammatory diseases
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Karolinska Institutet - Institutionen för medicin, Solna |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 4 981 381 |
| Project duration | August 2013 - December 2015 |
| Status | Completed |
Important results from the project
The project aims to develop a new treatment for patients with immune-mediated diseases such as rheumatism, psoriasis and SLE by making use of a new technology and a medical device. The goal of the project was to identify pathologically altered chemokine receptors expressed on leukocytes from patients with immune-mediated diseases, and to develop a rational and a column to be able to treat those disorders with selective leukapheres .
Expected long term effects
Diseases with respect to leukocytes chemokine receptor expression. Altogether, over 500 samples have been analyzed , and we have found that in 15 different IMIDS the chemokine receptor expression is pathologically altered. For psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and SLE , we went ahead and performed in vitro experiments with optimization of the column, chemokine binding demonstrated efficacy on patient blood. The column now has regulatory documents in place and we are applying for CE marking.
Approach and implementation
The project has focused on analyzing immune mediated diseases starting at published data and collaborations with experts in disease-specific areas to identify suitable diseases. In collaboration with clinicians, we have examined the blood of 500 patients with 33 various immune-mediated diseases, where we examined the leukocytes and their chemokine receptor expression by FACS. Experimental findings supported by reported disease mechanisms in the literature, has been used to in 15 IMIDs create small apheresis columns for preclinical verification and dimensioning.