Baylor Scientists Examine New Technology Designed to Implement Genetic Therapies.Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2000 Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine is a private medical school located in Houston, Texas, USA on the grounds of the Texas Medical Center. It has been consistently rated the top medical school in Texas and among the best in the United States. have initiated studies that will examine the effectiveness of a new technology designed to implement genetic therapy against cancer and a wide range of infectious, inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. The investigations are being carried out under a sponsored research agreement with CytoGenix Inc., a Houston-based biotechnology research and development company. The research will test the company's newest version of their expression technology, EnzSyn(TM), which involves direct enzymatic synthesis of the genetic material in the cell. Both research projects will include animal studies. Dr. Bert W. O'Malley, professor and chairman of the department of molecular and cellular biology cellular biology n. The study of the molecular or chemical interactions of biological phenomena. at Baylor, is using the EnzSyn(TM) technology to develop an "orally regulable Reg´u`la`ble a. 1. Capable of being regulated. " antisense therapy for breast cancer. Dr. Steve E. Welty, an associate professor in the department of pediatrics at Baylor, is working to develop antisense antisense, DNA or RNA manipulated in a laboratory so that its components (nucleotides) form a complementary copy of normal, or "sense," messenger RNA (mRNA; see nucleic acid). strategies against intracellular adhesion molecules in order to reduce lung inflammation and injury. Antisense drugs are short pieces of synthetic DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. or RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic that affect disease at the genetic level to stop the production of disease-causing proteins. Traditional drugs are designed to interact with these proteins and inhibit their function. In contrast, antisense technology intervenes at the genetic level to stop the production of disease-causing proteins. Antisense agents, based on genetic information, are more specific with lower toxicity and side effects Side effects Effects of a proposed project on other parts of the firm. than traditional drugs. The success of antisense therapy depends on the ability to produce a sufficient number of sequence-specific single strands of DNA in individual cells where they intercept and bind to the messenger RNA. This process interrupts and inhibits the production of the harmful proteins. The CytoGenix EnzSyn(TM) technology is a new addition to the company's intracellular expression systems, which are vital to the successful implementation of antisense therapies. |
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