Company discovered selective nitration and regulation of tumor-intrinsic and immuno-oncology targets by several of its proprietary nitrases
BRISBANE, Calif., Oct. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company deploying its NITROME platform to build a pipeline of therapies targeting nitrases, a new class of enzymes discovered in-house that are involved in a broad variety of diseases, today announced the company presented data on novel nitrase-based cancer targets (abstract #327) at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Symposium held from October 26-28, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.
The company discovered nitrases that catalyze the post-translational nitration of several key proteins which are involved in important tumor-intrinsic oncogenic pathways, such as Pak4, Bax and RhoA, as well as in central immuno-oncology pathways Pak4 and CD3 zeta, the signaling sub-unit of the T cell receptor. Nitration of these proteins by specific company-identified nitrases was shown to regulate the activity of the nitro-substrates.
“Our breakthrough findings indicate that the function of several oncogenic proteins is regulated by nitration via specific nitrases, which is something that had not previously characterized,” said Irene Griswold-Prenner, Ph.D., founder and chief scientific officer of Nitrase Therapeutics. “The nitro-substrates we have identified are known to regulate the survival of tumor cells, enable the tumor cells to evade immune surveillance, or both. This unlocks a new treatment approach in cancer – developing therapeutics that inhibit the specific nitrases involved in the nitration of oncogenic proteins.”
The company has identified over 25 nitrases to-date and showed that several play a potential role in cancer. Nitrase believes its discovery of this novel class of enzymes provides a new, differentiated avenue for therapeutic intervention. Explicitly, by inhibiting certain nitrases, modulation of activity within relevant oncology pathways could be achieved. For each of these enzymes, the company plans to develop specific inhibitors to determine their therapeutic potential in tumorigenesis.
About Nitration and Nitro-Substrates
Nitration is an important modifier of protein structure, function and localization that is mediated by a class of newly-discovered enzymes, called nitrases. The company has identified the nitro-substrates, the proteins modified by nitrases, for several nitrases that act as important contributors to the onset and progression of cancer. The company is developing modulators of these nitrases to evaluate as potential drug candidates for a variety of underserved solid and hematological tumors.
About Nitrase Therapeutics, Inc.
Nitrase Therapeutics is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company deploying its unique NITROME platform to unlock the therapeutic potential of nitrases, a new class of enzymes that it discovered, to develop a pipeline of therapies against a broad range of diseases. The medicines that Nitrase Therapeutics is developing will target these enzymes and potentially help slow or halt the progression of numerous diseases in which nitrases and nitro-substrates play a role, including Parkinson’s, cancer, immunological and fibrotic diseases. Nitrase Therapeutics (under the former name Nitrome Biosciences) has been widely recognized and has won multiple awards including the prestigious Target Advancement grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). Nitrase Therapeutics is located in Brisbane, CA, and its investors include Sofinnova Partners, AbbVie Ventures, Dementia Discovery Fund, Bristol Myers Squibb, Mission Bay Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.nitrasetx.com.
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