Microbial metabolic engineering for cannabinoid biosynthesis

大麻素生物合成的微生物代谢工程

• 批准号: 522967-2017
• 负责人: Yadav, VikramadityaGanapati
• 金额: $ 4.2万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Research and Development Grants
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=669114
• 关键词: Microbial; metabolic; engineering; cannabinoid; biosynthesis

Marijuana ranks among history's most popular remedies for alleviating pain, and thanks to modern science, we now know that the plant's therapeutic effects can be ascribed to 60 unique chemical compounds that it synthesizes. Called the 'cannabinoids', these molecules exert their influence by activating a unique class of cellular receptors that then influence the perception of pain in the brain, as well as organs such as the liver, pancreas and the eyes. Consequently, we are proposing to leverage the interaction between cannabinoids and their receptors to identify new drugs for the treatment of Huntington's disease, a brain disorder that has a surprising connection to the receptors under investigation. Additionally, since sourcing cannabinoids from plant sources presents severe technological and logistical challenges, we will also develop a manufacturing process that employs genetically engineered microorganisms for the production of these molecules. The use of microorganisms for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products is a revolutionary advance. We will be jointly undertaking these research & development activities with InMed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceuticals company. The success of this project will represent a major achievement for the emerging Canadian biopharmaceutical industry, establish InMed Pharmaceuticals, a young, homegrown enterprise, as a global leader in cannabinoid therapeutics, and provide immense social and strategic benefit to Canada.

大麻在减轻疼痛的历史最受欢迎的疗法中排名一列，因此，由于现代科学，我们知道该植物的治疗作用可以归因于它合成的60种独特化合物。这些分子称为“大麻素”，通过激活一类独特的细胞受体来发挥其影响，从而影响大脑疼痛以及肝脏，胰腺和眼睛等器官的感知。因此，我们提议利用大麻素及其受体之间的相互作用来识别新药治疗亨廷顿疾病，亨廷顿疾病是一种与正在研究的受体有惊人的联系的脑部疾病。此外，由于从植物来源采购大麻素提出了严重的技术和后勤挑战，因此我们还将开发一种制造过程，该过程采用基因设计的微生物来生产这些分子。使用微生物用于制造药品是革命性的进步。我们将与加拿大生物制药公司Inmed Pharmaceuticals Inc.共同开展这些研发活动。该项目的成功将代表新兴的加拿大生物制药行业，建立Inmed Pharmaceuticals，这是一家年轻的，本土的企业，是大麻素治疗学的全球领导者，并为加拿大提供巨大的社会和战略利益。