Treatment and Diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Dickkopf like protein 3 (DKK3) as a first therapeutic target for the treatment of IPF as well as a biomarker for diagnosis
Background
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic interstitial pneumonia with obscure etiology. Progressive and irreversible loss of alveoli leads to hypoxia, reduced mobility and even death in patients, resulting in a poor prognosis for IPF. The average survival of those diagnosed with IPF is only 2.8 years. The mortality rate is higher than that of most tumors, which is why IPF is called a “tumor-like disease”.
Technology Overview
A group of researchers at the Saarland University/Saarland University Medical Center, Germany, has discovered that patients suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) show increased levels of Dickkopf like protein 3 (DKK3) ‑ a specific glycoprotein ‑ in biological samples, which distinguishes IPF from other lung diseases such as COPD and cancer. Their research data shows, that mice deficient in this particular protein are majorly protected against IPF when compared to wild type mice, and that the researched DKK3 protein promotes IPF. It can therefore be used as a therapeutic target for the treatment of IPF and as a biomarker for diagnosis.
The team is currently investigating the role of the DKK3 protein in IPF in cell culture models. We hope to have further informative results by early 2026.
Stage of Development
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1
Benefits
The traditional treatment of IPF is mainly the administration of anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic drugs. Glucocorticoids can suppress the inflammatory response and the immune process. Immunosuppressants also inhibit the inflammatory response.
However, these types of drugs are not ideally effective in patients with moderate to advanced fibrosis, while having significant side effects. It is difficult to improve the pulmonary function or reverse the progression of the disease, and the development of fibrosis cannot really be prevented.
With Dickkopf like protein 3 (DKK3) this new technology presents for the first time a therapeutic target to alleviate the situation of patients with IPF and also majorly improves diagnostics, risk stratification and therapy monitoring.
Applications
The new target opens up a wide variety of approaches to the treatment of fibrotic lung diseases such as, but not limited to, compounds or compositions which:
- Inhibit or reduce the expression of Dickkopf like protein 3 (DKK3) or its mRNA
- Inhibit or reduce a function and/or the stability of DKK3
- Knock down/out the respective gene.
Further, it can be used as a biomarker in diagnosis and differential diagnosis, risk stratification, disease outcome, disease prognosis or differential severity analysis as well as a method in medical decision-making for individual patient therapy by monitoring therapy response.