Cancer drug may offer hope in rheumatoid arthritis

An old cancer drug could be used to prevent the rejection of transplanted tissue, says research published in PLOS ONE.

The finding could lead to new treatments for people with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis as well as transplant patients.

“Our group were studying the effects of the old tumour drug Zebularine, developed in the USA in the 1960s, and by chance we discovered that it had completely unexpected effects on the immune system”, says Leif Salford, who led the work.

“It turned out that Zebularine has the ability to subdue the reaction of the body’s immune system. This could be important in situations where tissue or organs are transplanted. We also think it could be used to curb the body’s attacks on its own tissue in autoimmune diseases, for instance type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis,” says Dr Nittby.