An immunopeptide could help prevent or delay early-stage inflammatory arthritis, research shows. 

Scientists investigating the naturally occurring immunopeptide PEPITEM (Peptide Inhibitor of Trans-Endothelial Migration) have shown reductions in arthritic joint swelling to a degree comparable to the current standard of care, reducing inflammatory changes that cause joint damage. 

PEPITEM was first discovered by researchers at the University of Birmingham, who characterised the Adiponectin-PEPITEM pathway. The tightly orchestrated process regulates immune function and immune cell trafficking between different parts of the body, providing a natural homeostasis between immune activation and suppression.  

In a recent study, led by Professor Helen McGettrick from the University of Birmingham, UK with collaborators from the University of Federico III, Italy, researchers investigated how this pathway is dysregulated in inflammatory arthritis. 

Under normal conditions, a process called adiponectin leads to the bloodstream stimulating white blood cells to produce PEPITEM, reducing white blood cell migration in the tissues and preventing an unregulated inflammatory response. However, in inflammatory arthritis, white blood cells fail to respond to adiponectin and secrete less PEPITEM in the joint.  The natural ‘break’ that prevents white cell migration into the joint cavity is lost, and the inflammatory response becomes unregulated.  

A study in humans and animals, published in Arthritis and Rheumatology, shows PEPITEM ‘replacement therapy’ could help reduce inflammatory arthritis. 

“We have shown observable reversal of clinical disease manifestation, and PEPITEM has the potential to provide an alternative therapy to limit disease severity and progression in early-stage inflammatory arthritis,” McGettrick said. 

“There could be significant benefits over existing therapies, which are immunosuppressive in otherwise healthy populations, the risk of toxicity from natural peptide is extremely low, and administration in early disease could reduce reliance on steroids in the earliest phases of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.”