C3/C5 Convertase Inhibitors As A New Class Of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs [ 2004 - 2006 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof David Fairlie (Principal investigator) ,  John Abbenante ,  Prof Stephen Taylor

Brief description Many serious inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis, septic shock, lung shock, heart disease, atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, are poorly controlled with currently available drugs. There is a great deal of evidence that naturally occuring Complement proteins in human blood are involved in exacerbating these and many other human diseases, yet there are no good drugs available to counteract their effects. Three complement proteins known as C3a, C5a and MAC (membrane attack complex) are thought to be particularly pivotal components of the complement system synthesized by the human body early in the development of inflammatory and immune diseases. New compounds that could block the formation of human C3a, C5a and MAC are expected : (a) To lead us to a better understanding of how these proteins act on immune cells and of their respective roles in the immune response to infection and injury, and (b) To enable the rapid development of an entirely new class of drugs for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. No Complement-based drugs are yet available in man. In other NHMRC funded work we have developed compounds (antagonists) that selectively block the actions of human C3a or C5a, and shown that they are effective antiinflammatory agents in rat models of a number of inflammatory diseases. In this project we will design and develop small molecules that block the enzymes (C3-C5 convertases) that make C3a, C5a and other complement proteins including MAC. We expect that such inhibitors will be even more effective antinflammatory drugs because they will block formation of multiple complement proteins that each have proinflammatory activity. We will demonstrate selective effects of the new compounds on components of complement, and test them in rat models of inflammatory diseases. We expect C3-C5 convertase inhibitors to be a completely new type of anti-inflammatory drug, treating disease processes rather than symptoms like current drugs.

Funding Amount $AUD 465,750.00

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant