Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more
•••

immunosupressants

Repurposing a transplant drug for bone growth

The transplant immunosuppressant drug FK506, also known as tacrolimus or Prograf, can stimulate bone formation in both cell culture and animal models. This info comes from orthopedics researcher Nick Willett, PhD and colleagues, published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences (open access).

Nick Willett, PhD

The results suggest that FK506 might be repurposed as a “stand-alone” replacement for recombinant BMP-2 (bone morphogenic protein 2). That product has been a huge commercial success for Medtronic, in the context of spinal fusion surgeries, although controversial because of cost and side effects.

BMP-2 is more potent gram for gram, but FK506 still may offer some opportunities in local delivery. From Sangadala et al (2019)

One of Willett’s co-authors is orthopedics chair Scott Boden, MD, whose lab previously developed a system to search for drugs that could enhance BMP-2. Previously, other researchers had observed that FK506 can enhance the action of BMP-2 – this makes sense because FK506’s target protein is a regulator of the BMP pathway. Willett’s team used FK506 on its own, delivered in a collagen sponge.

“That is the big finding here, that it has the potential to be used on its own without any BMP-2,” he says.

The sponge is a possible mechanism for getting the drug to tissues without having too many systemic effects. Willett’s lab is now working on refining delivery, dosing and toxicity, he says.

Willett, based at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, is in the Department of Orthopedics and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory. He and Sree Sangadala, PhD (first author of the IJMS paper) currently have a grant from National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences on this project.

 

 

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Quinn Eastman in Immunology Leave a comment

Tailoring transplant drugs for children

For adult organ transplant recipients, juggling a lifetime regimen of immunosuppressant drugs is difficult enough, but for children it presents an even greater challenge.  These drugs, which also can have toxic side effects, must strike a delicate balance between preventing organ rejection and protecting from infections.

But children’s immune systems are still “learning” what distinguishes them from the world around them, and children are constantly developing and changing, both physically and emotionally. This puts them at greater risk for complications either through inappropriate medication or failure to take these drugs properly.

A grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will support new studies at Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to help clinicians tailor therapies specifically for children receiving transplants.  The project will include hiring of additional personnel to undertake these studies.

Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, is principal investigator of the project, which is supported by a two-year grant of nearly $1.65 million. Kirk is professor of surgery and pediatrics in Emory University School of Medicine and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. He also is vice chair of research in the Department of Surgery and scientific director of the Emory Transplant Center.

The ARRA-funded project will not only help determine which medications children should take, but also will give them the support to care for their transplanted organs.  The Emory scientists are studying new biological monitoring technologies that can identify unique ways to determine exactly how much medication a child really needs. These studies are being combined with a novel transition care clinic specializing in helping children cope with their illness and assuming responsibility for their care.

“This award indicates exceptional insight by the NIAID into the critical link between a child’s physical well-being and their emotional maturity,” says Kirk. “It will accelerate progress in this vital area of research for a very deserving subset of chronically ill children.”

Posted on February 10, 2010 by admin in Uncategorized 1 Comment