Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.
Concept
Tacrolimus
Summary
Tacrolimus, sold under the brand name Prograf among others, is an immunosuppressive drug. After allogenic organ transplant, the risk of organ rejection is moderate. To lower the risk of organ rejection, tacrolimus is given. The drug can also be sold as a topical medication in the treatment of T-cell-mediated diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. For example, it is prescribed for severe refractory uveitis after a bone marrow transplant, exacerbations of minimal change disease, Kimura's disease, and vitiligo. It can be used to treat dry eye syndrome in cats and dogs.
Tacrolimus inhibits calcineurin, which is involved in the production of interleukin-2, a molecule that promotes the development and proliferation of T cells, as part of the body's learned (or adaptive) immune response.
Chemically, it is a macrolide lactone that was first discovered in 1987, from the fermentation broth of a Japanese soil sample that contained the bacterium Streptomyces tsukubensis.
It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
It has similar immunosuppressive properties to ciclosporin, but is much more potent. Immunosuppression with tacrolimus was associated with a significantly lower rate of acute rejection compared with ciclosporin-based immunosuppression (30.7% vs 46.4%) in one study. Clinical outcome is better with tacrolimus than with ciclosporin during the first year of liver transplantation. Long-term outcome has not been improved to the same extent. Tacrolimus is normally prescribed as part of a post-transplant cocktail including steroids, mycophenolate, and IL-2 receptor inhibitors such as basiliximab. Dosages are titrated to target blood levels at specific times after medication administration.
Medications used in treatment of eczema
As an ointment, tacrolimus is used in the treatment of eczema, in particular atopic dermatitis, if topical corticosteroids and moisturisers fail in helping. It suppresses inflammation in a similar way to steroids, and is equally as effective as a mid-potency steroid.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (1)
CH-317: Drug discovery and development
This course discusses the molecular basis of diseases and how drugs work. Concepts and processes employed in today's drug discovery and development are covered. The first part of the course focuses on
Related lectures (2)
Cyclic Peptides and Macrocycles
Explores cyclic peptides and macrocycles, their applications in drug development, and the role of bicyclic peptides in targeting specific proteins.
Synaptic Plasticity: Forms and Mechanisms
Explores different forms of synaptic plasticity and the mechanisms behind them, emphasizing the role of calcium in inducing and maintaining plastic changes.