Novel fused protein quells inflammation
By Nathan Seppa
From Atlanta, at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology
A new compound made from the fusion of two proteins revs up cells to knock down the inflammation underlying a wide range of health problems.
The synthetic creation is dubbed GIFT-15, short for its two components, interleukin-15 and a compound called GMCSF. In lab dish tests, GIFT-15 induced mouse spleen cells to produce interleukin-10, a potent anti-inflammatory protein, reports Moutih Rafei, an immunologist at the Montréal Centre for Experimental Therapeutics in Cancer.