The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Study: DPP4 Inhibitors Yield Promise for Systemic Sclerosis Treatment

Study: DPP4 Inhibitors Yield Promise for Systemic Sclerosis Treatment

November 12, 2020 • By Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
Plaques of thickened skin on the back of a patient with diffuse systemic sclerosis.

Plaques of thickened skin on the back of a patient with diffuse systemic sclerosis.
SPL / Science Source

A recent paper in Arthritis & Rheumatology opens up the possibility of a new research avenue to treat systemic sclerosis: dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, a previously approved therapy for type 2 diabetes.1 Work in mouse models and on skin samples from systemic sclerosis patients suggests these drugs pose a promising area of future translational research.

You Might Also Like
  • Lenabasum for Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis
  • More Effective Antifibrotic Therapies for Systemic Sclerosis in Development; Adverse Events A Concern
  • New Studies Identify Possible Markers of Early Systemic Sclerosis
Explore This Issue
November 2020
Also By This Author
  • Psoriatic Arthritis: A Look Back at Moll & Wright’s Landmark 1973 Paper

TGF-β, DPP4 & Fibrosis in Systemic Sclerosis

Fibroblasts play a critical role in wound healing. When activated by local environmental conditions, the cells differentiate into myofibroblasts. These activated cells release profibrotic mediators, contract the tissue and provide the central source of extracellular matrix needed for wound repair.2

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Alina Soare, MD, a rheumatologist in the Department of Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, University Hospital Erlangen, Germany, is first author of the recent paper on dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors. Dr. Soare points out that in normal wound healing, fibroblast activation stops as soon as the damage has been repaired. However, she notes, “in fibrotic diseases, tissue remodeling continues, with persistence of myofibroblasts in affected tissues.” For reasons that are not fully understood, fibroblasts sometimes maintain this activated state in an uncontrolled manner, causing excessive release of extracellular matrix and disrupting physiological tissue architecture.1,2

This fibrotic tissue remodeling plays a pathophysiological role in many diseases, including atherosclerosis, liver cirrhosis, renal fibrosis and many cancers.2 It is also one of the key characteristics of systemic sclerosis, where chronic activation of fibroblasts leads to the severe disability and morbidity associated with the condition.1

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Broad evidence from different fibrotic diseases has demonstrated that persistent activation of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) plays a key role in this process of fibrosis, promoting the activation of fibroblasts and their differentiation into their fibrotic myofibroblast state.1,3 Dr. Soare notes, “TGF-β plays a crucial role in systemic sclerosis-related fibrosis, as it stimulates the synthesis of extracellular matrix protein, decreases the release of collagen-degrading metallo­proteinase and stimulates the production of protease inhibitors, which prevent the breakdown of extracellular matrix.”

The protein dipeptidyl peptidase 4 is a serine protease that can modulate intracellular signaling. Among other properties, it is thought to play a role in immune regulation.1 Previous work has demonstrated that fibroblasts that express DPP4 constitute a distinct fibroblast subset, a group that seems to play a critical role in fibrosis and wound repair.4 This and other factors led the team to explore the role of DPP4 in fibrosis in the context of systemic sclerosis. 

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, Research Reviews, Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes Tagged With: DPP4 inhibitor, systemic sclerosis (SSc)Issue: November 2020

You Might Also Like:
  • Lenabasum for Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis
  • More Effective Antifibrotic Therapies for Systemic Sclerosis in Development; Adverse Events A Concern
  • New Studies Identify Possible Markers of Early Systemic Sclerosis
  • Diagnostic Criteria, Classification Lacking for Vasculitis; New Research in Treatment for Systemic Sclerosis

About Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD

Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, was born and raised in eastern Kentucky, where she first cultivated her love of literature, writing and personal narratives. She attended Kenyon college, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, summa cum laude. She worked with individuals with psychiatric conditions and later in a neuroscience lab at the University of Illinois, Chicago, before graduating from Indiana University Medical School in 2011. Instead of pursuing clinical medicine, Ruth opted to build on her strength of clearly explaining medical topics though a career as a freelance medical writer, writing both for lay people and for health professionals. She writes across the biomedical sciences, but holds strong interests in rheumatology, neurology, autoimmune diseases, genetics, and the intersection of broader social, cultural and emotional contexts with biomedical topics. Ruth now lives in Bloomington, Ind., with her husband, son and cat. She can be contacted via her website at ruthjessenhickman.com.

View more by this author»

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)