Faculty Highlights - Cross-Campus Grant Announcement

On June 1, 2009, Mike Tytell (Neurobiology and Anatomy), Carole Browne (Biology) and Jed Macosko (Physics) were awarded a Cross-Campus Collaborative Research Grant for their project titled, "Neuroprotective Effects of Extracellular Hsp70: Comparison of Human Recombinant and Alfalfa-derived Hsp70 In Vitro". In addition to the award of $20,000, they will receive an additional $5,000 from the Center for Entrepreneurship and Liberal Studies to aid in the potential commercial development of the alfalfa-derived Hsp70.

Abstract: 
The 70 kD heat shock protein (Hsp70) directs the folding of cellular proteins, including those denatured following environmental stress. Studies have shown that administering exogenous Hsp70 protects stressed neurons. This project will test the hypothesis that Hsp70 added to the culture medium of rat embryonic spinal neurons will protect them the free radical-damaging effects of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide. It will examine how the neurons take up Hsp70 to gain insight into its protective mechanism. Specifically, it will compare the protective effects of two forms of commercially available Hsp70—the human recombinant protein (StressMarq Biosciences, Inc.) and that purified from alfalfa (Alfa Biogene International, B.V.)—to determine whether alfalfa Hsp70, which can be more easily mass-produced at much lower cost, could be used for clinical applications. Cell health and survival will be measured using conventional assays for apoptosis, as well as direct observation of the numbers of transported vesicles in the neurites of cultured neurons using the recently developed MEDIC imaging system. The public health relevance of our results will be significant progress toward the development of Hsp70 as a therapeutic agent for a wide range of injuries to the central nervous system, including spinal cord injury and stroke.