About This Project
This projects aims to construct and validate a new cell based assay for a novel Parkinson's target, GPR37. The assay once built can provide an avenue to determine if GPR37 is a good target and provide the ability to look for drugs that will help minimize or halt the progression of the disease. Once the cell based assay is built and validated additional funding will be sought in order to screen the assay for potential drugs for PD.Ask the Scientists
Join The DiscussionWhat is the context of this research?
GPR37 is an orphan G-protein coupled receptor that has been implicated in PD pathology. A hypothesis has been advanced that the accumulation of misfolded GPR37 contributes to PD progression via stress responses. If this is the case, then GPR37 antagonists could be therapeutically beneficial, and in the most optimistic scenarios they could slow or even halt disease progression.
What is the significance of this project?
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive movement disorder. Nearly one million people in the US are living with Parkinson's disease. The cause is unknown, and there is presently no cure. This project will investigate a new target for Parkinson's, GPR37. An assay with the potential to find drugs that can slow or even halt the progression of PD.
What are the goals of the project?
The goal of this project is to build and validate the GPR37 drug screening assay. With additional funding antagonists screens will be performed to assess their potential as lead compounds for new Parkinson’s drugs. Based on our screening experience with a number of GPCRs, we are confident that we will succeed in identifying such ligands. This does not mean, of course, that the molecules will have therapeutic value. But we do know that GPCRs are among the most druggable of all proteins, so that if GPR37 is a good target in principle (i.e., if its biology is such that perturbing its function would have therapeutic benefit), it is likely to be a good target in practice.
Budget
SpectraGenetics already builds cell based assays utilizing its licensed technology for screening projects at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
We are looking for funding to build assays for select targets that do not yet have commercial value, but may have tremendous potential to improve human health. GPR37 is one such target.
Meet the Team
Team Bio
I hold a Ph.D. in chemistry from Washington State University. I have been involved in developing and bringing new drug screening technologies to the market for more than 15 years, primarily at large public companies. I discovered SpectraGenetics a few years ago and became enamored with their new screening technology invented by Dr. Jon Jarvik of Carnegie Mellon University and a co-founder of SpectraGenetics. I have seen first hand this technologies ability to discover new drugs to established targets as well as for new and orphaned targets.I am motivated to develop new assays for less commercially viable targets. Targets that may have tremendous impact on human health, but are not yet at the forefront. GPR37 is one such target.
I am also a husband and a father to 3 young boys. I spend many hours playing with and coaching them in baseball, basketball and hockey. I marvel at their musical talents, each has played numerous times at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh.
G. Reid Asbury
I hold a Ph.D. in chemistry from Washington State University. I have been involved in developing and bringing new drug screening technologies to the market for more than 15 years, primarily at large public companies. I discovered SpectraGenetics a few years ago and became enamored with their new screening technology invented by Dr. Jon Jarvik of Carnegie Mellon University and a co-founder of SpectraGenetics. I have seen first hand this technologies ability to discover new drugs to established targets as well as for new and orphaned targets. I am motivated to develop new assays for less commercially viable targets. Targets that may have tremendous impact on human health, but are not yet at the forefront. GPR37 is one such target. I am also a husband and a father to 3 young boys. I spend many hours playing with and coaching them in baseball, basketball and hockey. I marvel at their musical talents, each has played numerous times at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh.
Lab Notes
Nothing posted yet.
Additional Information
The banner image and those shown above are all examples of cell based assays of other disease targets. The images are from living cells. The red color represents activated targets (the drug provided a response) and the green represents targets without a response. We simple measure red and green to determine the response of a potential drug.
Assays will be performed using a proprietary live-cell assay system that was developed by Carnegie Mellon University and licensed to SpectraGenetics. This system has been shown to detect agonist and/or antagonist responses for multiple GPCRs and has been validated in high throughput mode against multiple targets including b2AR (high blood pressure), CCR5 (HIV-co-receptor, inflammation, arthritis, multiple sclerosis), CXCR4 (HIV-co-receptor, cancer) and GPR32 (orphan receptor). The assay takes advantage of genetically encoded fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) reporters that are fused to the receptor and detected by automated flow cytometry.
Project Backers
- 3Backers
- 4%Funded
- $175Total Donations
- $58.33Average Donation