Cyclosporine
NeoralPubChem CID 5284373 · 3D model
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Blocks a signal inside immune T cells that would normally tell them to multiply and attack, which is why it's used to stop the body from rejecting a transplanted organ or attacking its own tissue in autoimmune disease.
How it works
Cyclosporine calms down T cells, the immune cells responsible for attacking foreign tissue like a transplanted organ. Inside a T cell, cyclosporine latches onto a protein called cyclophilin, and together they block a second protein, calcineurin, that normally acts as a switch telling the cell to start multiplying and mounting an attack. With that switch blocked, T cells stop receiving the signal to multiply. Cyclosporine doesn't kill immune cells — it just keeps them quiet, which is why it has to be taken continuously in transplant patients.
What it’s used for
Cyclosporine (Neoral) is used to stop the body from rejecting a transplanted kidney, liver, or heart, usually alongside other anti-rejection medicines. It's also prescribed for severe rheumatoid arthritis that hasn't improved enough with methotrexate, and for severe plaque psoriasis that hasn't responded to other treatments.
- Mechanism
- Calcineurin inhibitor (immunosuppressant)
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Transplant Immunology