Cal Poly Pomona Biology Anakinra Discussion

I’m working on a biology project and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

EXAMPLE OF CITATIONS

Recent research suggests that the gut microbiome plays a role in modulating the risk of several chronic diseases in humans, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and obesity (Singh et al., 2017). Therapies targeting the microbiome have shown clinical benefit (Sharma et al., 2020).

References

Sharma, A., Das, P., Buschmann, M., Gilbert, J.A. (2020) The future of microbiome-based therapeutics in clinical applications. Clin Pharmacol Ther 107(1): 123-128. doi: 10.1002/cpt.1677.

Singh, R.K., Chang, HW, Yan, D. et al. (2017) Influence of diet on the gut microbiome and implications for human health. J Transl Med 15(1): 73. doi.org/10.1186/s12967-017-1175-y.

For this week’s discussion board, please pick a therapeutic agent used to treat either an allergic or autoimmune disorder and present a summary of this agent that addresses the following questions: 

What is the name of this therapeutic agent, and which hypersensitivity or autoimmune disorder does it treat?

What is the mechanism of action of this therapeutic agent? Please provide details about the cell types and signaling pathways that are targeted.

What is the route of administration for this drug, and how often does it need to be administered?

Are there any known side effects of using this therapy? Are patients left more susceptible to certain types of infections?

Is this therapy successful in controlling allergic/autoimmune pathology? What is the prognosis for patients that are successfully treated with this therapy? 

You can either pick a specific therapeutic agent used to treat an allergy or autoimmune disorder that interests you after doing some of your own research, or select from this list of examples:

Anakinra (IL-1 receptor antagonist; rheumatoid arthritis)

Natalizumab (VLA-4 and VCAM-1 antagonist; Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis)

Alefacept (Recombinant CD58-IgG1; psoriasis)

Adalimumab (TNF-alpha antagonist; Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis)

Rituximab (B cell depletion; SLE, autoimmune hemolytic anemia)

Fingolimod (S1P analogue; multiple sclerosis)

1. Prednisone (corticosteroid; asthma)
2. Oral tolerance (to treat food allergy)
3. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (“allergy shots”; treat various forms of allergy)
4. Note that some of these drugs can be used to treat several different autoimmune or allergic pathologies; in this case, please pick 1 disorder to discuss in your response.