Reprogrammed macrophage as a “cellular breakwater”

Patent number: 2739572

Authors: Igor Malyshev, Andrey Pihlak, Larisa Kuznetsova, Sergey Kalish, Svetlana Lyamina, Vladimir Logachev, Natalia Mutyeva

Patent owners: Igor Malyshev, Andrey Pihlak, Larisa Kuznetsova

Cytokine storm is the explosive reaction of the body’s immune system to inflammatory processes. In a cytokine storm, the innate immune system (macrophages, in particular) causes an uncontrolled and excessive release of inflammatory agents (cytokines). Normally, cytokines are part of the body’s immune system response to infection, but their sudden release in large quantities can cause multisystem organ failure and death. Cytokine storms can be caused by coronaviruses, atherosclerosis, hypertension, gout and many other diseases.

By blocking the pro-inflammatory intracellular signaling pathways and further stimulating the anti-inflammatory pathways inside the cell, Russian scientists managed to obtain a reprogrammed macrophage.

Macrophages that encourage inflammation are called M1 macrophages, whereas those that decrease inflammation and encourage tissue repair are called M2 macrophages. The reprogrammed macrophage converts the natural existing M1 macrophages to the M2 phenotype. Thus, it blocks the production of inflammatory agents while increasing the production of anti-inflammatory ones. Moreover, it automatically reduces the release of anti-inflammatory agents when inflammatory stimuli disappear. As a result, the reprogrammed macrophage preserves the resources of the cell, protecting the immune defense system from exhaustion.

In other words, this invention is a kind of “cellular breakwater” which destroys “inflammatory waves” and prevents them from gaining additional destructive momentum amidst a cytokine storm.