UC San Diego

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a wide-spreading and debilitating pathophysiological condition that accompanies a substantial personal and economic burden. Remarkably, despite its prevalence, very few treatment options are available for muscle wasting. Mechanistic studies have shown that activin type 2 receptors (ActRIIA/B) and their ligands are potent regulators of muscle atrophy, and their inhibition has the potential to attenuate, and even reverse muscle loss. Here, we present a novel active immunotherapy approach for inhibiting these receptors using virus-like particle vaccines. We demonstrate that the vaccines generate high titer levels and exhibit a high binding capacity and specificity against both ActRIIA and ActRIIB.