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Two new Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRPs) tackle wide- ranging health concerns, like gum disease (Photo: Denmark Digital via Flickr).

From gum disease to new cancer therapy, health concerns that affect millions are at the heart of two new Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRPs) involving Professors Warren Chan (IBBME) and Eli Sone (IBBME, MSE).

Making recovery from gum disease “stick”

Assistant Professor Sone and his collaborators, Associate Professor Bernhard Ganss and Professor Chris McCulloch, are targeting a problem that affects an estimated 47% of Americans alone: periodontal gum disease.

This disease causes bacteria to destroy the junction between teeth and gums. When the disease progresses, the bacteria migrate down to the root of tooth and destroy the attachment of the tooth to the jawbone. Treatment for this disease involves scraping the bacteria from the tooth, followed by re-attaching the gum flap back onto the tooth to encourage healing.

“The problem is, there’s really no reliable way to stick the gum flap back to the tooth,” explained Professor Sone. “Without an effective seal, bacteria can re-infect the wound. Epithelial cells routinely invade the wound space and prevent normal healing.”

The joint NSERC and CIHR grant, worth approximately $550K, will create a novel collagen-based membrane that will enable mineralization, cementing the gum flap to the tooth.

So what makes this membrane different from other membranes already on the market?

In a word: amelotin. Amelotin is a natural human protein discovered by Ganss, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Dentistry, cross-appointed to IBBME. In 2013, Ganss’ lab found that this particular protein promotes mineralization – the same process that bones and teeth undergo for healing and growth.

The third team member, Chris McCulloch, Canada Research Chair in Matrix Dynamics, is a clinical scientist in the Faculty of Dentistry. McCulloch has extensive experience in the development of treatment and diagnostic tools for periodontal diseases, and has developed the models of periodontitis that will be used to test the membranes.

The goal of the project is to progress the research to the point where their industry partner, Octane Biotech, Inc., can move the product through the commercialization process to the market.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” said Sone of the win. “The project really brings together a diverse team that has a really good shot of making an impact in this area.”

Nanotechnology cancer therapeutics

Another project, led by Chemistry’s Associate Professor Jumi Shin and co-researched by IBBME’s Professor Warren Chan, involves the creation of a nanoparticle drug-delivery system to combat cancer.

Shin had previously been awarded CHRP grant funding to investigate a “super protein drug” capable of destroying cancerous tumors. Predicated on natural proteins already present in the human body, the drugs interfere with the secretion of a cellular protein called “Myc,” known to researchers for its role in over half of human cancers.

“The problem is,” described Chan, “when you put these [protein drug] peptides in the body they break up. You need a delivery system to carry the drug directly to the cells and release it into the tumor’s nucleus. The target is to have the peptides bind to block Myc, which then destroys the cancer growth.”

Shin has the drug; Chan has the vehicle: nanoparticles. In fact, Chan has already made significant headway in creating a nanoparticle delivery system that can target cancerous cells.

Linda Penn, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Oncology and the third member of the research group, provides expertise in determining how well the system is operating in live systems.

If successful, the researchers will draw upon their corporate partner, Canadian company BioVectra, to bring the drug-delivery system to market.

“We are thrilled that CHRP supports our team, which is a really unusual and diverse collaboration: a nano-engineer, a chemist, and a cancer researcher,” said Shin. “It’s been an eye-opening experience for all of us to work together and learn each other’s fields.”

The team is already hard at work gathering pre-clinical data for their ‘natural’ nanotechnology cancer therapeutics. But the results of this project, which received nearly $900K, could have a wide number of applications for other diseases, as well.

“[Shin’s] system is amazing,” argued Chan, “because it’s based on really simple protein structures. We can generate a lot of peptides for other targets such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

Thirteen separate CHRP grants were awarded to IBBME core faculty members in the Institute between 2009 and 2013, with grant monies totalling more than $4M.

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