New studies could lead to approved drugs to treat brain injuries
A new US study has shown that a peptide called CAQK has shown neuroprotective effects in models of traumatic brain injury.
The research, which was led by Aivocode, a biotech start-up in the US, and undertaken in collaboration with the University of California, has shown that when given intravenously shortly after injury in animal models, CAQK targeted damaged areas of the brain, reducing inflammation, cell death and tissue damage and improved memory and motor function.
CAQK is a peptide (a chain of four amino acids - the basic components of proteins) which can have a therapeutic impact on tissues. CAQK works by binding to glycoproteins, which increase in damaged brain tissue after trauma. Once bound, CAQK appears to limit damaging effects to the brain and has been found to reduce lesion size compared with control groups.
Dr Aman P. Mann, the study’s first author, said “Behavioural and memory tests conducted after [CAQK] treatment also showed improvement in functional deficits, with no evident toxicity.”
In addition, researchers from the University of San Francisco have recently showed that fibroblasts - healing cells usually active elsewhere in the body - also help repair brain injury by moving from protective membranes around the brain into damaged tissue, forming scars and enhancing healing in the early stages of injury. Similar drugs are already in clinical trials for lung and liver fibrosis conditions and it may be possible to adapt these to treat brain injuries.
Treatment for traumatic brain injury is currently limited to stabilising patients by lowering intracranial pressure and maintaining blood flow and no licensed drugs are available at present. However, the discoveries made in these two recent studies potentially could form the basis of new treatments for traumatic brain injury and lead to the development of approved drugs in the future.
The academic studies can be access via the links below:
Dynamic fibroblast–immune interactions shape recovery after brain injury | Nature
A neuroprotective tetrapeptide for treatment of acute traumatic brain injury | EMBO Molecular Medicine
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