Monthly Archives: February 2014

GREENWOOD A new partnership will establish formal collaboration among genetic researchers and Clemson University faculty at the Greenwood Genetic Center and Self Regional Healthcare, expanding an already successful working relationship.

Self Regional Healthcare will support the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics with a gift of $5.6 million over three years. The gift consists of an initial contribution of $2 million for the centers facilities and a subsequent contribution of $3.6 million to support research in genetics and human diagnostics at the facility located on the Greenwood Genetic Center campus.

Todays announcement will create a new pipeline for genetic research, said John Pillman, chairman of the Self Regional board of trustees, on Friday. The collaboration of these three partners will ultimately connect genetic therapeutics research to patients.

Jim Pfeiffer, president and chief executive officer of Self Regional, said the partnership will accelerate the rate of innovation in genetic medicine. This is what I like to call a win-win-win scenario, said Pfeiffer.

Steve Skinner, director of the Greenwood Genetic Center, said such collaborations are crucial to turning research advances into clinically available therapies for patients, not only in Greenwood and across South Carolina, but globally.

This collaboration is a major step forward for patients as we combine the resources and strengths of each institution: Selfs commitment to patient care, Clemsons expertise in basic scientific research and our experience with genetic disorders and treatment, Skinner said.

Self Regional and the Genetic Center have had an affiliation agreement since 1975 with the Genetic Centers clinical faculty serving as the Department of Medical Genetics for Self Regional.

Clemson University President James P. Clements said the announcement brings us a step closer to moving basic discoveries in human genetics from a research environment to a clinical setting where they can be used to diagnose and treat genetic-related human disorders.

Clemson is proud to be part of this important collaborative effort, and were grateful to Self Regional Healthcare for its support of our research efforts at the Greenwood Genetic Center, Clements said.

Clemsons Steve Kresovich, the Robert and Lois Coker Trustees Chair of Genetics, is responsible for overseeing research programs and managing collaborative activities between Clemson faculty and personnel at the partner institutions.

Originally posted here:
Self Regional Healthcare, Clemson, Genetic Center create national genetics research hub

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Newswise Philadelphia, Feb. 20, 2014 A large international study analyzing genes in tens of thousands of individuals has discovered 11 new genetic signals associated with blood pressure levels. Ten of those signals are in or very near genes encoding proteins that appear to be likely targets for drugs already in existence or in development.

The fact that most of these new gene signals are druggable targets offers the possibility of expedited pharmaceutical development of therapeutics for high blood pressure, a serious risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, said geneticist Brendan J. Keating, D. Phil., of The Center for Applied Genomics at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, co-senior author of the study. Some of the protein targets already are targets of existing drugs for other diseases, while others are the focus of drugs currently in early-phase clinical trials or under preclinical development.

Keating collaborated with two other senior co-authors, Folkert W. Asselbergs, M.D., Ph.D., of University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and Patricia B. Munroe, Ph.D., of Queen Mary University, London, U.K. The study appears online today in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Study co-authors were from the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Sweden and Ireland.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, a chronic medical condition, is a well-known risk factor for heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and chronic kidney disease. It is a complex condition, affected by many different genes. Because not all patients respond well to current blood pressure medications and other treatments, and other patients require combinations of three or more drugs, there is a substantial unmet need for improved medicines.

In the current study, the researchers performed a discovery analysis of DNA from more than 87,000 individuals of European ancestry. They then assessed their initial findings in a replication test, using an independent set of another 68,000 individuals.

The study team confirmed 27 previously discovered gene signals associated with blood pressure, and discovered 11 novel genetic signals. When the researchers used pharmacological databases to analyze potential targets in the discovered genetic regions, they found that gene products associated with 10 of the genes were predicted to be targets for small-molecule drugs. Two genes, KCNJ11 and NQO1, in fact, are already currently targeted by existing approved drugs. If clinicians can reposition existing drugs to treat some patients with hypertension, this will save significant time in drug development, as they wont be starting development from scratch, said Keating.

Keating added that other gene signals discovered in the study are associated with candidate drugs currently under development within pharmaceutical companies, and it may be possible that they can be repositioned as blood pressure therapeutics.

He stressed that even with possible repositioning, much research remains to be done to determine which drug candidates are effective against hypertension, possibly in personalized treatments based on patients genetic makeup. Keating added that the list of genes affecting blood pressure will likely grow as research continues.

Read more from the original source:
CHOP Researcher Co-Leads Study Finding Genes that Affect Blood Pressure