Italian researcher discovers an anti-myeloma molecule

Rome - It is one of the most important molecules expressed on the surface of many cell types in our body, but it has taken mankind 900 million years to discover it and understand its potential use in medicine. This ectoenzyme has resided in living organisms for million of years and has remained almost totally unchanged, further proving its importance and good performance.

An Italian researcher has revealed its in-vivo mechanism and outlined its application for clinical use. This is CD38, the ideal target for myeloma and the daratumumab, the new monoclonal antibody which is about to arrive in Italy to deal with this pathology. The human antibody is the first one of a family of cyclases. Thanks to its action mechanism, it can yield unparalleled therapeutic results in treating multiple myeloma. Fabio Malavasi, professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Turin, is the "father" of CD38.

After completing his studies in American universities and at the Basel Institute of Immunology, Prof. Malavasi returned to Italy in the 80s. He "rose to the challenge," he said, " to compete on the same level playing field with the best research institutions in the world, as it seemed possible at the time." The clinical process which was presented on Monday is the final step in a journey started over 100 years ago by Paul Ehrlich, who coined the concept of "magic bullet", i.e. an antibody capable of hitting pathological cells in a selective way, leaving healthy cells untouched. This is a pattern of exemplary simplicity which has nevertheless required more than a century to find the right operational tools. The development of the antibody was made possible after discovering the monoclonals, which are homogeneous antibodies that identify one single point or target on the molecule they need to bind. These agents can act perfectly as drugs.

The second step in Ehrilich's strategy was identifying the target against which to act. CD38 was the molecule chosen as a target among different ones. "CD38 never ceases to amaze us," said Prof. Malavasi. "We know it is a cell-surface molecule with innumerable and unusual functions, some of which are still to be defined: it has a 40% similarity with a protein isolated in the cytoplasm of a primitive shellfish, Aplysia californica. It is an incredible similarity if we consider the distance between shellfish and man. This shows that CD38 comes from a very distant past, more than 900 million years ago, but also that it plays a key-role in man's life."