New substance blocks cell death
Scientists from the Medical Faculty at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg have discovered a new approach to the treatment of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases.
The "Translational Inflammation Research" working group led by CDS member Prof. Dr. Inna Lavrik has developed a new substance to block controlled cell death (apoptosis) of cancer cells. In collaboration with the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Immunology (IMKI), the Institute of Experimental Internal Medicine (IEIM) and ACTREC, TATA Memorial Centre, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, computer-based methods were used in combination with experimental analyses. The research results could contribute to the development of new medication against neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases.
"All diseases in our body are associated with a dysregulation of apoptosis. In order to develop new, specific therapies, it is crucial to develop substances that either inhibit or promote apoptosis," explains Prof. Dr. Inna Lavrik.
The study succeeded in designing a synthetic peptide that blocks the key regulator protein of apoptosis, procaspase-8. This finding could offer new possibilities for therapies against diseases with a high apoptosis rate.
The study by the research team led by first authors Corinna König, Nikita Ivanisenko and Laura Hillert-Richter was published in the renowned journal Cell Chemical Biology.
The interdisciplinary research work of the "Translational Inflammation Research" working group combines the fields of apoptosis, inflammation, structural biology, pharmacology and systems biology. Researchers from the various faculties of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems work together at the Research Center Dynamic Systems (CDS) - Biosystems Engineering.