Researchers hope it's the next equivalent to insulin for cardiovascular disease.
A new University of Alberta study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday has researchers hoping they can replicate encouraging results seen in mice for human patients.
In a series of tests, the research team found significant health improvements when mice with aortic aneurysms and aneurysm specimens from humans were treated with a molecule called apelin when compared to the mice that weren’t.
While 50 per cent of the untreated mice died, all of the treated mice survived.
“We’re very excited about it,” Gavin Oudit, professor of cardiology at the U of A, told CTV News. “We were able to make a discovery. We were able to understand how we can apply it to patients with cardiovascular disease."
Trial and error
Beginning in Edmonton in 2014, the team worked with a medicinal chemist to develop a synthetic version of the apelin analogues that they say are very stable.
According to Oudit, the new version means the body’s enzymes went from taking minutes to break it down to hours.
“The beneficial effects were striking,” said Oudit. “The native peptide lasts for less than five minutes and our native analogue lasts for more than 24 hours.”
Currently there are no medical treatments that have shown positive results in reducing the growth rate of aortic aneurysms. Oudit hopes the synthetic form of apelin will change that when delivered to patients intravenously.
Seeking Investments
With the conclusion of the five-year study, funded through roughly $400,000 in grant money, the research team’s new goal is to move beyond the lab mice phase and gain regulatory approval.
“We’re on a mission to get this to patients as soon as possible,” Oudit said.
As a result of the team’s findings, a new biotech startup has been founded in collaboration with TEC Edmonton.
The company is now looking for investors to fund the commercial production of their apelin analogues.
“I think this is a great example of how translational research can start from the molecule and progress to the animal model so we can get an understanding of its clinical applicability, and from there hopefully turn it into new therapies for our patients.”
