PROTEINA Co., Ltd. Announces Breakthrough Research Published in Nature Biomedical Engineering
July 24 2024 - 1:53AM
Business Wire
PROTEINA Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Seoul National
University (SNU) and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), has
announced the publication of its latest research in Nature
Biomedical Engineering. The study presents a novel approach to
personalizing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients
by leveraging protein-protein interaction (PPI) profiling to
predict drug response.
Critical Need for Personalized AML Treatment
Nearly 90% of AML patients fail to survive without achieving
complete remission during initial treatment. ABT-199, in
combination with hypomethylating agents, has emerged as a promising
therapy by inhibiting the BCL2 protein, a key player in cancer
progression. However, varying patient dependency on BCL2 signaling
complicates patient selection for this treatment.
Innovative Technique for PPI Profiling
A team of researchers from PROTEINA, SNU, and SNUH tackled this
challenge by developing a single-molecule pull-down and
co-immunoprecipitation (SMPC) technique. This method quantifies
over 20 different types of PPIs and protein expression levels from
clinical specimens, using as little as 1 ml of body fluid such as
blood or bone marrow aspirate.
The SMPC technique identifies critical PPI links contributing to
leukemia cell survival when ABT-199 is administered. The
researchers created a prediction model with an AUROC value of 0.94,
accurately selecting patients likely to respond to ABT-199
therapy.
Key Findings and Clinical Implications
The study revealed that the BCL2-BAX complex plays a significant
role in the survival of AML cells under apoptotic stress induced by
ABT-199. Conversely, the BCLxL-BAK complex is linked to resistance,
highlighting the drug's selective mechanism.
Through extensive PPI profiling of samples from 32 AML patients,
the research identified key PPIs correlating with drug
responsiveness. The developed biomarker demonstrated high
predictive power, forecasting drug response in 9 out of 10 patients
with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 83.3%.
Future Directions and Clinical Validation
PROTEINA has acquired venetoclax response prediction technology
and patents from SNU and SNUH. The company is currently
collaborating with Professor Janghee Woo of Emory University School
of Medicine for global clinical validation. "We are thrilled to
start this large-scale clinical validation, which is a significant
step toward expanding the utility of our platform technology in
precision medicine," says Hongwon Lee, Chief Technology Officer at
PROTEINA.
Support and Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Grants for Leading
Scientists of the National Research Foundation of South Korea (NRF)
[grant number NRF-2021R1A3B1071354], the Bio Medical Technology
Development Program of the NRF [grant number NRF-2018M3A9E2023523],
and the Korea Health Technology R&D Project of the Korea Health
Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) [grant number
HI14C1277].
About PROTEINA Co., Ltd.
PROTEINA Co., Ltd. is a leading biotech company specializing in
proteomics, focusing on protein complexes and protein-protein
interactions. The company provides cutting-edge analysis services
for large pharmaceutical developers, aiming to advance precision
medicine through innovative diagnostic technologies.
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PROTEINA Co., Ltd. Jay Chung Communications Manager
jhchung@proteina.co.kr