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Project

Carboxypeptidase U - a new drug target for the improvement of treatment in acute ischemic stroke.

Thrombolysis with tissue plasminogen activator remains the only approved pharmacological treatment for acute ischemic stroke, AIS. Besides the narrow therapeutic time window, its use is limited by its efficacy: in up to 50% of the treated patients, timely recanalization is not achieved. Moreover, administration involves serious side effects such as intracranial hemorrhage and neurotoxicity. Consequently, the search for new agents for improvement of AIS treatment is urgently needed. Research has demonstrated that the enzyme carboxypeptidase U (CPU, TAFIa) is an important player in thrombus lysis. After activation from its precursor proCPU, the released CPU is able to potently attenuate fibrinolysis. Consequently, inhibition of CPU activity is a novel approach to enhance fibrinolysis. We want to explore the involvement of this enzyme in AIS in more detail. The usefulness of CPU as a diagnostic marker to discriminate ischemic from hemorrhagic stroke and the relationship of CPU with clinical outcome and thrombolytic treatment efficacy will be investigated. We plan to optimize the Thrombodynamics assay in order to assess the effect of CPU-inhibition on clot lysis during thrombolysis. Furthermore, in a preclinical setting, we will evaluate the effect of CPU inhibition in an experimental stroke model in rats. This research will provide essential information on the role of the CPU system and the usefulness of CPU inhibitors as potentially efficient and safer treatment of AIS.
Date:1 Oct 2018 →  30 Sep 2020
Keywords:ISCHEMIA
Disciplines:Cardiac and vascular medicine, Biomarker discovery and evaluation, Drug discovery and development, Medicinal products, Pharmaceutics, Pharmacognosy and phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy, Toxicology and toxinology, Other pharmaceutical sciences
Project type:Collaboration project