Scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have started a new biotechnology company to apply one of nature’s courier systems to deliver a potentially life-saving medication.
The work, led by Robert Gourdie, director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Center for Heart and Reparative Medicine Research, takes advantage of nanoscale bubbles called exosomes.
But instead of shuttling biomolecules and genetic material throughout the body, these exosomes derived from cow’s milk will deliver a promising new drug to help patients after a damaging cardiac event.
In a study published in August in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Gourdie and colleagues showed that the alphaCT11 molecule had cardioprotective effects in mice, preventing the spread of cell death in heart muscle tissue – even when administered 20 minutes after a heart attack.
A challenge for realizing the potential of this therapeutic compound is getting it to the stricken heart tissue intact.
“The drug appears to be very effective, but the next question we’re asking is what is the best way to guide this drug to target heart cells, while making it convenient for patients to ingest? That’s what my lab and Tiny Cargo are addressing,” Gourdie said.
Peptide drugs, such as alphaCT11, are tiny, fragile chains of amino acids that aren’t absorbed into the bloodstream if they don't break down quickly in the stomach and small intestine. As a result, these types of drugs are often administered to patients via injections to overcome stability and absorption limitations.