Events

Prof. Mauro Perretti, Resolution of Inflammation: players and targets (opportunities for bridging disciplines)

Date: Wednesday 18 February 2015 15:00 - 16:00

Location: Room 1.13, Bancroft Building, Mile End

Prof. Mauro Perretti
William Harvey Research Institute
Queen Mary University London

“Resolution of Inflammation: players and targets (opportunities for bridging disciplines)”

Inflammation is an important pathophysiological component of most chronic diseases, carrying an immense global health burden and are a leading cause of mortality (>60% of all deaths) in the world. The cost of providing long-term care for those affected is a growing problem for health services. Although there has been success with anti-inflammatory therapy in chronic diseases, this approach has limitations. In particular, since the inflammatory response is critical for survival, the risk:benefit of anti-inflammatory drugs is narrow. Current anti-inflammatory therapies are inadequate and do not lead to repair/healing of the affected tissue, thus there is need for a new and fresh approach. Resolution of inflammation is an active process governed by endogenous programmes set in motion by pro-resolving mediators; excessive inflammation or failure of the initial inflammatory response to resolve in a timely manner results in poor healing and persistent tissue damage, which are key features of many chronic human diseases. Many of these pro-resolving pathways converge on selected GPCRs. Definition of the biology of these targets can guide the development of innovative therapeutic strategies aiming at harnessing the way our body naturally resolve inflammatory episodes. We predict that ‘pro-resolving based therapeutic strategies’ will be better drugs, as endowed of a lower degree of unwanted effects.