-Data Elucidate Role of Company-identified Enzyme, Synuclein Nitrase, in Parkinson’s Disease-
BRISBANE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company deploying its NITROME platform to build a pipeline of therapies targeting nitrases, a new class of enzymes discovered in-house that are involved in a broad variety of diseases, today announced the company presented the poster titled “Synuclein Nitrase, a Novel Enzyme that Catalyzes Nitration of Synuclein, Modulates Dopaminergic Neuron Activity” (abstract #110.04 / B29) at the Society for Neuroscience 2022 (SFN) conference held from November 12-16, 2022 in San Diego, CA.
The company has identified a novel enzyme, Synuclein Nitrase, that catalyzes nitration of alpha-synuclein, which has been implicated in dopamine neuron pathologies in Parkinson’s disease (PD). In preclinical studies, Nitrase examined the effect of knocking out Synuclein Nitrase on the survival, growth and electrical activity of differentiated dopaminergic neurons (iDAs) derived from human iPSC lines from both non-PD and familial PD (fPD) patients. Data showed that fPD iDAs had higher weighted mean firing rate and higher network burst frequency, but reduced synchrony as compared to non-PD iDAs. Knocking out Synuclein Nitrase increased synchrony in PD and non-PD neurons. Knocking out Synuclein Nitrase also reduced synuclein accumulation in the insoluble fraction of preformed fibril (PFF) treated iDAs. These studies establish that reducing Synuclein Nitrase levels can reduce electrophysiological deficits and insolubility of synuclein in PD iDA neurons.
“Knocking out Synuclein Nitrase in differentiated dopaminergic neurons improves two key pathologies that are dysregulated and implicated in Parkinson’s disease progression - neuronal electrical activity and solubility of synuclein,” said Irene Griswold-Prenner, Ph.D., founder and chief scientific officer of Nitrase Therapeutics. “These data demonstrate that targeting Synuclein Nitrase could serve as a novel disease-modifying therapeutic for patients with Parkinson’s disease.”
About Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc.
Nitrase Therapeutics is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company deploying its unique NITROME platform to unlock the therapeutic potential of nitrases, a new class of enzymes that it discovered, to develop a pipeline of therapies against a broad range of diseases. The medicines that Nitrase Therapeutics is developing will target these enzymes and potentially help slow or halt the progression of numerous diseases in which nitrases and nitro-substrates play a role, including Parkinson’s, cancer, immunological and fibrotic diseases. Nitrase Therapeutics (under the former name Nitrome Biosciences) has been widely recognized and has won multiple awards including the prestigious Target Advancement grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). Nitrase Therapeutics is located in Brisbane, CA, and its investors include Sofinnova Partners, AbbVie Ventures, Dementia Discovery Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, Mission Bay Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.nitrasetx.com.
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