Immunology

Aspect Biosystems Appoints Three New Board Members – Business Wire

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aspect Biosystems, a biotechnology company pioneering the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics to transform how we treat disease, is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors: Dr. Nancy Krieger, Dr. Don Haut, and Dr. Devyn Smith.

I am excited to extend a warm welcome to Nancy, Don, and Devyn as they join Aspects Board of Directors, said Tamer Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer, Aspect Biosystems. Each of them brings substantial experience in regenerative medicine and we are thrilled to have them join our mission as we move towards the next stage of growth.

About Aspects New Board Members

Dr. Nancy Krieger is the Chief Medical Officer of Talaris Therapeutics, a recently public late-clinical stage cell therapy biotech. She has over 18 years of global experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including leadership positions at Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis in areas spanning solid organ and stem cell transplantation, immunology, rare disorders, and chronic kidney and liver diseases. Before joining industry, Dr. Krieger had an active practice in liver transplantation as well as a basic science laboratory. She completed her transplant fellowship at the University of Wisconsin and general surgical residency at Stanford University, including a postdoctoral fellowship in Stanfords immunology department. Dr. Krieger earned her MD at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

I am thrilled to be joining the Board of Aspect Biosystems, said Dr. Nancy Krieger. As a transplant surgeon I am passionate about the tremendous potential of Aspects 3D bioprinting technology for regenerative cellular therapies, with the ultimate possibility of replacing organ transplants without the need for life-long immunosuppression.

Dr. Don Haut is currently the CEO of Carmine Therapeutics, a discovery-stage, non-viral gene therapy company with operations in Boston and Singapore. Throughout his career, Dr. Haut has completed transactions exceeding $8 billion. As Chief Business Officer of AskBio, he led the firms business development activities and spearheaded AskBios $4 billion acquisition by Bayer AG. Originally trained as a molecular biologist before joining McKinsey, Dr. Haut has since held senior business roles at 3M Company, Smith & Nephew, The Medicines Company, Promedior, Histogenics, Sherlock Bio, and AskBio. He earned his PhD in Molecular Biology from the Medical School at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an MBA from Washington Universitys Olin School of Business.

When I first learned about what Aspect Biosystems was doing, my first thought was Wow! said Dr. Don Haut. My second thought was it would be great to work with those folks they are really onto something. So, I am delighted to be joining Aspect the team, the technology, and the mission are all outstanding."

Dr. Devyn Smith joined Arbor Biotechnologies as CEO in 2021 after concluding his role as COO of Sigilon Therapeutics. Prior to Sigilon, Dr. Smith worked in a variety of roles at Pfizer Inc., including COO of the UK-based Neusentis Unit focused on discovering and developing cell therapies. He received his PhD in Genetics from Harvard Medical School. He is an inventor on multiple patents and has published in leading scientific journals throughout his career. Dr. Smith is a board member and officer for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, the leading international advocacy organization dedicated to realizing the promise of regenerative medicines and advanced therapies.

I am excited to join the board of Aspect Biosystems, said Dr. Devyn Smith. I look forward to partnering with Tamer and the talented team at Aspect to build a successful company that delivers novel cellular therapies to patients with high unmet needs.

For full list of board members, visit http://www.aspectbiosystems.com/about.

About Aspect Biosystems

Aspect Biosystems is a biotechnology company creating bioprinted tissue therapeutics to transform how we treat disease. Aspect is combining its proprietary bioprinting technology, therapeutic cells, biomaterials, and computational design to create a pipeline of allogeneic tissues that replace or repair damaged organ functions. The company is also partnering with leading researchers and industry innovators worldwide to tackle the biggest challenges in regenerative medicine. Learn more at aspectbiosystems.com.

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Aspect Biosystems Appoints Three New Board Members - Business Wire

Immunology

Corbus Presents First Pre-Clinical Data for CRB-913 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2022 Annual Conference – PR Newswire

NORWOOD, Mass., Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Corbus Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRBP) ("Corbus" or the "Company"), an immunology company, announced that preclinical data for CRB-913 are being presented today in an oral presentation at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2022 Annual Conference taking place in Stockholm, Sweden.

The data show that in the diet-induced obesity (DIO) mouse model, CRB-913 monotherapy demonstrated a reduction in body weight, body fat content, food consumption, liver triglycerides, and liver fat deposits as well as improvements in insulin resistance and leptinemia. Combining CRB-913 with the incretin analogues liraglutide, semaglutide, or tirzepatide demonstrated significant additive effects across all these outcomes.

"The data presented today are exciting as they demonstrate that CRB-913 is a differentiated CB1 inverse agonist with improved pharmacokinetic properties compared to the first generation of these drugs while still retaining the same efficacy," commented Rachael Brake, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Corbus. "Furthermore, potentially combining CRB-913 with an incretin analogue into a single therapy could meaningfully enhance the current standard of care as well as expand the number of patients who could benefit from anti-obesity drug therapy."

The EASD presentation is available on the company's website at: 58th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) presentation on CRB-913 (CB1 Inverse Agonist).

About Corbus

Corbus is an immunology company committed to helping people defeat serious illness by bringing innovative scientific approaches to well understood biological pathways. Corbus' current pipeline includes anti-integrin monoclonal antibodies that block activation of TGF and small molecules that activate or inhibit the endocannabinoid system. Corbus is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts. For more information on Corbus, visit corbuspharma.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the Company's restructuring, trial results, product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statement that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management's current beliefs and assumptions.

These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including the potential impact of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of sustained social distancing efforts, on our operations, clinical development plans and timelines, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Corbus Investor Relations[emailprotected]

SOURCE Corbus Pharmaceuticals

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Corbus Presents First Pre-Clinical Data for CRB-913 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2022 Annual Conference - PR Newswire

Immunology

KSQ Therapeutics Announces Leadership and Board Additions – Business Wire

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KSQ Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases using its proprietary, integrated discovery CRISPRomics platform, today named Micah Benson, PhD as the new Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and announced the addition of a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Tom Leitch, to the KSQ leadership team. Dr. Benson previously served as Senior Vice President, Immunobiology for KSQ and has been a catalyst for the companys adaptive cell therapy programs. He will succeed Frank Stegmeier, PhD, who served as KSQ's founding CSO, who is leaving to pursue a new opportunity. Dr. Stegmeier will join KSQ's Board of Directors. Board member Pearl Huang, PhD, is stepping down from the board.

"Micah's work leading our Immunobiology Team has been invaluable in advancing our engineered TIL (eTIL) programs, and his appointment as CSO comes at a critical time, as we move those programs towards the clinic. We're also thrilled to have Tom on board as our new CTO, as he brings deep experience in cell & gene therapy, manufacturing sciences, CMC strategy development, manufacturing operations, quality, and supply chain," said Qasim Rizvi, Chief Executive Officer of KSQ Therapeutics. "I would also like to thank Frank for his contributions to KSQ since the companys founding. Frank's scientific leadership has shaped and guided KSQ into the company it is today, and we're thrilled he will remain an advisor and member of our Board of Directors. Similarly, I would like to thank Pearl for her guidance over the last three years. I wish her the best in future endeavors."

"KSQ's CRISPRomics platform has the potential to change the foundation of how we treat a wide variety of cancers and autoimmune diseases and has already generated multiple high impact programs that are either in or nearing clinical trials. I look forward to continuing to advance our science and leading our fantastic team," said Dr. Benson.

KSQ has made great strides advancing its CRISPRomics platform, identifying important disease targets and pioneering therapies to target them. Im impressed by the tenacity and incredible hard work of this team, and Im energized to work closely with them to realize our goal of developing transformative therapies for the patients that we all serve, said Leitch.

Micah Benson, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer

Micah has over 15 years of academic and industry experience as an immunologist and drug hunter. Prior to joining KSQ, Micah served as Head of Tolerance Therapeutics in the Immunology and Inflammation Research Unit at Pfizer, Inc. He earned his PhD in Immunology from Dartmouth Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School. He has authored several patents and published extensively in top-tier scientific journals.

Tom Leitch, Chief Technology Officer

Tom brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in cell and gene therapy, biologics, and vaccines. His experience spans manufacturing sciences, CMC strategy development, internal and external manufacturing operations, quality, engineering, tech transfer, and supply chain across a broad range of leading biopharmaceutical companies.

Leitch came to KSQ from bluebird bio, where, as head of Manufacturing, he led the development and execution of the company's manufacturing strategy during a period of rapid growth that expanded the network to include more than ten internal and external manufacturing sites around the world. Before bluebird, Tom held roles at Alexion and Merck. He holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in engineering from Virginia Tech.

About KSQ Therapeutics

KSQ Therapeutics is advancing a pipeline of tumor- and immune-focused drug candidates to treat cancer and autoimmune disease across multiple drug modalities, including targeted therapies, adoptive cell therapies, and immunotherapies. KSQ's proprietary CRISPRomics discovery engine enables genome-scale, in vivo validated, unbiased drug discovery across broad therapeutic areas. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.ksqtx.com and follow @ksq_tx on Twitter.

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KSQ Therapeutics Announces Leadership and Board Additions - Business Wire

Immunology

University of Kentucky Equine Research Hall of Fame announces awardees – DVM 360

Esteemed award is an international forum celebrating noteworthy achievements in equine research and individuals who have significantly impacted equine health

The University of Kentucky (UK) Gluck Equine Research Center unveiled the 2022 inductees to the Equine Research Hall of Fame. The winners include Lisa Fortier, DVM, PhD, DACVS; Katrin Hinrichs, DVM, PhD; Jennifer Anne Mumford, DVM; and Stephen M. Reed, DVM.

The scientists were nominated by their fellow peers and past awardees. Nominees may be living or deceased, active in or retired from the field of equine research.

In research, we always stand on the shoulders of those who go before us with great discoveries. This years recipients have made substantial contributions that will ensure an excellent future for equine research, expressed Nancy Cox, UK vice president for land-grant engagement and College of Agriculture, Food and Environment dean, in a university release.1

The success of Kentuckys horse industry is inseparable from the decades of hard work by outstanding equine researchers, added Stuart Brown, chair of the Gluck Equine Research Foundation. Though impossible to measure, it is a unique privilege to recognize the impact made by these four scientists in advancing the health and wellbeing of the horse and, on behalf of the entire equine community, show our appreciation.

Below are the details of each awardee1:

Throughout the past 30 years, Fortier has been renowned for her substantial contributions in equine joint disease, cartilage biology, and regenerative medicine. Her research focuses on early diagnosis and treatment of equine orthopedic injuries to prevent permanent damage to joints and tendons. She is most well-known for her work in regenerative medicine, spearheading the use of biologics such as platelet rich plasma, bone marrow concentrate, and stem cells for use in horses and humans. Additionally, Fortiers lab has been key in strides associated with cartilage damage diagnosis and clinical orthopedic work.

Fortier achieved her bachelors degree and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Colorado State University. She finished her residency at Cornell, where she also earned a PhD and was a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology. Currently, she serves as the James Law Professor of Surgery at Cornells College of Veterinary Medicine. She is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and serves on the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Racetrack Safety Standing Committee.

Hinrichs dedicates her career to research mainly in equine reproductive physiology and assisted reproduction techniques. Her focus has consisted of equine endocrinology, oocyte maturation, fertilization, sperm capacitation, and their application to assisted reproduction techniques.

Her 40 years of research have resulted in various notable basic and applied research accomplishments. The applied achievements include generating the first cloned horse in North America and creating the medical standard for effective intracytoplasmic sperm injection and in vitro culture for equine embryo production. She has mentored over 85 veterinary students, residents, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows in basic and applied veterinary research. Her laboratories have hosted about 50 visiting scholars worldwide.

Hinrichs achieved her bachelors degree and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of California, Davis. She finished residency training in large animal reproduction at the University of Pennsylvanias New Bolton Center and received a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mumford is a posthumous inductee who received international respect as among the most prominent researchers of equine infectious diseases, specifically equine viral diseases. Her career at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom, began when she was deemed the first head of the newly established equine virology unit. Her work focused on the leading causes of acute infectious respiratory disease in the horse, mainly equine herpesvirus and equine influenza virus, and to a lesser extent,Streptococcus equi.

Mumford impacted several of these realms, including developing enhanced vaccines, diagnostics, and international surveillance. Additionally, she helped create research groups in the related fields of equine genetics and immunology.

Throughout Mumfords over 30 year-career, she helped the Animal Health Trust be recognized as one of the worlds leading centers for the study of the biology, epidemiology, immunology and pathology of diseases.

Reeds nominators deemed his as the last word in equine neurology. He is known as among the most prominent equine neurologists worldwide. His list of 180 peer-reviewed publications feature important contributions to equine medicine, neurology, physiology and pathophysiology. He has shared in his accomplishments as a mentor and role-model for hundreds of aspiring equine practitioners.

Reed received his bachelors degree and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from The Ohio State University. He finished his internship and residency training in large animal medicine at Michigan State University.

The UK Gluck Equine Research Foundation will induct the 4 winners into the UK Equine Research Hall of Fame October 26, 2022 at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky.

Reference

Wiemers H. UK Equine Research Hall of Fame inductees announced. UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. News release. September 13, 2022. Accessed September 20, 2022. https://news.ca.uky.edu/article/uk-equine-research-hall-fame-inductees-announced-1

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Immunology

Everything to know about the Monkeypox vaccine | Health – Red and Black

In May 2022, the United States confirmed the first monkeypox case in Massachusetts. As of Sept. 24, there have been 24,846 confirmed cases in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Monkeypox virus is a part of the same family as the variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Individuals who are infected may experience a milder version of smallpox symptoms, according to the CDC.

The most common symptoms are rashes that initially may look like pimples or blisters, and can appear on various parts of the body such as the face, inside the mouth, hands, feet and genitals, the CDC said.The lesions are often described as painful until the healing phase. The illness normally lasts 2-4 weeks. The virus is rarely fatal.

Monkeypox can be spread to anyone through close contact with a person that is infected. The virus can be transmitted through intimate physical contact such as sex, kissing, hugging or direct contact with infectious rashes, scabs or fluids.

Jeff Hogan, an animal health researcher at the University of Georgias Department of Infectious Diseases, said once a person is infected with monkeypox, the virus begins to slowly replicate to where it spreads systemically in the body. This means that after the rashes appear on the skin, the virus will spread through the circulatory system, which deals with pumping blood through the body, and to the internal organs such as the spleen and liver.

When it comes to creating the vaccine for monkeypox, the process in which the virus is repeatedly grown causes it to be diluted and not as harmful as it originally was, Hogan said. Later on, the weakened live virus is injected into a person as the vaccine.

Once an individual has been vaccinated, the virus will replicate in the body, Hogan said. With the presence of the virus in the body, white blood cells respond against the virus by creating antibodies.

The immune system would recognize that vaccine as something foreign, generating the antibodies response, said Jarrod Mousa, a UGA assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases. The antibodies would then create a long lasting protection against monkeypox and smallpox.

With the shortage of vaccine availability, the vaccines are given with a decrease in the dosage.

Overall, the decrease in dosage may be beneficial to the individual getting vaccinated as it also decreases the number of adverse effects, Hogan said, but the person needs to have enough of the virus particles in order for the antibodies to be created.

The decrease in dosage has led to the monkeypox vaccine being administered two different ways: subcutaneously, where the vaccine is inserted in a layer of fat between the skin and muscle, and intradermally, where the vaccine is injected into the top layer of the skin, according to the CDC.

Rama Amara, a professor at Emory Universitys vaccine center and department of microbiology and immunology, said injecting the vaccine into the skin and giving a lower dose of it could produce an immune response. There are different kinds of cells in the skin that trigger the white blood cells to make antibodies.

In comparison to the COVID-19 virus, the monkeypox vaccine is a live virus while the COVID-19 dealt with an mRNA vaccine, Mousa said. The COVID-19 vaccine uses messenger RNA as its genetic material but the vaccines are only the instructions for making a part of the virus, meaning that the live virus is not injected.

According to Mousa, with monkeypox, once the individual is vaccinated, the DNA of the live virus gives instructions to the cells on how to make more of it. The virus has proteins on its surface and contains DNA on the inside to store its genetic material.

For individuals who are planning to get vaccinated, it is important to look at risk factors, Amara said. We need to think about people with HIV [and who had a] transplant; these are more vulnerable people. So we need to see if we are going to see an increased infection among these people, Amara said.

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Everything to know about the Monkeypox vaccine | Health - Red and Black

Biochemistry

Shining lights on the cell – ASBMB Today

The cellular machinery is a remarkable system that is able to regulate myriad life processes with exquisite specificity by responding to a variety of environmental cues. This essential regulation is achieved through a network of highly dynamic signaling molecules that are regulated both spatially and temporally.

Inspired by natures fluorescent proteins and photosensors, biochemists have made tremendous advances toward developing new classes of genetically encoded protein tools to detect and control signaling activities with high spatiotemporal precision. With these new tools, new kinds of biochemistry, biology and cell biology are being discovered on a regular basis.

For the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual meeting, Discover BMB, in Seattle in March, we have assembled symposia featuring some of the top experts in these diverse fields who will discuss new tools for manipulating and visualizing the activity of enzymes and other classes of protein activity in living cells across a range of settings. As an example of the impact of these tools, we will highlight the emerging field of liquidliquid phase separation as an organizing principle of cell signaling uniquely identified by advances in our ability to probe and control biomolecules in vitro and in cells.

Keywords: Optogenetics, fluorescent biosensors, protein engineering, phase separation.

Who should attend: Biochemists, cell biologists and protein engineers interested in novel protein-based tools to observe and control cellular behavior as well as new concepts in cellular organization that have emerged from use of these reagents.

Theme song: Blinding Lights by The Weeknd.

This session is powered by high-quality photons from the UV to the infrared.

Toolkit for native biochemistry: Sensors, actuators and computational toolsKevin H. Gardner (chair),City University of New York Advanced Science Research CenterKlaus Hahn,University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSabrina Spencer,University of Colorado BoulderDavid van Valen,California Institute of Technology

Spatiotemporal control of cellular signalingJin Zhang (chair),University of California, San DiegoMark von Zastrow,University of California, San FranciscoLukasz Bugaj,University of PennsylvaniaAnton Bennett,Yale University

Liquidliquid phase separation as a signaling paradigmChristine Mayr (chair),Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterZhijian "James" Chen,University of Texas Southwestern Medical CenterSarah Veatch,University of MichiganShana ElbaumGarfinkle,City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center

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Shining lights on the cell - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Scope of Biochemistry in Pakistan | Jobs, Salary, And Career – The Academia Mag

Choosing a career is a tough task, especially when it comes to deciding which degree one wants to choose. It can be a tough decision, as we dont know what the future holds, or which career would be in high demand in the coming days. However, the field of biochemistry is always on the rise, and it opens a gateway to multiple job opportunities once you graduate with a degree in biochemistry. Students often wonder if the scope of biochemistry is good in Pakistan or if they will have a bright future with the qualification of biochemistry. Well, if you are interested and very much passionate about biochemistry but confused if this qualification has any scope in our country, then you have landed on the right page. Because in this article we will discuss everything related to biochemistry as to what is the scope of this qualification, the jobs, the salary, and what career opportunities it holds.

Read on!

Biochemistry is the chemistry of biological processes. This subject deals with all kinds of biological processes which involves chemical reactions like reproduction, metabolism, growth, etc. Biochemistry also includes the sciences of biophysical chemistry, neurochemistry, bioorganic, etc. Biochemistry helps individuals understand biology at a molecular level, it also offers a wide variety of techniques that are critical for conducting research in biomedical or agricultural fields. It has also made quite significant contributions towards understanding as well as finding the DNA structures.

Many students often ask this question while choosing a higher education degree because everyone wants a secure future with a great job. Well, one thing is for sure, there is a huge demand and scope in the field of biochemistry in Pakistan so the students wanting to pursue this degree can choose it in an instant. A graduate in biochemistry can easily find a good job whether in a private or a public sector. There are multiple fields in which a biochemist can easily get employment. In fact, biochemistry is a field where an individual can very quickly make a rewarding secure career.

The employment of biophysicists and biochemists is expected to grow by a whopping 15% in the coming years. After obtaining a degree in biochemistry, the graduates can easily get great work opportunities in a wide range of fields which includes hospitals, education sectors, agriculture, research organizations, food institutes, and much more. The demand for biochemistry has always been on the rise in Pakistan and it will continue to do so. Hence, biochemistry is a good career in Pakistan.

Read more: Scope of Food Science and Technology in Pakistan

As biochemistry is known to be used in a vast variety of fields which includes agriculture, pharmaceutical companies, research organizations, education sectors, etc. People who hold a degree in biochemistry can work in numerous places and fields. This may include:

The salary of biochemists varies from industry to private sector or public sector. It also depends on the qualifications and skill sets one has. But an average salary of a biochemistry graduate would be from approximately 50,000- 65,000 per month. However, the salary may raise with the passage of time and may go up to 75,000- 150,000 per month.

Good Luck!

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Scope of Biochemistry in Pakistan | Jobs, Salary, And Career - The Academia Mag

Biochemistry

Computation is the new experiment – ASBMB Today

After decades of playing second fiddle, computation is now taking center stage achieving critical insights that experimentation alone cannot provide. We are witnessing a dramatic rise in artificial intelligencebased methods coupled with year-on-year improvements of physics-based approaches. We now can fold a protein accurately from sequence alone!

Game-changing methods in protein and enzyme design are hurtling toward us. Scientists now can integrate numerous experimental data sets into computational models to explore previously unseen elements at (and across) scales never before achieved. Computational simulations are rewriting textbooks from molecules to system dynamics and function. Machine learning is transforming drug design and development.

All in all, you will not find a symposium at Discover BMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, filled with more excitement and possibility than ours. Buckle up for a thrilling ride in March in Seattle!

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, structural biology, simulation, drug discovery, bioinformatics, systems biology, machine learning.

Who should attend: All who want to find out how computation is transforming biological problem-solving.

Theme song: Respect by Aretha Franklin, because computation deserves it.

This session is powered by a powerful flux capacitor.

Structure determinationDebora Marks,Harvard Medical SchoolRommie E. Amaro (chair),University of California, San DiegoRamanathan Arvind,Argonne National Laboratory; University of ChicagoJason Perry,Gilead Sciences Inc.

Drug designJohn Chodera,Sloan Kettering InstituteDavid Baker,University of WashingtonSteve Capuzzi,Vertex PharmaceuticalsCelia Schiffer (chair),University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Bioinformatics / Systems biologyMarian Walhout,University of Massachusetts Chan Medical SchoolJanet George,Intel CorporationIvet Bahar (chair),University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineHenry van dem Bedam,AtomWise Inc.

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Computation is the new experiment - ASBMB Today

Biochemistry

Green tea molecule can break up protein tangles in the brain that cause Alzheimers – News-Medical.Net

Scientists at UCLA have used a molecule found in green tea to identify additional molecules that could break up protein tangles in the brain thought to cause Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

The green tea molecule, EGCG, is known to break up tau fibers -; long, multilayered filaments that form tangles that attack neurons, causing them to die.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, UCLA biochemists describe how EGCG snaps tau fibers layer by layer. They also show how they discovered other molecules likely to work the same way that would make better potential candidates for drugs than EGCG, which can't easily penetrate the brain. The finding opens up new possibilities for fighting Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related diseases by developing drugs that target the structure of tau fibers and other amyloid fibrils.

Thousands of J-shaped layers of tau molecules bound together make up the type of amyloid fibrils known as tangles, first observed a century ago by Alois Alzheimer in the post-mortem brain of a patient with dementia. These fibers grow and spread throughout the brain, killing neurons and inducing brain atrophy. Many scientists think removing or destroying tau fibers can halt the progression of dementia.

"If we could break up these fibers we may be able to stop death of neurons," said David Eisenberg, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry whose lab led the new research. "Industry has generally failed at doing this because they mainly used large antibodies that have difficulty getting into the brain. For a couple of decades, scientists have known there's a molecule in green tea called EGCG that can break up amyloid fibers, and that's where our work departs from the rest."

EGCG has been studied extensively but has never worked as a drug for Alzheimer's because it's ability to dismantle tau fibers works best in water, and it doesn't enter cells or the brain easily. Also, as soon as EGCG enters the bloodstream it binds to many proteins besides tau fibers, weakening its efficacy.

To investigate the mechanisms through which EGCG breaks up tau fibers, the researchers extracted tau tangles from the brains of people who died from Alzheimer's and incubated them for varying amounts of time with EGCG. Within three hours, half the fibers were gone and those that remained were partially degraded. After 24 hours, all the fibers had disappeared.

Fibrils in the middle stage of EGCG-induced degradation were flash frozen, and images of these frozen samples showed how EGCG snapped the fibrils into apparently harmless pieces.

The EGCG molecules bind to each layer of the fibers, but the molecules want to be closer together. As they move together the fiber snaps."

David Eisenberg, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Kevin Murray, who was a UCLA doctoral student at the time and is now in the neurology department at Brown University, identified specific locations, called pharmacophores, on the tau fiber to which EGCG molecules attached. Then he ran computer simulations on a library of 60,000 brain and nervous system-friendly small molecules with potential to bind to the same sites. He found several hundred molecules that were 25 atoms or less in size, all with the potential to bind even better to the tau fiber pharmacophores. Experiments with the top candidate molecules identified from the computational screening identified about a half dozen that broke up the tau fibers.

"Using the super-computing resources available at UCLA, we are able to screen vast libraries of drugs virtually before any wet-lab experiments are required," Murray said.

A few of these top compounds, most notably molecules called CNS-11 and CNS-17, also stopped the fibers from spreading from cell to cell. The authors think these molecules are candidates for drugs that could be developed to treat Alzheimer's disease.

"For cancer and many metabolic diseases knowing the structure of the disease-causing protein has led to effective drugs that halt the disease-causing action," Eisenberg said. "But it's only recently that scientists learned the structures of tau tangles. We've now identified small molecules that break up these fibers. The bottom line is, we've put Alzheimer's disease and amyloid diseases in general on same basis as cancer, namely, that structure can be used to find drugs."

CNS-11 is not a drug yet but the authors call it a lead.

"By studying variations of this, which we are doing, we may go from this lead into something that would be a really good drug," Eisenberg said.

The paper, "Structure-based discovery of small molecules that disaggregate Alzheimer's disease tissue derived tau fibrils in vitro," was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health's Institute of Aging, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Source:

Journal reference:

Seidler, P.M., et al. (2022) Structure-based discovery of small molecules that disaggregate Alzheimers disease tissue derived tau fibrils in vitro. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32951-4.

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Green tea molecule can break up protein tangles in the brain that cause Alzheimers - News-Medical.Net

Biochemistry

George Tryfiates – The Dominion Post

Dr. George Panagiotis Tryfiates was welcomed home by his Savior on the Lords Day, Sept. 18, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents, Panagiotis John and Constance Tryfiates. George is survived by Mary, his beloved wife of 63 years; their four children: Panagiotis George Tryfiates (Laurie), of Virginia; Constance T. Beddard (Rick), of Virginia; Maria K. Dalton (Curtis), of Maryland; and Elizabeth A. Lyons (the Rev. James), of Kentucky; and nine grandchildren: Anastasia, George, Caroline, and Catherine Tryfiates; Gabrielle and Alexandra Beddard, Sofia Dalton and John and Anthony Lyons.

Born Feb. 26, 1935, in Gouria, Greece, he came to the United States in 1954. George joined the biochemistry faculty of the West Virginia University School of Medicine, from which he retired as professor emeritus in 1997. His many professional accomplishments included discovery of a cancer marker based on his research of vitamin B6 and its role in tumor growth. He was an avid Mountaineer fan.Georges first love was Jesus Christ, his Savior. He founded Greek Christian Missions in 1984 to share the Gospel, feed people on the street in Morgantown and, later, similar overseas ministry. It flourished for decades, though George never solicited contributions, and still provides monthly ministry for Morgantowns needy.

Friends and family will be received at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 447 Spruce St., Morgantown, WV 26505, from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, with the Rev. Fr. Earl Cantos, of Florence, Ariz., a family relation, and Fr. Jon Emanuelson of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Mount Morris, Pa.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Greek Christian Missions, P.O. Box 1003, Morgantown, WV 26507. The family thanks Bluegrass Care Navigators, Lexington, Ky., for their gentle care.Arrangements by Hastings Funeral Home.

Condolences:www.hastingsfuneralhome.com

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George Tryfiates - The Dominion Post