BLACKSBURG, July 9, 2001 -- Type 2 diabetes and breast cancer are targets in two research projects at Virginia Tech that are being initiated thanks to grants from Virginia's Commonwealth Health Research Board, or CHRB.
Both projects, which are aimed at human health problems, take advantage of Virginia Tech's recognized strengths in the areas of biotechnology, health, and plant and animal sciences. One project addresses how a plant can produce a human enzyme used in the treatment of diabetes while the other is testing a new compound that could combat breast cancer.
Plants will cheaply produce the human enzyme that is now painstakingly and expensively synthesized to treat 16 million Americans suffering from Type 2 diabetes, if research by Glenda Gillaspy leads in the direction she expects.
The CHRB has provided funding to Gillaspy, assistant professor of biochemistry, and collaborator Cynthia Gibas, assistant professor of biology, to lay the groundwork for what is expected to be the creation of a transgenic plant that will produce D-chiro inositol.
Gillaspy's previous work included manipulation of inositol synthesis genes in plants to increase production of D-Chiro inositol precursors. She will be using information from the Arabidopsis plant, whose genome was totally decoded last year.
"This is the very beginning of a long process," Gillaspy said. "We're looking into how plants and animals synthesize this compound. Once we figure that out, we can look into how to make plants produce it in large quantities."
Tobacco is likely to be the plant Gillaspy will try to manipulate to produce the compound because it's genes are relatively easy to work with and it produces large amounts of material from which the compound can be extracted.
The lack of D-chiro inositol causes Type 2 diabetes. The disease can be treated by replacing the missing inositol through medication.
"We are looking to eventually generate this compound in large quantities," Gillaspy said. "We hope the compound produced by plants will have the same properties as that produced in humans. At a deeper level, however, we are seeking to understand why the synthesis of this compound changes the signaling at the molecular level."
Barbara Davis, an assistant professor in human nutrition, foods, and exercise, is the lead investigator in a research project that will test the usefulness of a new compound for the treatment of breast cancer.
This novel Schiff base-forming drug is known to strengthen the immune system, which is an important mechanism for fighting cancer. Research from Davis' lab has shown that this drug can kill breast cancer cells growing outside the body, without the help of the immune system. Davis has already reported that a molecule of similar structure, vitamin B6, is effective at killing breast cancer cells, but the drug she is now testing can safely be used in humans at higher doses than B6 and therefore may represent a better breast cancer treatment option.
In collaboration with Mike Akers, the Alphin Professor of Dairy Science, and Prakash Nagarkatti a researcher at the Medical College of Virginia, Davis will treat breast cancer in two types of mice, those with normal and those with weakened immune systems. These experiments will help determine the involvement of the immune system in the cancer-killing ability of this drug. More importantly, they will show whether it is effective in treating breast cancer in the body.
"Our project is especially significant to Virginians, because although the incidence of breast cancer is below the national average in this state, mortality is actually greater," said Davis.
The CHRB was established in 1997. It's funding is derived from stock and cash received by the state from the conversion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia from a mutual insurance company to a stock corporation, now known as Trigon. The grants are included in $825,000 released this month to faculty members at the state's colleges and universities.
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CONTACTS:Jean Elliott(540) 231-5915, [email protected]Stewart MacInnis(540) 231-5863, [email protected]
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