Effects of boron-containing compounds on immune responses: review and patenting trends

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Boron-containing compounds induce effects on immune responses. Such effects are interesting to the biomedical field for the development of therapeutic tools to modulate the immune system.

Areas covered: The scope of BCC use to modify immune responses is expanding, mainly with regard to inflammatory diseases. The information was organized to demonstrate the breadth of reported effects. BCCs act as modulators of innate and adaptive immunity, with the former including regulation of cluster differentiation and cytokine production. In addition, BCCs exert effects on inflammation induced by infectious and noninfectious agents, and there are also reports regarding their effects on mechanisms involving hypersensitivity and transplants. Finally, the authors discuss the beneficial effects of BCCs on pathologies involving various targets and mechanisms.

Expert opinion: Some BCCs are currently used as drugs in humans. The mechanisms by which these BCCs modulate immune responses, as well as the required structure–activity relationship for each observed mechanism of action, should be clarified. The former will allow for the development of improved immunomodulatory drugs with extensive applications in medicine. Patenting trends involve claims concerning the synthesis and actions of identified molecules with a defined profile regarding cytokines, cell differentiation, proliferation, and antibody production.

KEYWORDS:

• Boron-containing compounds
• immune response
• cancer
• inflammatory diseases
• dermatology diseases

Article highlights

• Boron-containing compounds are used for some medical maladies involving the immune response.

• The main reported effects of BCCs on immune responses involve the treatment of inflammatory or neoplastic diseases.

• Most of the mechanisms for immune response modulation by BCCs are unclear.

• BCCs can modulate the entire immune response through action on one or more targets.

• The actions of BCCs on a target, often a protein, can be selective, and BCCs can exert biased or specific effects on innate, cellular or humoral responses. These activities can be applied for treating multiple diseases.

This box summarizes the key points contained in the article.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CB235785), Comision de Operacion y Fomento de Actividades Académicas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional Secretaria de Investigación y Posgrado del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (M1930).