The Marseillaise: You have uncovered the role of lambda interferons in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This makes it a target for possible treatment. How to do it?
Achille Broggi: We could use monoclonal antibodies, produced in the laboratory, to block them. It doesn’t exist yet. But there are already monoclonal antibodies used as treatments. The most used target a pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF).
In previous work, you showed the role of these same lambda interferons in Covid-19. Didn’t that start a search for antibodies to block them?
A.B. : No, but our study – along with others – helped improve the use of interferons as a treatment – envisaged at the start of the pandemic, before vaccines proved more effective. Treating with interferons was only effective early in the infection. When it was too advanced, patients were treated with anti-inflammatories.
In the case of IBD, wouldn’t blocking lambda interferons pose other problems because they are still active in the immune system?
A.B. : Indeed… Hence the importance of discovering the reactions caused by the increased presence of lambda interferons and which involve other proteins, notably ZBP1 and gasdermin C. By inhibiting them, we could target cell death without impact the other functions of interferon. Unfortunately, no drugs target these molecules today. But these are avenues.
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