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SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) – American scientists at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) have come up with a new drug that can restore the functioning of heart tissue devoid of any kind. oxygen under conditions of hypoxia, according to the results of a new study released over the weekend.
The new drug called OMX-CV was developed by Omniox, Inc., one of the first biotech startups launched in UCSF's Mission Bay campus incubator space in 2010.
The biopharmaceutical company has developed oxygen – providing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease, trauma and other conditions in which low levels of oxygen, or lymphatic energy. hypoxia, have a negative impact on the course of the disease.
The new drug does not cause systemic side effects or overcorrections with excessive oxygenation of the blood, which may itself be toxic. It delivers its precious oxygen load only to the tissues that need it most.
UCSF researchers tested the treatment and discovered that the new oxygen delivery treatment was able to restore the function of an oxygen-depleted heart tissue in the body. an animal model of global hypoxia.
Their findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology on Thursday.
The tissues of the human body can suffer significant damage if they lack oxygen, and such hypoxic conditions can lead to long-term tissue damage or even heart attacks.
"Any tissue whose blood flow is compromised, whether it is a trauma, a stroke, or a heart disease, could potentially be targeted by a treatment of this type, "said Emin Maltepe, associate professor of pediatrics at UCSF and co-lead author of the study.
Unlike hemoglobin-based drugs that sometimes pump excess oxygen into the blood, which produces undesirable side effects, OMX-CV eliminates these problems by using a genetically engineered bacterial protein called H -NOX as a base, rather than hemoglobin.
Maltepe and his team have modified the chemical structure of H-NOX proteins and reorganized them to protect them from oxygen, while leaving nitric oxide alone.
The modified proteins tightly bind to oxygen until they encounter a severely hypoxic tissue and release much needed oxygen.
"OMX-CV is designed to release oxygen only under pathological conditions … Relatively low doses of the drug turn the heart's ability to cope with severe hypoxia," said Ana Krtolica, vice Omniox research chair and co-lead author of the study.
US scientists also hope that OMX-CV can be further applied to pediatric care, particularly when used as an oxygen-releasing drug to relieve the physical stress of hypoxia and improve recovery after a seizure. heart or after open-heart surgery in adults and children. the children.
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