Microbial metabolic engineering for cannabinoid biosynthesis

大麻是历史上最受欢迎的止痛药物之一，多亏了现代科学，我们现在知道大麻的治疗效果可以归因于它合成的60种独特的化合物。这些被称为“大麻素”的分子通过激活一类独特的细胞受体来施加影响，然后这些受体会影响大脑以及肝脏、胰腺和眼睛等器官的疼痛感知。因此，我们建议利用大麻素及其受体之间的相互作用来寻找治疗亨廷顿病的新药。亨廷顿病是一种大脑疾病，与正在研究的受体有令人惊讶的联系。此外，由于从植物来源采购大麻素存在严重的技术和后勤挑战，我们还将开发一种利用基因工程微生物生产这些分子的制造工艺。使用微生物制造医药产品是一项革命性的进步。我们将与加拿大生物制药公司InMed PharmPharmticals Inc.共同开展这些研究和开发活动。该项目的成功将代表着加拿大新兴生物制药业的一项重大成就，使InMed PharmPharmticals这一年轻的本土企业成为大麻类药物治疗领域的全球领先者，并为加拿大提供巨大的社会和战略利益。

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.