More targeted endothelial protection

Pharmacology The bioactive lipid S1P exerts effects in diverse tissues. Unbiased agonists of the S1P receptor S1P1 trigger a reduced lymphocyte count, or lymphopenia, a useful feature when treating autoimmune diseases but an undesirable side effect when activating S1P1 in other cell types. Poirier et al. identified a G protein–biased S1P1 agonist, SAR247799, which maintained endothelial function and reduced tissue damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury in two different animal models. The characteristics of SAR247799 show that it is possible to target S1P1 in the endothelium without compromising immune responses. Sci. Signal. 12 , eaax8050 (2020).