The research group of Professor Kiyotaka Nakagawa, a lecturer at Tohoku University's Eika Mishima Hospital, has collaborated with Professor Kenichi Yamada of Kyushu University to apply cells to various existing drugs such as promethazine, which is also a component of cold medicine, and rifampicin, which is an antibacterial drug. Discovered that it has the effect of suppressing ferrotosis, which is a type of death.It was clarified that it is effective in alleviating symptoms in mouse models of acute kidney injury and liver injury.

 Ferroptosis is one of the cell deaths triggered by lipid peroxidation.It is said to be involved in the causes of diseases such as acute organ damage and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, and the development of drugs that suppress ferroptosis is desired.

 From past studies, it has been found that some of the drugs metabolized by the foreign body / drug metabolizing enzyme "cytochrome P450 family" have an action of suppressing lipid peroxidation.Drugs that can suppress lipid oxidation are expected to have the effect of suppressing ferrotosis, so the research group searched for drugs with such effects and verified their therapeutic effects in acute organ damage experiments.

 From the search for drugs using cultured cells, it was found that various existing drugs such as promethazine, which is a component of cold remedies, and rifampicin, which is an antibacterial drug, suppress ferrotosis.We also clarified the mechanism for suppressing ferroptosis.Furthermore, it was found that promethazine and rifampicin, which show a ferrotosis-suppressing effect even at low concentrations, alleviate renal damage and liver damage by suppressing ferrotosis even in acute kidney injury and acute liver injury model mice.

 By finding drugs that suppress ferrotosis cell death among the existing approved drugs already used in clinical practice, these drugs can be applied and developed as therapeutic drugs for pathological conditions related to ferrotosis in the future. Be expected.

Paper information:[Journal of the American Society of Nephrology] Drugs Repurposed as Antiferroptosis Agents Suppress Organ Damage, Including AKI, by Functioning as Lipid Peroxyl Radical Scavengers

Tohoku University

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Tohoku University has a rich culture and humanity based on the tradition of "research first principle" since its opening, the idea of ​​"opening the door" and the spirit of "respect for practical science", and is a phenomenon of human beings, society and nature. In response to this, human resources with the ability to carry out intellectual exploration with a "scientific mind", demonstrating their expertise in various fields from an international perspective and leading […]

Kyushu University

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Kyushu University is a comprehensive university with 12 faculties and 19 graduate schools.We have been designated as a "designated national university corporation" that can develop outstanding education and research activities of the world's highest level and become an international base.Through “comprehensive knowledge” that combines the “knowledge” of the humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, and design that we have accumulated so far […]

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