Coya Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: COYA) announced publication of a study demonstrating regulatory T-cell dysfunction and increased inflammation in frontotemporal dementia patients, according to research published in Brain Communications journal.

The study examined blood samples from 27 frontotemporal dementia patients and 25 healthy controls. Researchers found significantly reduced regulatory T-cell suppressive function in dementia patients compared to controls. The analysis also showed increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNFα and several chemokines including CXCL10, CCL3, CCL19, CSF1, and CXCL12 in patient samples.

The research was conducted by Dr. Alireza Faridar and Dr. Stanley Appel at Houston Methodist Neurological Institute. Transcriptomic profiling of monocytes revealed dysregulation of immune-related genes in frontotemporal dementia patient samples.

"We believe these biomarker data coupled with the clinical and lab results of the clinical study in FTD provide additional evidence supporting the development of biologic combination therapies that enhance the function of regulatory T cells and target inflammation in FTD, ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases," said Dr. Fred Grossman, Coya's chief medical officer.

The company stated the findings support previous results from an investigator-initiated trial of low-dose interleukin-2 and CTLA-4 Ig in frontotemporal dementia patients. That earlier study showed the treatment increased regulatory T-cell numbers and function within two weeks, with patients maintaining cognitive stability over a 22-week treatment period as measured by Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Clinical Dementia Rating tools.

Coya is developing COYA 302, a combination therapy comprising low-dose interleukin-2 and CTLA-4 Ig, for treating neurodegenerative diseases. The company is currently conducting the ALSTARS Trial, a Phase 2 study evaluating COYA 302 for ALS treatment.