Reg Peptides for Neuron and Hepatocyte Regeneration
Solution Overview
Problem
Current therapies lack effective solutions for regenerating new neurons, cardiac myocytes, and hepatocytes in organs with acute injury, particularly in conditions like stroke, spinal cord injuries, and myocardial damage, where existing treatments do not adequately address the need for new cell formation.
Innovation Solution
Development of short bioactive Reg peptides and optimized Reg peptides that bind to the Reg receptor, triggering the formation of new cells from progenitor cells within injured organs, using peptidomimetics and stimulatory antibodies to target the 20-amino acid binding region of the Reg receptor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional therapies are used for organ injury, then treatment is provided, but effective regeneration of new neurons, cardiac myocytes, and hepatocytes does not occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the Reg protein into shorter bioactive peptides (7-15 amino acids) that retain the ability to bind to the Reg receptor and stimulate cell regeneration. This segmentation creates multiple peptide variants that can be used therapeutically without requiring the full-length protein, thereby improving regeneration effectiveness while maintaining therapeutic availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of peptide length from the full-length Reg protein to truncated versions containing only 7-15 amino acids. This parameter change maintains the bioactive function of binding to the Reg receptor while enabling easier synthesis and broader therapeutic application, directly addressing the contradiction between regeneration effectiveness and therapy availability.
2Reliability
If full-length Reg proteins are used, then cell regeneration is stimulated, but peptide half-life is short and therapeutic dosage requirements are high
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the full-length Reg protein into shorter 7-15 amino acid peptides, the patent creates molecules that are easier to administer and synthesize. While shorter peptides might be expected to have reduced stability, the optimization process described in the patent produces peptides that maintain adequate half-life and activity, resolving the contradiction between regeneration capability and duration of action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the amino acid sequence and length parameters of the peptides to achieve the desired balance between half-life and therapeutic dosage. Through systematic variation of peptide parameters, the invention identifies sequences that provide sufficient duration of action while maintaining the ability to stimulate robust cell regeneration.
3Productivity
If existing treatments are applied, then organ injury is addressed, but new cell formation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential bioactive function of the Reg protein by identifying and isolating the critical 7-15 amino acid sequences responsible for receptor binding and cell regeneration stimulation. This extraction creates simplified therapeutic agents that directly stimulate new cell formation without the complexity of full-length proteins, thereby improving productivity while reducing treatment mechanism complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the molecular parameters from full-length proteins to truncated peptides with specific amino acid compositions, the patent achieves high new cell formation rates through simplified treatment mechanisms. The optimized peptide parameters enable potent regenerative activity with fewer molecular components, directly addressing the contradiction between productivity and device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The Reg peptides and optimized sequences facilitate the regeneration of new neurons, cardiac myocytes, and hepatocytes by interacting with the Reg receptor, promoting downstream production of cells and tissue repair in organs with acute and chronic injuries, offering potential treatments for neurological, cardiac, and liver diseases.
Implementation Method 1
short bioactive Reg peptides and optimized Reg peptides that bind to the Reg receptor, triggering the formation of new cells from progenitor cells within injured organs
Data Source
AI summary
Reg gene receptors are found throughout the body, including in the neurons of the brain and spinal cord, liver and heart. Reg proteins are expressed during fetal development for organogenesis and then only upregulated in times of organ injury, such as in the setting of stroke, myocardial infarction or spinal cord injury. Upregulation of Reg proteins following organ injury is a protective mechanism against organ failure and has been shown to result in the formation of new neurons, cardiac myocytes, hepatocytes and in other organs expressing the Reg receptor. Described are the compositions of bioactive Reg peptides, as well as optimization of these peptides (to increase plasma half-life), peptidomimetics, stimulatory antibodies and small molecules that interact with the Reg receptor that are capable of initiating formation of new cells after organ injury.