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Shelved diabetes drug could save the lives of transplant patients, research shows

Breakthrough: The new research could save lives: PA
Breakthrough: The new research could save lives: PA

A potential breakthrough in preventing life-threatening organ rejection in transplant patients was hailed by London researchers today.

About one in six patients who receive a new heart die within a year, with survival rates worse among those who undergo a joint heart and lung transplant.

A team at Queen Mary University of London has discovered that a diabetes drug which was shelved before completing its development could be “re-purposed” to end rejection.

This is likely to be far cheaper and quicker than having to produce a new drug. The trial drug has also passed tests showing it is safe to use in humans.

Federica Marelli-Berg, professor of cardiovascular immunology at QMUL, who led the research, said: “With this research we’ve hit upon a completely different way to stop organ rejection. Our next step is to take the drug into clinical trials. If the trials are successful, these findings could prove to be life-changing for patients who have had a transplant.”

The research could be life-changing for patients (PA)
The research could be life-changing for patients (PA)

There were 4,755 organ transplants on the NHS in 2016/17, including 197 heart transplants. Almost 6,500 patients are on the waiting list.

Researchers hope that clinical trials could begin shortly on patients undergoing kidney transplants. The QMUL team found that the abandoned type-2 diabetes trial drug - known only as AZD1565 and manufactured in Cambridge by AstraZeneca - was better than immunosuppressive drugs at preventing rejection.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: “Heart transplantation has come a long way since the first heart transplant nearly 50 years ago. However, when our immune system rejects the donated heart this can have devastating consequences.

“With this research we are one step closer to reducing the number of people suffering from organ rejection, and to prevent people from rejoining a growing transplant waiting list.

“Ultimately, our hope is that people who have undergone this procedure will live longer, healthier lives with a healthy donor heart.”

Drugs currently used to prevent organ rejection typically have to be taken for the rest of the patient’s life but have a number of side effects.

These include putting patients at a greater risk of infection and of cancer, as their effect cannot be restricted only to the part of the immune system responsible for organ rejection.

However, the diabetes drug acts in a more targeted way. It increases the activity of an enzyme called glucokinase, which kick-starts the “migration” of regulatory T-cells within organs, sending three times as many as normal to the site of an inflammation.

These T-cells, known as the guardians of the immune system, prevent it from rejecting a transplanted organ.

The team’s research, which involved studies on mice and on human blood, is published in the journal Immunity. Professor Marelli-Berg said the drug could also benefit patients with chronic autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes and lupus, during which the immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissue.

John Forsythe, associate medical director for organ donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “This research is clearly at a very early stage but we are supportive of any research in this area.”