After obtaining successful results on animal models, Dr Jayant K Pal and his group at the department of biotechnology at the University of Pune are working towards developing a diagnostic kit for anaemia in human patients.
Talking to Pharmabiz Dr Pal, prof. and head, department of biotechnology, said they have done studies on molecular and cellular aspects of regulation of protein synthesis in mammals and a protozoan parasite, Leishmania donovani.
Further studies were carried on animals for drug induced and lead metal induced anaemia. "We have carried out a detailed analysis on the expression of HRI and its eIF-2-a kinase activity in rabbit reticulcoyte lysates during various stages of acetylyphenylhydrazine (APH) induced anaemia," said Dr Pal. The activation of eIF 2-a kinase (HRI) and inhibition of globin synthesis during haem deficiency in rabbits is well established.
"Our further experiments on monitoring the profile of this kinase can be used as a molecular indicator of drug- induced anaemia in rabbits," explained Dr Pal and further added using Western Blotting with anti-rabbit HRI monoclonal antibody to detect the level of HRI in peripheral blood samples of control and anaemic rabbits, we have demonstrated that this technique is more sensitive than the traditionally used techniques involving parameters, like reticulocyte count, haematocrit level and haemoglobin content. "These results prompted us to investigate the expression of HRI during heavy metal induced anaemia and the regulation of protein synthesis in rabbits,'' he said.
And for metal induced anaemia, lead as a representative heavy metal was chosen for inducing anaemia. "The ultimate aim of this investigation is to determine whether HRI could be used as a marker for diagnosing anaemia of various kinds in human patients,'' said Dr Pal. And the data obtained by Dr Pal suggests that Western Blotting and ELISA based method using anti-human HRI antibodies could be more sensitive than the existing clinical methods used for detection of progressive anaemia. ``Therefore this method will be of significant importance with reference to management and therapy of anaemia and other haematological disorders in humans,'' averred he.
Further experiments are in progress to establish the universality of HRI as an indicator for various other types of anaemia either associated with a number of pathologist's disorders, such as thalassemia and haemophilia or caused by other factors such as heavy metal poisoning.
``We will also be filing US patent for the research,'' said Dr Pal.
He has undertaken a major project on the preparation of a diagnostic kit for anaemia in human patients, based on the results on animal model studies. His work also involves cloning the gene for this enzyme. His work on Leishmania has provided insights in the manipulation of protein synthesis and thereby possible methods of controlling these parasites in vitro.