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Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of higher education in Georgia.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. Other signs and symptoms may include sinus infections, poor growth, fatty stool, clubbing of the fingers and toes, and infertility in most males. Different people may have different degrees of symptoms.
Lap-Chee Tsui is a Chinese-born Canadian geneticist and served as the 14th Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Hong Kong.
In genetics, a nonsense mutation is a point mutation in a sequence of DNA that results in a premature stop codon, or a nonsense codon in the transcribed mRNA, and in a truncated, incomplete, and usually nonfunctional protein product. The functional effect of a nonsense mutation depends on the location of the stop codon within the coding DNA. For example, the effect of a nonsense mutation depends on the proximity of the nonsense mutation to the original stop codon, and the degree to which functional subdomains of the protein are affected.
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and chloride channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the CFTR gene.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the first biotech firms to use an explicit strategy of rational drug design rather than combinatorial chemistry. It maintains headquarters in South Boston, Massachusetts, and three research facilities, in San Diego, California, and Milton Park, near Oxford, England.
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The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation provides information about cystic fibrosis and finances CF research that aims to improve the quality of life for people with the disease. The Foundation also engages in legislative lobbying for cystic fibrosis.
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An inflammatory cytokine or proinflammatory cytokine is a type of signaling molecule that is secreted from immune cells like helper T cells (Th) and macrophages, and certain other cell types that promote inflammation. They include interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-12, and IL-18, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interferon gamma (IFNγ), and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and play an important role in mediating the innate immune response. Inflammatory cytokines are predominantly produced by and involved in the upregulation of inflammatory reactions.
Ivacaftor is a drug used to treat cystic fibrosis in people with certain mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, who account for 4–5% cases of cystic fibrosis. It is also included in combination drugs, lumacaftor/ivacaftor and tezacaftor/ivacaftor, which are used to treat people with cystic fibrosis.
Lumacaftor (VX-809) is a pharmaceutical drug that acts as a chaperone during protein folding and increases the number of CFTR proteins that are trafficked to the cell surface. It is available in a single pill with ivacaftor; the combination, lumacaftor/ivacaftor, is used to treat people with cystic fibrosis who are homozygous for the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, the defective protein that causes the disease. It was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the combination was approved by the FDA in 2015. As of 2015, lumacaftor had no medical use on its own.
John Richard Riordan is a Canadian biochemist, noted for his research into Cystic Fibrosis.
Jane C. Davies is a British physician who is Professor of Paediatric Respirology at Imperial College School of Medicine. She is an Honorary Consultant at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust.
Elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor, sold under the brand names Trikafta (US) and Kaftrio (Europe), is a fixed-dose combination medication used in those that have cystic fibrosis with a f508del mutation. It is made up of a combination of elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor.
Peter Grootenhuis was a Dutch-American Medicinal Chemist. Grootenhuis was the Project Leader and Co-Inventor of Ivacaftor (VX-770), the first CFTR potentiator FDA approved drug to treat the underlying cause of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in patients with certain mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene, who account for 4-5% of CF cases. Grootenhuis also led the Vertex team to subsequent discovery of Orkambi, the combination of Ivacaftor and Lumacaftor(VX-809), approved to treat CF in people with two copies of the F508del mutation. Most recently, Grootenhuis's team discovered Tezacaftor (VX-661) and Elexacaftor (VX-445), which in combination with Ivacaftor are the components of Trikafta, a drug approved by the FDA in 2019 to treat CF in more than 90% of CF patients. For Grootenhuis’ contributions to the discovery of these compounds, he was awarded the 2018 IUPAC Richter Prize, the American Chemical Society’s 2013 Heroes of Chemistry Award, and inducted into the American Chemical Society Division of Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. Grootenhuis has contributed to the discovery of over 11 clinical candidates, co-authored more than 100 peer reviewed papers and is inventor of 65 + U.S Patents, and more than 50 EU Patents.
Johanna Rommens is a Canadian geneticist who was on the research team which identified and cloned the CFTR gene, which when mutated, is responsible for causing cystic fibrosis (CF). She later discovered the gene responsible for Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes pancreatic and hematologic problems. She is a Senior Scientist Emeritus at SickKids Research Institute and a Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto.
Batsheva Kerem is an Israeli geneticist who was on the research team that identified and cloned the CFTR gene, which when mutated, is responsible for causing cystic fibrosis (CF). She later established the Israel National Center for CF Genetic Research. She discovered the most prevalent cystic fibrosis-causing mutations among the Israeli population, allowing for the establishment of nationwide genetic screening programs to identify carriers of these mutations and enabling prenatal diagnoses. She researches how some CF mutations prevent CFTR protein production by causing nonsense-mediated decay and abnormal mRNA splicing, and how therapies might be able to counteract those problems. She also studies the role of genetic instability in cancer. She is currently a professor at the Hebrew University.
References
- 1 2 "Eric Sorscher, M.D." Georgia Research Alliance. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
- ↑ Pittman, James (2013-03-01). Tinsley Harrison, M.D.: Teacher of Medicine. NewSouth Books. ISBN 9781603062510.
- ↑ "Atlanta Pediatric Research | Eric J. Sorscher, MD | Faculty | People | Emory + Children's + GT | Atlanta Pediatric Research Alliance". www.pedsresearch.org. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
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