A group of Dalhousie University scientists is working with an Ohio biotech company on using a molecule found in Arctic fish to prolong the life of human cells.
The company, Marietta, Ohio-based ProtoKinetix, has isolated and patented a molecule it calls AAGP, which it derived from fish swimming in sub-zero temperatures. The company says this “anti-freeze protein” can prolong the life of a cell and it is working on applying it to such medical fields as ophthalmology, dermatology, transplant support and biomanufacturing.
It’s using a vast array of medical researchers in various locations, including four working through Dal’s medical schools in Halifax and Saint John.
“Most biotechnology companies are born out of a long history of funding scientific research and this company is not any different,” said Dr. Keith Brunt, one of the researchers, in an interview. “It researched the cells in Arctic animals, looking into what allows animals to be frozen or to actually function in temperatures below zero. Imagine the stress and strain these temperatures must put on the cells.”
Brunt has many titles, including Associate Professor at Dal’s Faculty of Medicine in Saint John. He’s also been featured in Entrevestor several times as a Co-Founder of NB Biomatrix, a Saint John company that uses nanotechnology to help clean heavy metals from the most contaminated water sites.
Brunt said NB Biomatrix is still going, and was recently contracted by ProtoKinetix to act as a consultant to review some of the research the Ohio company had carried out on Arctic animals. The company has been studying how fish in the Arctic survive in the extreme cold, how some can even be trapped in ice during winter and survive to swim away when the ice melts.
ProtoKinetix believes there are a vast array of medical applications for its protein that can prolong the life of a cell. (Its logo shows an iceberg, representing not only extreme cold but also the vast well of knowledge hidden beneath the surface.) It has been working with researchers in Alberta who have been part of the Edmonton Protocol team, which has discovered revolutionary treatments for diabetes, as well as a team in British Columbia.
Hear Keith Brunt explain his research in this video.
Soon Brunt began to work with ProtoKinetix’s “topical division”, which works on medical treatments that deal with the surface of the human body, whether it’s the skin or other exposed organs. Brunt is researching an application of AAGP that can be delivered from an eye dropper to treat dry eye disease, and plans to move on to look into treatments for skin conditions. The first step is to establish that the compound is safe.
“If it’s safe enough to put into the eyes, it’s safe enough to put anywhere else on the body,” he said.
He is one of a cluster of Dal profs who are working with ProtoKinetix on a range of applications, from how AAGP can treat eye diseases to heart conditions. The others are: Dr. Thomas Pulinilkunnil, Associate Professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Dr. Boris Gala-Lopez, Associate Professor of such fields as surgery, microbiology, and immunology; and Dr. Jeanette Boudreau of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute.
Brunt said the work is in keeping with the Impart project, the initiative by the Dal medical team in Saint John to collaborate more fully with researchers in other institutions and companies. These would include companies like ProtoKinetix, whose shares are traded over-the-counter and has a market value of about US$25 million.
“A U.S. company like this working with and funding Canadian researchers is huge,” said Brunt. “It’s converting our knowledge into products, and this is what keeps our students here.”
