Synthetic Amino Acid Promotes Coronary Vessel Development

One of T_4's key mechanisms of action is its ability to regulate the cell-building protein actin, a vital component of cell structure and movement. Of the thousands of proteins in cells, actin represents up to 10% of the total protein and thereby plays a major role in the physiology of the cell. The study was published in the November 23, 2006, issue of the journal Nature.

T_4 was developed by RegeneRx (Bethesda, MD, USA). The company is developing drug candidates for T_4 in three principal areas: dermal, ophthalmic, and cardiovascular wound healing.

"These results are very exciting because most humans suffering from ischemic cardiac events, either acutely or chronically, do not develop the collateral vessel growth necessary to preserve and restore heart tissue. If, in humans, we see the same effects as seen in mice, T_4 would be the first drug to prevent loss of [heart] muscle cells and restore blood flow in this manner and provide a new and much-needed treatment modality for these patients,” said lead author Professor Deepak Srivastava, M.D., director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF, CA, USA).



Related Links:
University College London's Institute of Child Health
RegeneRx
University of California San Francisco