Korean Researchers Find Potential Anti-Rejection Compound

Korean researchers report they have isolated a compound from soil bacteria that inhibits T cells, raising the possibility that it may be useful for preventing organ rejection in transplant recipients.

The compound is called tautomycetin (TMC) and researchers report that when tested in rats that underwent a heart transplant, those given TMC had comparable survival to animals given the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin with less damage to other organs.

Dr. Sang-Kyou Lee of Yonsei University said his team identified TMC by passing thousands of potential compounds through a screening test designed to measure how well the compounds inhibit T cells, which are key to the body's immune defenses..

Reporting in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lee said TMC was was able to block proliferation of T cells in a dose 100-fold lower than that needed to achieve a similar effect with cyclosporin.

The drug is currently in the early stages of investigation, and it remains to be determined if the compound is safe for humans and will actually work in humans as an anti-rejection therapy..