Advancing Immunotherapy for Heart Failure - Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

A type of immunotherapy approved to thread arthritis and other inflammatory conditions could also help treat heart failure. With funding and collaboration from the PET-RTRC’s TR&D 2 project (led by Yongjian Liu, PhD) and a collaborative project led by Kory Lavine, MD, PhD, the research team used genetic methods to demonstrate that a signaling molecule called IL-1 beta was part of the process to create scar tissue in heart failure. At least two FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies can block IL-1 signaling. And previous trial data “provides hints that the monoclonal antibody could be beneficial for patients with heart failure, ” Lavine said.