“Long-Acting Anti IL-8 Antibody Improves Inflammation and Fibrosis in Endometriosis” in a 2023 published in Science Translational Medicine, vol 15, #684A, that describes the Japanese study into engineered antibodies for inflammation and fibrosis of endometriosis in monkeys with both natural endo and injected endo.

This study came out at the end of February, and has been making some waves in the science and endometriosis community due to the optimistic opportunity for those suffering with endometriosis. 

Put on by a team of researchers at the Translational Research Division of Chugai Pharmaceutical Company, the research is focused on how to minimalize, if not reverse, endometriosis growths in the body. 

These researchers developed AMY109 antibody therapy from recycled antibody technology that targets IL-8 receptors in the body – a part of the body that causes inflammation like in endometriosis – and binds to the receptor and blocks it. The therapy is administered subcutaneously or intravenously once monthly.

Let’s take a deeper look into the study, its results, and next steps:

To begin, the researchers did a gene study into women with, and without, endometriosis to see if there were any genes they shared that could point to endometriosis in the body. Through a small sample 14 patients – 10 with confirmed endometriosis and 4 without endometriosis – there was a surveillance of 250 genes involved in inflammation in human tissues. In the gene sample, a molecule called interleukin-8 (IL-8) which is part of the body’s inflammatory response, was signaled out. IL-8 is closely correlated with the inflammation that happens in the body. 

Essentially, IL-8  attracts immune cells to sites of inflammation. IL-8 is a cytokine, and cytokines can be either inflammatory or noninflammatory. Further, IL-8  attracts neutrophil (white blood cells) to one area, and this accumulation of white blood cells is a sign of acute inflammation.

Results of this gene sample led to developing AMY109, an antibody that binds to and blocks IL-8 signaling in the body. (AMY109 is patent protected, so it is unclear how other researchers will be able to do similar research on their own.) The researchers took this AMY109 and began studying its impacts on monkeys with endometriosis. 

The study was done on cynomolgus macaques, a primate that is similar to human’s biologically, physiologically and genetically – these monkeys have periods! All these monkeys had endometriosis. Some naturally, others had endometriosis injected into their bodies. These two groups of monkeys were injected with AMY109 for 6 months – group one being natural endometriosis and group two being injected endometriosis – both showed signs of their endometriosis minimizing if not reversing. 

As promising as this study is – which has about a 73% chance of moving to human trials – there are some limitations. Peritoneal fluid was not analyzed, and this signals pain in the body, and they could therefore not measure any endometriosis pain the monkeys may have had, so it’s unclear if pain management will be part of the AMY109. However, there is science to suggest that less inflammation reduces pain. Also, how AMY109 could impact fertility is also unclear. However, just like with pain, less inflammation suggests less fertility issues, however, this was not studied so is unclear yet.