Ambulances for the brain supported by the RecerCaixa Programme
Gate2Brain is one of the projects to receive research funding from the Obra Social “la Caixa”
The results of the IRB Barcelona project could have applications in various neurodegenerative diseases
Of the 221 projects presented, only 26 have been awarded funding
The project “Gate2Brain, peptide shuttles for protein replacement therapy in Friedreich’s ataxia”, led by Ernest Giralt, head of the Peptides and Proteins Lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and full professor of the University of Barcelona, and by Javier Díaz Nido, at the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO), has been awarded funding from the RecerCaixa Programme—an initiative of the Obra Social “la Caixa” with the collaboration of the Associació Catalana d’Universitats Públiques (ACUP).
This project seeks to establish a new therapeutic approach to Friedreich’s ataxia based on the replacement of the frataxin protein that patients lack. However, this approach could be used for other neurodegenerative diseases. By means of peptide shuttles loaded with the protein, the project aims to transport potential drugs for the treatment of these diseases across the barrier that protects the brain against infection, the so-called blood-brain barrier. Currently, only 2% of the drugs tested for diseases of the central nervous system reach their target. In this regard, Gate2Brain would provide a solution for a clear social need.
2014 marks the fifth call of the RecerCaixa Programme for research funding. This year’s call received applications from 221 projects from 47 institutes. Of these, 26 (11.8% of the total) have been granted funding amounting to a total of more than 2 million euros.
The call is highly competitive given the quality and number of projects presented—these addressing fields ranging from the social sciences and humanities through to the health sciences. This year’s funding has been given to 20 projects in the social sciences and 6 in the health sciences.
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In its “Preguntas Big Van” section, the newspaper La Vanguardia has interviewed IRB Barcelona researcher Meritxell Teixidó about her project, which seeks to develop “shuttles” that transport drugs into the brain. In this regard, 98% of drugs that start to be developed to treat diseases of the central nervous system are abandoned because they cannot cross the barrier that protects the brain. Inspired on bee and scorpion venom, Teixidó has identified several families of peptides capable of crossing this barrier.
Meritxell Teixidó, a researcher at IRB Barcelona, has been interviewed on the TVE2’s documentary ¡Qué animal! about her work with peptides from scorpion and bee venom in search of drugs that can reach the brain. "These poisons are able to reach the brain, which explains their toxicity. It is precisely this capacity that attracts us to examine their applications," explains Teixidó.
Link to TVE
It is estimated that one in four people will require brain treatment at some point. While there are drug candidates for most diseases of the brain, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses an impassable obstacle for most of these compounds and a bottleneck for the delivery of drugs that could cure these patients.
