Research Reveals Aspirin’s Role in Blocking Inflammatory Protein Interleukin 4

The MYSTERIES OF ASPIRIN

Everyone is aware of the pain-relieving properties of aspirin, dating back to ancient Greece, but how this drug actually works remains a mystery. A group of researchers from the Johns Hopkins University has discovered that aspirin inhibits interleukin 4, a protein involved in allergic reactions and inflammation. This observation explains some of the less well-known properties of the drug, such as its effectiveness in preventing heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Known mechanism of action and new discoveries

Since 1970, it has been known that aspirin acts as an inhibitor of the prostaglandin hormone, which causes muscle contractions and inflammation, but this does not fully explain its action. Vincenzo Casolaro describes in an article published in the journal “Blood” his experiments, in which T lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of aspirin.

The resulting reduction in interleukin 4 levels allowed researchers to establish that aspirin blocks a region of DNA that encodes a promoter for this protein. Since interleukin 4 promotes the recruitment of inflammatory cells from the bloodstream, a process involved in rheumatoid arthritis and many heart diseases, scientists believe that its suppression is a plausible explanation for aspirin’s mechanism of action.