Apoptosis Inhibitors--Therapy for Ischemic Brain Injury

Our primary objective is to develop pharmacological agents that inhibit neuronal programmed cell de(apoptosis). Techniques in molecular biology will be combined with animal models of cerebral ischemimolecular mechanisms underlying neuronal apoptosis, and to evaluate the effects of potential theraperecent findings that neuronal apoptosis is triggered by ischemia/anoxia, it is likely that pharmacolmodulate apoptosis will be useful in the treatment of a number of clinically relevant ischemic indicstroke, cardiac arrest, and head and spinal trauma, all of which constitute commercially significantworldwide. The objective in Phase I is to demonstrate both in vitro and in vivo that genes known toother cell types are involved in regulating neuronal apoptosis. The expression of these genes (e.g.be monitored following ischemia both in vitro and in vivo. Antisense oligonucleotides against thesetheir ability to provide neuroprotection. The objective of Phase II will be to evaluate the use of aagainst apoptosis genes as potential therapeutic agents, and to screen for small molecule inhibitors