Alexey Amunts’ Post

For decades, drug developers have struggled to safely target CB2, a receptor linked to fibrosis and inflammation. Using AI-designed antibodies and high-throughput functional screening, researchers from Abalone Bio and Mount Sinai created antibodies that activate CB2 and reduce scar formation in human liver tissue. Could this be a new path for fibrosis therapies and a sign that AI-driven antibody discovery may unlock some of biology’s hardest targets? Read more in Bree Foster, PhD's article in Drug Discovery News: https://lnkd.in/gm3xMeKh ft: Richard Yu Scott Friedman

📢 New publication from the EFFecT network! We’re excited to share one of the first scientific outputs from the EFFecT network: a commentary published in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids by Gijs-Jan Scholten, and the EFFecT network’s own Jamie Hyde (DC7) and Ronald Buijsen. The article discusses new research by Kentaro Maeda and colleagues describing a chemically modified siRNA strategy targeting expanded CAG repeats, a promising RNA-based therapeutic strategy for polyglutamine disorders, such as Huntington’s disease and several spinocerebellar ataxias. The commentary highlights how serinol nucleic acid (SNA) modifications may improve the stability, distribution, and selectivity of RNA therapeutics in the central nervous system, while also discussing key challenges like target specificity and long-term safety. Research like this aligns with the EFFecT network’s mission to advance the development of antisense and RNA-based therapeutics and to train the next generation of scientists in this rapidly evolving field. Commentary link: https://lnkd.in/ddeZXUem #EFFecT #MSCA #DoctoralNetworks #RNAtherapeutics #HorizonEurope

Happy to announce our new research in Clinical Proteomics! Why the processing and storage of biospecimens matters to understand the disease biology and discovery of biomarkers? To fill the small gap! We investigated how pre-analytical factors like storage time, freeze-thaw cycles, and centrifugation speed affect the plasma proteome and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Key takeaways: ✅ 8000 xg centrifugation can reduce EV/protein counts by 70%. ✅ Short-term freeze-thaw cycles are less damaging than previously feared. ✅ Years of freezer storage significantly degrade proteome coverage. This study underscores the urgent need for standardized protocols in EV-based biomarker discovery. Check out the findings below! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7NU8kSX #ScienceCommunication #ClinicalProteomics #EVs #LabLife #ResearchUpdate #HealthTech #Biomarker

It is great to see more and more studies seriously examining the impact of plasma and EV collection and storage on proteomic analyses. This is a challenge that my colleagues and I encounter on a daily basis when suporting researchers using P2-iST and ENRICH-iST, without being able to quantify the impact of each parameter precisely. As a research community, and despite several very interesting recent studies, I do not believe we have all the answers on this subject yet. Congratulations to the team for their work and contribution to this essential area of research. #Proteomic #Plasma #EVs

Targeting NSD2 biology in multiple myeloma continues to gain strong scientific validation. A new study published in Blood uses a dTAG-based protein degradation system to precisely interrogate #NSD2 function. Dr. Yubao Wang and Dr. Gareth J. Morgan at NYU Langone Health demonstrate how NSD2-driven H3K36me2 methylation reshapes chromatin and activates oncogenic transcription programs in t(4;14) multiple myeloma. These mechanistic insights reinforce the growing view across the field that NSD2 represents a compelling therapeutic target in high-risk myeloma. At K36 Therapeutics, this biology is being translated into the clinic through the MMSET-001 study, evaluating gintemetostat (KTX-1001), a selective oral NSD2 inhibitor in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with t(4;14). Scientific validation from the academic community continues to build momentum for exploring epigenetic precision medicine approaches in myeloma. Because the biology matters. And patients deserve new options. See Dr. Wang’s Publication in Blood: https://lnkd.in/eRzd7jam #MultipleMyeloma #NSD2 #Epigenetics #PrecisionOncology #TranslationalScience

Huntington’s disease preclinical drug development depends on a deep understanding of disease biology to deliver truly differentiated therapies. IRBM’s long‑standing neuroscience expertise enables us to drive preclinical programs from target validation to lead optimization through a broad set of cutting‑edge capabilities. At the 21st Annual HD Therapeutics Conference, we will present “𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗠𝗥 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝗦β 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝗦β-𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀”, where Alessandro Piai, PhD MBA will showcase an integrated NMR, LC‑SEC, and LC‑HRMS platform to validate MutSβ-targeting hits and triage candidates that modulate MutSβ–DNA interactions. 📌 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 #𝟖𝟒 | 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗕 - Wednesday, February 25, 2:30 PM Meet Carlo Toniatti, Cristina Alli, Stefania Gobessi, Sara Tomaselli, Manuel Daldin, and Alessandro in Palm Springs (Feb 23–26) to discuss how IRBM can advance your discovery efforts in this challenging field.

Curious how intestinal organoids are being used as complex in vitro models to improve drug discovery and translational relevance? Join our FAS, Taylor Broda, as he explores real-world applications, data, and workflows using intestinal organoid systems. 🔬 Seminar Title: Intestinal Organoids: Complex In Vitro Models for Drug Discovery and Disease Modeling  📅 Date: Wednesday, March 4th ⏰ Time: 10:00 AM (PT) 📍 Location: Virtual What You'll Learn: ✔️ New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and Complex in vitro Models (CIVMs): Why advanced human in vitro models are gaining traction in drug discovery. ✔️ Earlier, clearer signals: How next-gen models improve prioritization and de-risk pipelines. ✔️ Intestinal organoids in action: Revealing biology and drug responses missed by conventional systems, across: toxicity, metabolism, barrier function, and oncology/immune models. 📢 Spots are limited—register today! 🔗https://lnkd.in/gFEXvHFt #Organoids #NAMs #CIVMs #DrugDiscovery #DiseaseModeling #IntestinalOrganoids #FDAmodernization #FDAroadmap #InVitroModels

Source: (Nano letters) Mass spectrometry-assisted high-throughput screening (MSHTS) identifies lung-targeting lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for protein delivery. A library of 46 biodegradable lipids led to BDMPA-TK12, which accumulates in the lungs and enhances uptake by pulmonary cells. This LNP effectively delivers proteins, activating protective signaling in lung inflammation. MSHTS advances tissue-selective nanoparticle discovery for biomedical applications.

🔬 SILAC (Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino acids in Cell culture) (Matthias Mann) ✨ Explore how modern medicine stands on the shoulders of SILAC, the quiet cellular hack reshaping drug discovery. While patients recognize the pills they take, they rarely know the cellular hack—SILAC—that made precise protein quantification possible for those therapies. ✓ 🔬 Before SILAC, quantitative protein comparison relied on antibodies or radioactivity, providing limited accuracy across multiple samples. ✓ 🧬 Matthias Mann incorporated heavy‑isotope amino acids into cellular proteins, allowing mass‑spectrometry to detect precise peptide mass differences for quantification. ✓ 🧫 SILAC identifies disease biomarkers, validates drug targets, and supports personalized therapy development, improving outcomes in cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. 🟢 Have you ever applied SILAC in your laboratory experiments? #Proteomics #MassSpectrometry #SILAC #Biotech #DrugDiscovery

🔬 SILAC (Stable Isotope Labeling by Amino acids in Cell culture) (Matthias Mann) ✨ Explore how modern medicine stands on the shoulders of SILAC, the quiet cellular hack reshaping drug discovery. While patients recognize the pills they take, they rarely know the cellular hack—SILAC—that made precise protein quantification possible for those therapies. ✓ 🔬 Before SILAC, quantitative protein comparison relied on antibodies or radioactivity, providing limited accuracy across multiple samples. ✓ 🧬 Matthias Mann incorporated heavy‑isotope amino acids into cellular proteins, allowing mass‑spectrometry to detect precise peptide mass differences for quantification. ✓ 🧫 SILAC identifies disease biomarkers, validates drug targets, and supports personalized therapy development, improving outcomes in cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. 🟢 Have you ever applied SILAC in your laboratory experiments? #Proteomics #MassSpectrometry #SILAC #Biotech #DrugDiscovery