AMBS News
Amarantus BioSciences Announces Landmark MANF Genomics Publication
2012-10-01 05:55 ET - News Release
SUNNYVALE, Calif. , Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amarantus BioSciences, Inc. (OTCBB: AMBS), a biotechnology company developing new treatments for brain-related disorders including Parkinson's disease and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) centered on its proprietary anti-apoptotic therapeutic protein known as MANF, today announced the publication of a landmark research paper on MANF, Amarantus' lead development program. The studies were conducted at the University of Helsinki , a research institution based in Helsinki, Finland , performing groundbreaking neuroscience research based in its' Department of Biosciences and Institute of Biotechnology. This research paper, published by Palgi et al., from Dr. Tapio Heino 's laboratory at the University of Helsinki in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Genomics is entitled "Gene expression analysis of Drosophila Manf mutants reveals perturbations in membrane traffic and major metabolic changes," in which researchers describe the critical role MANF plays in the endoplasmic reticulum, the unfolded protein response (UPR), and dopaminergic neurons which are affected by Parkinson's Disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22494833 . "This publication marks a significant advancement in our understanding of how the MANF molecule works in improving overall cellular function," said Dr. John W. Commissiong , Founder & Chief Scientist at Amarantus. "This could be very significant as the MANF Program is advanced for Parkinson's disease" The MANF-family (MANF and CDNF) of proteins are remarkably conserved in evolution in multicellular organisms. Previous studies in Dr. Heino's laboratory carried out by Palgi et al. demonstrate that fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, Manf (DmMANF) is a true orthologue to mammalian MANF, meaning that the proteins have similar biological functions in the two systems. This was most clearly demonstrated by the observation that the lethal effects of the absence of DmMANF observed in Manf mutant flies are fully rescued by human MANF (hMANF). This gene orthology makes Drosophila a powerful genetic model that can be used to study MANF signaling pathways. Furthermore, DmMANF is specifically required for the maintenance of dopaminergic neurites because in Manf mutant embryos and larvae, dopaminergic neurites degenerate and dopamine levels are extremely low. Still, despite these important observations, little is known about the mechanism of action, and about the molecules that interact with the MANF/CDNF proteins.
