News Release

MelTec GmbH characterizes protein networks involved in T-cell invasion

Results of two studies published in the Journal of Theoretical Medicine

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Noonan/Russo Communications

Magdeburg, Germany, May 1, 2002 – MelTec GmbH, a functional proteomics company, today announced the publication of two scientific studies in the April 2002 issue of the Journal of Theoretical Medicine, describing the protein networks involved in T-cell invasion in Sarcoid myopathy and Polymyositis.

It is known that lymphocytes, because of their innate ability to invade and progressively destroy cells, play an essential role in cellular immune response, autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection. In the current published studies, muscle biopsies from patients suffering from polymyositis and sarcoid myopathy, two diseases characterized by muscle invasion of T-cells and therefore progressive muscle deterioration, have been analyzed. Results showed that characteristic cellular phenotypes were associated with the adhesive mechanism of the invading lymphocytes in sarcoid myopathy and polymyositis.

“The ability of MelTec’s technology to map simultaneously large numbers of proteins in diverse types of cells should enable us to approach any invasion process, including invasion of malignant cells in cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Walter Schubert, M.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MelTec. “These higher level order functions in the cellular proteome cannot be detected using conventional proteomics techniques, which typically use tissue homogenates. Therefore, MELK provides a unique tool for analyzing proteomic information that was not available before, linking cellular topology, protein expression and function.”

MELK reads protein networks in the context of whole, intact cells, providing an image of protein locations in the cell, or the cell’s protein topology. MELK enables the researcher to simultaneously discover the molecular phenotype of cells and the precise position of protein networks, thus enabling closer investigation of the hidden relationships between the structure, molecular expression and function of proteins.

The first paper, entitled “Polymyositis, Topological Proteomics Technology and Paradigm for Cell Invasion Dynamics” reports the simultaneous cellular and subcellular location of a number of cell surface adhesion proteins in different stages of T-cell invasion in Polymyositis. The data indicates that there is a higher level of organization in the cellular proteome that only can be detected using high-throughput whole cell fingerprinting machines. This data is crucial for a better understanding of diseases linked with cellular migration, such as arteriosclerosis and cancer.

The second paper, entitled “Automated Recognition of Muscle-invasive T-lymphocytes Expressing Dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (CD 26) and Analysis of Associated Cell Surface Phenotypes” demonstrates that by using MelTec’s simultaneous protein mapping and NCDS (Neural cell detection system) technology, the researchers were able to automatically monitor in muscle biopsies the number of fluorescently marked invasive T-lymphocytes, their position and phenotype. They found disease phenotypes characterized by combinations of key cell surface receptors usually not found in normal T-lymphocytes, and which therefore may be involved in T-cell adhesion and migration in muscle.

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About MelTec GmbH
MelTec GmbH is a privately held company that harnesses proprietary topological proteomics technologies to enhance and facilitate the drug discovery and development process. Its approach can be applied to a wide range of therapeutic areas for drug target and lead compound identification, selection and prioritisation, preclinical drug development and ADME/Tox studies. The Company focuses on areas where cell invasion mechanisms play a crucial role, such as in immune-mediated diseases, cancer, arteriosclerosis and neurological disorders. MelTec’s high-throughput robotic imaging technology, Multi-Epitope-Ligand-Kartographie (MELK), combines cell biology and biomathematical tools to visualise protein networks at the cellular and subcellular levels without disrupting the cell’s integrity and correlates the networks with biological function. Integrating this systems biology technology with conventional genomics and proteomics techniques, the Company can also determine the mode-of-action of lead compounds and currently marketed drugs leading to safer, more efficacious drugs. Using this approach, MelTec has already successfully identified new targets and potential lead compounds in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and cancer.

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