Increasing viability of lung organs for transplantation

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While organ transplantation is a vital last resort therapy to treat patients with end-organ failure of the lung there is a growing waiting list of patients who are eligible for transplants as the number of suitable donor organs fall far short of the demand for these lifesaving procedures. Improving the preservation of donated organs so that a greater percentage would remain viable for use in transplant procedures represents an important area of unmet medical need in theUnited States. An agent to reduce ischemic damage to organs during transport will represent a technology that would enhance the protection of existing donors, expand the time window for surgical implementation, and potentially resuscitate marginal organs which could then be transplanted. The goal of this application is to examine the use of a tissue repair protein named MG53 in organ preservation for lung transplantation. Research and development efforts at TRIM-edicine have established that the recomb