A Novel Method to Treat Myocardial Infarction and Other Tissue Damage Using Apolipoprotein D (apoD)

Technology 

The inventors have discovered that heart disease may be treated with Apolipoprotein D (ApoD), a 169 residue, 29 kDa glycoprotein member of the lipocalin family that binds to several ligands, including progesterone and arachidonic acid, and is associated with HDL in plasma. It is expressed highly in nervous tissue and overexpressed in aging, neurological and psychiatric disorders. The inventors injected nontransgenic wild-type and homozygous null ApoD KO mice with 'empty' (control) or ApoD-encoding adenovirus (Ad). This experiment resulted in decreased relative infarct size (infarct areal area at risk) in ApoD overexpressors and increased size in ApoD KO mice indicating that tissue damage resulting from ischemia and ischemia/reperfusion stress can be treated by administering a prophylactic or therapeutic amount of ApoD. Furthermore, ApoD enhancements may treat other diseases, including but not limited to stroke, PAD, and surgery involving temporary disruption of blood flow (ischemia, e.g., kidney and liver surgeries). Lastly, testing for levels of ApoD would help determine the risk and severity of such diseases or surgeries in patients.  

Problem Addressed

Myocardial ischemia is a pathological state associated with coronary artery disease that results from reduced blood perfusion in the heart, leading to impaired oxygen supply to the heart.  

Advantages  

• Non-surgical treatment for a number of diseases including myocardial ischemia
• Prognostic applications  

Publications

"Identification of Apolipoprotein D as a Cardioprotective Gene Using a Mouse Model of Lethal Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 110, no. 42 (October 15, 2013): E4021-E4029.