Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists tout antibody as a lifesaver
ResearchImplications of discovery at foundation called staggering
BY SUSAN SIMPSON
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Published: October 27, 2009
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists say a newly discovered antibody could halt major internal bleeding from traumatic injuries such as those suffered in vehicle crashes or on a battlefield.
Foundation scientists discovered a protein called histone causes most of the damage. Normally, histones regulate DNA. But when body cells are damaged, the histones can be released into the bloodstream and attack the lining of blood vessels, causing life-threatening internal bleeding.
An antibody found in mice with auto-immune disorders could stop the histones and save lives, foundation researcher
Charles Esmon said.
"When we realized that histones were so toxic, we immediately went to work looking for a way to stop their destructive tendencies,” Esmon said.
Dr. Marc Monestier of
Temple University in
Philadelphia had discovered the mouse antibody.
The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation team tested the antibody in mice with bloodstream infections and found it stops the toxic effects of the histones.
People with auto-immune disease also make these antibodies, which could be cloned and developed into an injectable therapy for trauma patients, Esmon said.
He said the mouse antibodies also could be altered for human use.
"What we have is firm evidence that this is a potential treatment for severe infections,” he said.
Clinical trials on people are the next step but will require an infusion of money from a pharmaceutical company, Esmon said.
"The cost of developing a drug like this will be over $100 million,” he said.
Still, the implications are staggering, said
Dr. Stephen Prescott, foundation president.
"Dr. Esmon and his colleagues have not only found a new key player in cardiovascular injuries and disease, but they’ve taken this work and transformed it into a potential treatment for severe trauma, diabetes, pneumonia and any other condition that results in tissue death,” he said.
Esmon and foundation colleagues
Florea Lupu and
Jun Xu co-authored a paper on their discovery that is published online in the advance edition of the
journal Nature Medicine.
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