Elucidating the mechanism of action of Mirexus Biotechnologies Inc.'s immunomodulatory phytoglyogen (IM-PhG) in increasing virus vector production

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Millions of dollars are spent on the research, development and commercialization of new therapies to treat**virus infections, vaccines, virus-based gene therapy vectors and, more recently, oncolytic viruses that target and**kill cancer. While significant gains have been made in the development of these therapeutic tools, several key**roadblocks remain, including the need to develop more generic antiviral therapies that target a wide range of**known and new emerging viruses and the need to optimize virus-based vaccine and vector production to make**these products commercially viable from both a cost and manufacturing perspective.**Mirexus Biotechnologies is a biomedical company actively developing novel nano-medicines for a variety of**clinical indications. Their technology platform is based on renewable, non-toxic glycogen, or sugar, from corn.**Phytoglycogen (PhG) can be easily altered by chemists. Indeed, one modification was shown to change the**immune stimulating properties of PhG (IM-PhG). More specifically, IM-PhG can decrease the primary immune**response in cells. As a result, a higher yield of viruses can be obtained from the cells, overcoming one of the**current roadblocks to making virus-based therapies.**The goal of this proposal is to understand the mechanism of how IM-PhG alters the environment within the**cell, allowing for a higher level of virus production. To ensure safety and to optimize virus production, it is**critical to understand how IM-PhG is functioning. These studies will also allow "smart engineering" by**chemists of more potent versions of PhG.