Autoimmune Diseases
Understanding the underlying cause of autoimmune disease
Millions of people suffer from autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and lupus. These conditions occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own cells, tissues or organs. For instance, rheumatoid arthritis results when the tissues surrounding joints become damaged by prolonged assault from immune cells leading to painful swelling and joint inflammation. Crohn's disease is due to the abnormal trafficking of lymphocytes to the digestive tract, which in turn becomes inflamed. Psoriasis is the result of inappropriate accumulation of T cells in the skin, triggering inflammation and excess skin cell production, subsequently causing the outer layer of skin to build up and form itchy or burning plaques.
Underlying the inappropriate immune responses common to many autoimmune diseases is the misdirection of certain immune cells by aberrant chemokine system signaling. Chemokine receptors on immune system cells (such as T cells, monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils), are activated by chemokine ligands and directed to a target site, resulting in inflammation. Overproduction of chemokines contributes to the inflammation of a given tissue or organ as occurs with autoimmune conditions.
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ChemoCentryx programs overview
At ChemoCentryx, we are applying our unique insights into the chemokine system and expertise in drug discovery and development to identify targets for small molecule drugs that block the immune cell signaling cascade responsible for autoimmune conditions. Currently, we are advancing several clinical-stage programs addressing new approaches to treating autoimmune diseases. In addition, we continue to identify the chemokine-chemokine receptor interactions underlying autoimmune diseases to develop promising new drug candidates for our pipeline.
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