New NIDDK-funded research in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine Science Magazine found that interfering with the growth of inflammatory immune cells could represent a therapeutic opportunity for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases. In mouse models of inflammatory arthritis, inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) - a key protein involved in cell growth - suppressed pro-inflammatory genes but not anti-inflammatory genes in macrophages, a type of immune cell. In patients with RA, CDK7 inhibition similarly reduced inflammatory gene signatures in samples taken from the synovium, the connective tissue that lines the inside of joints. These findings suggest CDK7 inhibitors may have clinical implications in RA treatment.
