IL-18/IL-22 to Treat RV

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Introduction: Rotavirus (RV) is a common contagious viral infection that leads to inflammation of the stomach and intestines and therefore is one of the most common causes of severe diarrhea in children. Annually there are more than 55,000 hospitalizations in children younger than 5 years of age. As of 2020, 107 countries introduced the rotavirus vaccine but access to rotavirus vaccines is limited in many developing and even some developed countries. RV causes approximately half a million deaths each year around the world.. In addition, infants who have weakened immune systems, cancer, or receiving specific therapies should not get the RV vaccine and so they remain at risk. Currently there is no specific treatment for RV infection and therefore, there is a need for safe and efficient RV treatments to compliment the existing vaccine strategies. Technology: Expanding upon work earlier identifying that flagellin (a bacteria protein that activates the immune system) inhibits RV infection through the production of IL-18 and IL-22, Georgia State University Researchers have found that combined administration of IL-18 and IL-22 can be used to prevent or treats RV. In mouse studies, this combined administration of IL-22/IL-18 eliminated RV from both wild type as well as transgenic mice that are susceptible to chronic RV infection within 24 hours. This is in contrast to treatment of these mice with flagellin itself which was only effective after 48 hours and only in wild type mice. In short, these vivo studies have shown that this treatment can inhibit and remediate RV infection in young mice and in immune-compromised mice making it a potential therapeutic approach for those who cannot currently receive RV vaccines.