Scientific Research Update 2024
Autoimmune disease is a major health threat that is increasing worldwide. It develops when the body’s immune system erroneously attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. More than 80 autoimmune diseases exist, reflecting an urgent need for better awareness and more research to improve treatment options and health outcomes for patients.
The Erna Baird Memorial Grant (EBMG) was established to support biomedical research into one of the most debilitating and potentially fatal autoimmune diseases called Wegener's Granulomatosis - now known as Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis or GPA. The research has been conducted at University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto under the auspices of geneticist Dr. Kathy Siminovitch and her colleagues.
GPA affects people of all ages, genders and ethnicities. Individuals living with the disease experience a disrupted immune system and inflammation of the blood vessels causing pain and devastating damage to any organ in the body including the skin, joints, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, eyes, brain, nerves, sinuses, nose and ears. Like all autoimmune diseases, GPA is challenging to diagnose and treat. It cannot be prevented or cured and may lead to early death. Genetics and various environmental factors interact to influence both the onset and the outcome of the disease.
In memory of Erna Baird - beloved wife, mother and grandmother - who passed away from GPA on June 6, 2011, the Grant would like to share the most recent findings of its supported medical research.
NEW DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND NEW TARGETS FOR TREATMENT
With the support of the EBMG, genetic alterations key to the development of GPA have been identified. Working together with a USA vasculitis research consortium, Dr. Siminovitch and her team analyzed over 2000 GPA patients and identified four new genes - all involved with immune functioning - as pivotal contributors to risk for the disease. Over the past 2 years, the team and their collaborators at University of Pennsylvania Hospital (Peter Merkel) and Baylor School of Medicine (Chris Amos) have identified more GPA risk genes and established that blocking one of the genetic pathways (PR3 pathway) represents a promising new treatment for GPA.
A partnership with researchers from Yonsei University College of Medicine in South Korea permitted vital genetic information to be shared to identify the specific cellular pathways involved in the development of the disease. The Grant enabled further exploration of the immune cell alterations associated with poor clinical outcomes in GPA, especially those relevant to the failure of patients to respond to treatment and to post-treatment disease recurrence. This research builds on patient involvement in understanding GPA and on new technology allowing for very comprehensive characterization of a person's immune system status at any point in time. Most recently, this work has enabled the discovery of an immune profiling marker panel that predicts future relapses in GPA patients who appear clinically stable, and allows for interventions that prevent relapses. The new findings show that immune profiling is not only applicable to GPA, but to all autoimmune diseases.
PATIENTS AND SCIENTISTS PARTNERING TO FIND A CURE
The objective of the Erna Baird Memorial Grant is to continue to provide funding for medical research in pursuit of solid, scientific breakthroughs which will result in finding a cause and cure for all autoimmune diseases. We are also grateful to Vasculitis Foundation Canada (VFC) for supporting those with GPA and their families, and for encouraging them and VFC members to provide the biological samples required to conduct this research.
For more information, or to support this research, please contact Catherine Wallace at UHN Foundation at 416-271-9243or visit www.ernabairdmemorialgrant.com