Winston-Salem, NC Dec 05, 2002
Targacept, Inc., a privately held company focused on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announced that it has characterized a key pathway involved in neuroprotection, with therapeutic application in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The company expects that expanding its understanding of how this pathway works will help it develop novel therapeutics that inhibit nerve cell death in the brain. Researchers at Targacept and the Medical College of Georgia describe these results in The Journal of Biological Chemistry (Volume 277, No. 47).
“It is well established in the scientific community that b-amyloid, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease, induces neuronal cell death. Until now, the mechanism of action has been unclear,” explained Merouane Bencherif, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of Preclinical Research at Targacept. “Using molecular biological approaches, we have identified a key pathway by which b-amyloid interferes with nerve cell survival. We will use this research to pursue development of safer and more specific drugs to trigger the same action in the pathway for therapeutic benefit.”
The research demonstrates that the alpha-7 acetylcholine receptor stimulates a pivotal enzyme called JAK2, thus activating key cellular pathways involved in nerve cell survival. In the central nervous system, the acetylcholine family of receptors is increasingly recognized as having therapeutic potential in a number of diseases and disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome, attention deficit disorder and anxiety.
About Targacept
Targacept, Inc. is a world leader in the discovery and development of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-based therapies for neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and gastrointestinal diseases. The company has products in research and development for treating Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, ulcerative colitis, depression, pain, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. The company has a strategic alliance with Aventis Pharma SA to discover, develop and commercialize Targacept compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and a strategic alliance with Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH to develop a new class of drugs to treat ulcerative colitis. Additional information may be found on the company’s website: www.targacept.com.
Further Information
Link to the paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry entitled “Janus Kinase 2, an Early Target of Alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor-mediated Neuroprotection against Ab (1-42) Amyloid” (2002 Nov 22; Vol. 277, No. 47: 44920-4): http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/M204610200v1.pdf