Novelty:
The outlined invention features the novel therapeutic implications of a drug in preventing cardiac cell loss that occurs in myocardium infraction.
Value Proposition:
The technology describes the application of a drug to treat a major public health problem for which there is no current medical treatment option. The main features of the invention are:
• The drug protects loss of heart cells from ischemic/reperfusive injury (IR) by effectively blocking the expression of a protein critical in mediating cardiomyocyte cell death.
• The drug is already in clinical use, known to be safe in human patients at the approved dose, is easy to administer, and has minimal side effects.
• This treatment option is amenable to all age groups, should contribute to a decrease in mortality, hospitalization cost, and rehabilitation time after paralysis.
Technical Details:
Johns Hopkins University researchers have provided evidence that a drug already in use for other indications can be used to protect heart cells from IR injury. IR injury is the mechanism that causes massive amounts of cell loss after the blood supply is reestablished following myocardium infarction. Specifically, mouse heart HL-1 cells were used to demonstrate that the drug effectively blocks the expression of a protein that plays a role in mediating cardiomyocyte cell death, which is a prominent and important pathogenic feature of cardiac ischemia. Drug treatment of cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions inhibited the expression of this protein. Additional testing under conditions that mimic myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury confirms that low concentrations of the drug are sufficient in reducing the cell death induced by hypoxia.
Looking for Partners:
To develop and commercialize the disclosed technology as a non-surgical therapeutic target and treatment option to limit myocyte cell loss in patients after cardiac infarction.
Stage of Development:
Pre-Clinical
Publications & Patents Status:
PloS one. 2016 Feb 17;11(2):e0148685; US 20150209304
