The broad, long-term objective
of the research described here is to enhance the understanding of
hemostatic processes by elucidating the molecular mechanism involved
in the activation of platelets. It is expected that better understanding
of these mechanisms would lead to the development of a new generation
of therapeutic agents designed for the prevention and treatment
of heart disease and stroke. The specific aims of the project proposed
here focus on a novel platelet receptor involved in the activation
of platelets by circulating antibodies. It is anticipated that this
research would provide new drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular
disorders caused by autoimmune antibodies and alloantibodies including
immune-thrombocytopenia, drug-induced thrombocytopenia purpura,
posttransfusion purpura and AIDSinduced thrombocytopenia. The P.I.
was awarded a patent (U.S. Patent number 5,665,701) for the activity
and selected sequences of a novel platelet receptor called glycoprotein
F11 and the potential use of this information for development of
novel therapeutic agents. The use of these technological innovations
for development by the biotechnology industry requires the achievement
of two specific aims: 1) the cloning and sequencing of the gene
for the F11 receptor protein of human platelets, and 2) the expression
of a recombinant F11 protein in bacterial cells for production of
antibodies and functional peptides. The proposal submitted here
describes a state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology that
are designed for the accomplishment of these specific aims. It is
anticipated that obtaining the full-length DNA sequence and the
recombinant F11 protein as planned here will provide a direct commercial
potential for the continuation of this research by a biotechnology
company in New York. |
