New Study Reveals Aspirin's Mechanism of Action on Inflammation, Immune Response

2023-04-03 07:05:04

(MENAFN) Aspirin is one of the most commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs, and it has been around for more than a century. Despite its long history of use, researchers are still uncovering new information about how it works. Recently, a team of researchers led by Prof Subhrangsu Mandal at the University of Texas in Arlington made important discoveries about aspirin's mechanism of action and its effect on inflammation and the immune response.

The team found that aspirin inhibits the cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX), which plays a critical role in the inflammatory response. Prarthana Guha, a graduate student in Prof Mandal's lab, explained that "Aspirin controls transcription factors required for cytokine expression during inflammation while also influencing many other inflammatory proteins and noncoding RNAs that are critically linked to inflammation and immune response."

In addition, aspirin slows down the breakdown of the amino acid tryptophan into kynurenine, an amino acid metabolite, by inhibiting enzymes called indoleamine dioxygenases (IDOs). This is significant because tryptophan metabolism is central to inflammation and the immune response. By downregulating IDO1 expression and kynurenine production during inflammation, aspirin may have potential implications for cancer immunotherapies.

However, long-term use of aspirin has been linked to harmful side effects such as internal bleeding and organ damage. Thus, Prof Mandal and his team are exploring the potential use of small molecules that modulate the COX-IDO1 axis as anti-inflammatory drugs and immunotherapeutic agents, in the hope of developing safer drugs with fewer side effects.

The findings of this study could help researchers develop new drugs that work in a similar way to aspirin, but without the harmful side effects. Aspirin's mechanism of action on inflammation and immune response is still being studied, and there is much that researchers have yet to discover. However, this study provides important insights into how this drug works and how it might be used in the future.

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