New Research In Isreal

[geokozmo]

I found this reporting in the Isareli (daily) haaretz.com it is (also) about new drug research to cure celiac disease.

The year before, Devary took part in a seminar at Tel Aviv University together with a fellow scientist, Prof. Azriel Sandler. The seminar was about the discovery of new hormones consisting of peptides (protein chains). Insulin, which regulates the level of sugar in the blood, is one example of a peptide hormone.

Devary left the seminar feeling dissatisfied. Insulin is made by the pancreas, and when its production goes haywire for whatever reason, diabetes results. Devary wondered why no single drug similar in potential to insulin had been discovered in the last 10 years, even though oceans of money had been poured into the search.

"From about 1994 or 1995 to 2004, some $4 billion had been put into finding new peptide hormones, but the result was beigeleh," he says, or, zilch.

"It turned out that science's ability to discover new peptide hormones was limited," he relates. "We left the seminar feeling irritated, and for a year played around with the idea of finding a new way to discover peptide hormones."

Then came a eureka moment that led to the discovery of a genetic sequence, which might, might just be a peptide hormone on chromosome 10.

Humans have 46 chromosomes, in 23 pairs, and for all the hype surrounding genetic engineering and the revival of the woolly mammoth, scientists are far from understanding how our genetic material - DNA - actually works. Research continues apace, however, and in the case of ISK, the discovery was a "virtual" one, Devary explains - an "intelligent guess" based on better use of existing computerized tools.

They were pleased with the discovery, he says, but didn't actually do anything about it.

Until his wife became involved, that is.

"She heard the conversations and asked why we weren't checking the discovery physically. Perhaps a peptide with medical abilities could be produced," he says. "Finally we decided to check it out in depth. I used my own money and bought a PCR device." That's shorthand for "DNA polymerase chain reaction" machine.

What the DNA polymerase chain reaction machine does is replicate a piece of DNA, using enzymes. That DNA then serves as a template for protein production.

The long and short of it is that the genetic sequence they'd discovered becomes a protein that is expressed in the thyroid gland, which is responsible for the development of the body's immune system.

The thyroid is also "responsible" for the development of autoimmune system diseases, which is when the immune system goes awry, overreacts and attacks the body. Examples include multiple sclerosis, Addison's disease, another is celiac disease.

Discovering that the peptide was involved in immune system development was crucial. Devary and Sandler obtained $100,000 from private investors and family members, and began clinical trials on animals. They found that the peptide was efficient in helping to treat Crohn's Disease, which attacks the intestines, and various conditions of the blood, including leukemia.

So far ISK has registered five patents on its pet peptide, based on its uses. Now Devary intends to take the company to the next stage, though the team has yet to decide which direction to go in - toward Crohn's or leukemia. Meanwhile, Ichilov Hospital, at the Tel Aviv Medical Center, has granted permission for human clinical trials of the peptide for diagnostic purposes. More specifically, the peptide is being tested for two roles: to detect early-stage leukemia, when it's easier to treat, and to detect people with a heightened tendency to develop the disease, Devary explains.

[ShayFL]

A lot of research is very interesting....but somethings in this article sound sketchy to me:

The thyroid is also "responsible" for the development of autoimmune system diseases.

They pulled the thyroid out of a hat here. Thyroid regulates metabolism, body temperature, etc. I am sure it has an indirect affect on the immune system, but I have never heard of it implicated in ANY sort of immune dysfunction (as a trigger).

[AliB]

Me too Shay - but then I am pretty skeptical of anything Medical Science discovers! They seem to get a lot more wrong than they ever get right - all they ever seem to do is to be desperately looking for the next panacaea - regardless of whether it works or not - as long as it brings in the dosh......