Complement C3-Targeted Therapy: Replacing Long-Held Assertions with Evidence-Based Discovery
Dimitrios C Mastellos, Edimara S Reis, Daniel Ricklin, Richard J Smith, John D Lambris, Dimitrios C Mastellos, Edimara S Reis, Daniel Ricklin, Richard J Smith, John D Lambris
Abstract
Complement dysregulation underlies several inflammatory disorders, and terminal complement inhibition has thus far afforded significant clinical gains. Nonetheless, emerging pathologies, fueled by complement imbalance and therapy-skewing genetic variance, underscore the need for more comprehensive, disease-tailored interventions. Modulation at the level of C3, a multifaceted orchestrator of the complement cascade, opens up prospects for broader therapeutic efficacy by targeting multiple pathogenic pathways modulated by C3-triggered proinflammatory crosstalk. Notably, C3 intervention is emerging as a viable therapeutic strategy for renal disorders with predominantly complement-driven etiology, such as C3 glomerulopathy (C3G). Using C3G as a paradigm, we argue that concerns about the feasibility of long-term C3 intervention need to be placed into perspective and weighed against actual therapeutic outcomes in prospective clinical trials.
Keywords: AMY-101; C3 glomerulopathy; C3 inhibitors; anti-C5 therapy; clinical efficacy; compstatin.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflicts of interest
J.D.L., D.R. and R.J.S. are the inventors of patents and/or patent applications that describe complement inhibitors and/or their use for therapeutic purposes. J.D.L. is the founder of Amyndas Pharmaceuticals, which is developing complement inhibitors for clinical applications. The remaining authors declare no competing financial interests.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Figures
Source: PubMed