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Development of bioconjugates and modules for targeted treatment of high-mortality tumors

NVKP_16-1-2016-0036 Consortium Project

Head: László Kőhidai MD, PhD, Assoc. Professor

The main research topics of the Chemotaxis Research Group include:

(i) testing for cell adhesion, chemotaxis, and other cellular physiological effects;
(ii) analyzing signal phylogenesis in a ciliated model;
(iii) characterization 'Chemotaxome' as a novel concept of system biology.

It is also of great importance to contribute to the development of drug targeting conjugates (e.g. tumors, atherosclerosis).

The model cells of the experiments are unicellular (Tetrahymena pyriformis) and numerous mammalian tumor cell lines. The Research Group hosts the NKTH / NEKIFUT SKI Certified Impedance-Based Cellular Analysis Core Facility (ECIS / xCELLigence).

Today, oncology has become one of the leading causes of death in the world and in Hungary. Proper treatment is one of the most important strategic issues in health today. An important element of this new type of personalized therapy can be targeted tumor therapy, which can lead to improved life expectancy and quality of life for patients with high mortality and severe tumors, which of course has significant national economic benefits. In contrast, to the individual conjugates produced for this purpose by individual research teams working in the world, we aim to provide a 3-module library of compounds that allow multiple combinations of their individual elements to be easily adapted to individual tumor types. In doing so, a number of novel drugs, bifunctional linker molecules and peptide-based control molecules, will be chemically prepared and the biological activity of individual or combinations thereof will be investigated. Well-trained research staff (15-20 persons), high quality instrument pool (e.g. IR, NMR, HPLC-MS, RP-HPLC, peptide synthesizer, biological assay equipment, flow cytometer, microscopes, gel electrophoresis) , Western blot, RT-PCR) and an internationally recognized knowledge base on the subject. New applications (5-8 people) and new tools implemented within the project further increase the chances of effective implementation. Within 3 years, the number of compounds in the modules will be sufficient to produce from 50 to 100 new conjugates in combination, which may be capable of treating a broad spectrum of tumors. The individual compounds of the modules (intermediates) and the conjugates that can be made from them may, after appropriate patenting, become marketable products for researchers in the field or even for pharmaceutical companies. Potential revenues may also allow for continued expansion of compound stores.

       List of supported projects

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