Anne van der Waaij: "The main goal of the research was to see where vedolizumab goes in the body and which cells it affects"

WE INTERVIEWED ANNE ABOUT HER PUBLISHED PAPER

What was the goal of your research?

Choosing the right treatment like vedolizumab for patients with Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is very important. To do this well, we need to understand how these drugs work. The main goal of the research was to see where vedolizumab goes in the body and which cells it affects. We did this by developing fluorescence vedolizumab that lights up in the bowel of the patients with IBD.

How did you conduct your research? What was your primary focus?

We performed forty-three fluorescence imaging procedures in thirty-seven patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In phase A, patients received an intravenous dose of fluorescently labelled vedolizumab prior to the fluorescence imaging procedure. In phase B, patients received an unlabeled dose of vedolizumab before the administration of fluorescently labelled vedolizumab. The fluorescence signals were visualized during an endoscopic procedure and in biopsies taken during the procedure.

What were the key take-aways / results?

• Fluorescence imaging enables the visualization of fluorescently labelled medication in the human bowel during endoscopy and in biopsies taken outside the body (ex vivo). It also showed increased signals when the dose of fluorescently labelled vedolizumab was increased.
• Giving an unlabeled dose of vedolizumab before the glowing dose reduces the glowing signals by 61%, showing that the drug targets are getting full.
• Fluorescence microscopy showed that vedolizumab is linked to different types of immune cells than previously thought, giving us new ideas about how the drug works.

Read the full publication here