63 results about "Pharmacological chaperone" patented technology

The present invention provides methods to determine whether a patient with a lysosomal storage disorder will benefit from treatment with a specific pharmacological chaperone. The present invention exemplifies an in vitro method for determining α-galactosidase A responsiveness to a pharmacological chaperone such as 1-deoxygalactonojirimycin in a cell line expressing a mutant from of α-galactosidase A. The invention also provides a method for diagnosing Fabry disease in patients suspected of having Fabry disease.

In accordance with the present invention, there are provided compositions and methods useful for the in vivo delivery of substantially water insoluble pharmacologically active agents (such as the anticancer drug paclitaxel) in which the pharmacologically active agent is delivered in the form of suspended particles coated with protein (which acts as a stabilizing agent). In particular, protein and pharmacologically active agent in a biocompatible dispersing medium are subjected to high shear, in the absence of any conventional surfactants, and also in the absence of any polymeric core material for the particles. The procedure yields particles with a diameter of less than about 1 micron. The use of specific composition and preparation conditions (e.g., addition of a polar solvent to the organic phase), and careful selection of the proper organic phase and phase fraction, enables the reproducible production of unusually small nanoparticles of less than 200 nm diameter, which can be sterile-filtered. The particulate system produced according to the invention can be converted into a redispersible dry powder comprising nanoparticles of water-insoluble drug coated with a protein, and free protein to which molecules of the pharmacological agent are bound. This results in a unique delivery system, in which part of the pharmacologically active agent is readily bioavailable (in the form of molecules bound to the protein), and part of the agent is present within particles without any polymeric matrix therein.

Described is a method for treating an individual having a neurological disorder with an associated mutation or mutations in a gene encoding a lysosomal enzyme. Specifically, the individual is administered a specific pharmacological chaperone for the lysosomal enzyme which increases trafficking of the protein from the ER to the lysosome in neural cells, with or without concomitantly increasing enzyme activity in neural cells. Restoration of trafficking relieves cell stress and other toxicities associated with accumulation of mutant proteins. Restoration of enzyme activity relieves substrate accumulation and pathologies associated with lipid accumulation. In a specific embodiment, the neurological disorder is Parkinson's disease or parkinsonism which is associated with mutations in glucocerebrosidase.

The present invention provides dosing regimens for administering pharmacological chaperones to a subject in need thereof. The dosing regimens can be used to treat disorders caused by improper protein misfolding, such as lysosomal storage disorders.

Provided are in vitro and in vivo methods for determining whether a patient with Fabry disease will respond to treatment with a specific pharmacological chaperone.

The present invention provides dosing regimens for administering pharmacological chaperones to a subject in need thereof. The dosing regimens can be used to treat disorders caused by improper protein misfolding, such as lysosomal storage disorders.

Provided are methods of treating a patient diagnosed with Fabry disease and methods of enhancing α-galactosidase A in a patient diagnosed with or suspected of having Fabry disease. Certain methods comprise administering to a patient a therapeutically effective dose of a pharmacological chaperone for α-galactosidase A, wherein the patient has a splice site mutation in intron 4 of the nucleic acid sequence encoding α-galactosidase A. Also described are uses of pharmacological chaperones for the treatment of Fabry disease and compositions for use in the treatment of Fabry disease.

The present invention provides methods for improving the production of recombinant proteins through the use of pharmacological chaperones for the recombinant proteins. As exemplified by the present invention, the binding of a pharmacological chaperone to a recombinant protein expressed by a cell can stabilize the protein and increase export of the protein out of the cell's endoplasmic reticulum, and increase secretion of the protein by the cell.

Described is a method for treating an individual having a neurological disorder with an associated mutation or mutations in a gene encoding a lysosomal enzyme. Specifically, the individual is administered a specific pharmacological chaperone for the lysosomal enzyme which increases trafficking of the protein from the ER to the lysosome in neural cells, with or without concomitantly increasing enzyme activity in neural cells. Restoration of trafficking relieves cell stress and other toxicities associated with accumulation of mutant proteins. Restoration of enzyme activity relieves substrate accumulation and pathologies associated with lipid accumulation. In a specific embodiment, the neurological disorder is Parkinson's disease or parkinsonism which is associated with mutations in glucocerebrosidase.

The present invention provides a method for increasing the activity of a mutant or wild-type α-glucosidase enzyme in vitro and in vivo by contacting the enzyme with a specific pharmacological chaperone which is a derivative of 1-deoxynojirimycin. The invention also provides a method for the treatment of Pompe disease by administration of chaperone small molecule compound which is a derivative of 1-deoxynojirimycin. The 1-deoxynojirimycin derivative is substituted at the N or C1 position. Combination therapy with replacement α-glucosidase gene or enzyme is also provided.

Methods and composition related to the engineering of a novel protein with methionine-γ-lyase enzyme activity are described. For example, in certain aspects there may be disclosed a modified cystathionine-γ-lyase (CGL) comprising one or more amino acid substitutions and capable of degrading methionine. Furthermore, certain aspects of the invention provide compositions and methods for the treatment of cancer with methionine depletion using the disclosed proteins or nucleic acids.

Assays are provided for the screening and classification of biologically active agents that alter the conformation of conformationally defective proteins. The methods of the invention find use in the identification and classification of agents with chaperone activity, particularly the identification and classification of small molecule chemical and pharmacological chaperones. The agents thus identified find use altering the conformation of otherwise conformationally defective proteins.

The invention relates to methods of enhancing normal melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) activity, and to enhancing activity of an MC4R having a mutation which affects protein folding and / or processing of the MC4R. The invention provides a method of treating an individual having a condition in which increased activity of an MC4R at the cell surface would be beneficial, for example in obesity, by administering an effective amount of a pharmacological chaperone for the MC4R. The invention provides MC4R pharmacological chaperones which enhance the activity of MC4R. The invention further provides a method of screening to identify pharmacological chaperones which enhance folding of an MC4R in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in order to enhance the activity of the MC4R at the cell surface.