NIH SciBites: A Smarter Way to Silence Inflammation

Why It Matters

By offering targeted inflammation control without systemic side effects, PAMs could transform treatment of the diseases responsible for the majority of global mortality.

Key Takeaways

• Chronic inflammation drives ~60% of global deaths today
• Traditional anti‑inflammatories act systemically, often causing side effects
• Researchers created positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) to amplify natural signals
• PAMs act only where inflammation signals are present, enhancing precision
• Early lab results show PAMs are stronger yet maintain targeted safety

Summary

NIH postdoctoral researcher Matteo Pavan unveiled a novel therapeutic strategy aimed at chronic inflammation, a condition implicated in roughly 60% of worldwide deaths and a driver of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

Current anti‑inflammatory drugs act like a sledgehammer, suppressing inflammation throughout the body and often producing harmful side effects. Pavan’s lab instead targets a specific molecular switch that naturally dampens inflammation, using positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) to boost the body’s own signal only where needed.

Describing PAMs as a “microphone” that amplifies endogenous anti‑inflammatory cues, the team reported that their latest PAM compounds are more potent than previous versions while preserving precise, localized activity in early laboratory assays.

If the approach translates to human medicine, it could deliver safer, disease‑modifying treatments for millions suffering from chronic inflammatory disorders, accelerating the path from bench to pharmacy.

Original Description

Long-lasting inflammation is thought to drive many diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Matteo Pavan, a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is helping to develop medications that amplify the body’s own natural anti-inflammatory signals. By boosting the volume of the body’s internal messages instead of creating new ones, these medications could tamp down persistent inflammation with fewer side effects.

Click here to learn more about the research being done in Matteo’s lab: https://irp.nih.gov/pi/kenneth-jacobson