(5bp) New Biotherapy and Drug Delivery for Inflammatory Diseases

Many inflammatory diseases are preventable and curable, provided that the pathogenic mechanism is well characterized and the proper drugs can be delivered efficiently. This presentation will focus on (1) investigation of pathogenic mechanism and a new therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease, and (2) a novel drug delivery system for chronic or acute inflammatory diseases.

Aβ, a main protein in Alzheimer's disease, is known to be toxic when aggregated; however, the relationship between neurotoxicity and Aβ aggregates is still under investigation. In this presentation, I will discuss the effect of shear stress, one of key environmental factors, on Aβ aggregation and toxicity. As a new biotherapy, small heat shock proteins will be introduced to prevent Aβ aggregation and toxicity. Small heat shock proteins, a family of chaperone, are overproduced under stressed condition and prevent incorrect protein folding and aggregation. In order to enhance the efficacy of anti-inflammatory drugs, polyketals, a new family of acid degradable polymers, are used as a drug delivery vehicle. Key features of polyketals are that degradation products are non-immunogenic and hydrolysis rate is controllable depending on monomers. Two polyketal polymers having different hydrolysis rate will be presented for treating chronic and acute diseases.