VBS Pharmaceuticals announces publication of "Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology
VBS Pharmaceuticals announces the publication of a scientific article that describes a novel peptide that targets the vasculature of lungs affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

GOLETA, CA, June 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- VBS Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, and the University of South Alabama, announces the publication of a scientific article that describes a novel peptide that specifically targets and penetrates the vasculature of lungs affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the current issue of the American Journal of Pathology.

The paper, "Peptide-Directed Highly Selective Targeting of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" (American Journal of Pathology 2011; 178(6): 2489-2495, by Takeo Urakami, Tero A.H. Järvinen, Michie Toba, Junko Sawada, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, David Mann, Ivan McMurtry, Masahiko Oka, Erkki Ruoslahti, and Masanobu Komatsu) describes the first discovery of a highly selective PAH-targeting and tissue-penetrating cyclic peptide CARSKNKDC (CAR). Injection of CAR resulted in the accumulation of the peptide in induced hypertensive lungs but not healthy lungs or other organs of the PAH rats. CAR also accumulated in various regions of the pulmonary system that play a crucial role in the development and pathogenesis of PAH. These findings support the future utility of CAR in the targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds and imaging probes to PAH lungs.

First author Takeo Urakami, Ph.D., of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, Florida, stated, "To assess the potential utility of CAR in targeting human PAH, we tested the binding abilities of CAR to human cells in culture. CAR binding to these cells demonstrated the presence of necessary receptors in human cells, suggesting that the application of CAR targeting to human PAH is feasible."

Senior author Masanobu Komatsu, Ph.D., also of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in Lake Nona, stated, "The use of peptides for human therapy is a growing concept within the pharmaceutical industry. The successful targeting of the pulmonary system utilizing the CAR peptide can offer unique opportunities to target multiple cell types important in the pathogenesis of PAH."

Despite recent advances in the treatment of PAH, with eight approved clinical therapies and additional therapies undergoing clinical trials, PAH remains a serious life-threatening condition. The lack of pulmonary vascular selectivity and associated systemic adverse effects of these therapies remain the main obstacles to successful treatment. Co-author and VBS Pharmaceuticals CEO, David Mann concluded, "Current limitations in PAH regimens require the development of target specific treatments and to our knowledge, CAR presents the first technology that allows for this selective targeting of PAH."

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