Small molecule agonists of SHIP1 for treatment of inflammatory disease

Activation of the immune system is necessary for defense against pathogens and injury, but just as important are the processes to turn this inflammatory response once the infection or injury has been resolved. Inappropriate prolongation of immune cell activation results in inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and arthritis. The University of British Columbia (UBC) partners in this project have previously shown that activating the intrinsic braking system in cells, a protein called SHIP1, using small molecule compounds can reverse inflammation. We propose to optimize the chemical and biological property of these compounds so that they can be tested in humans for treatment of inflammatory disease. ZebraPeutics Inc has license these compounds from UBC to support their development and subsequent testing in human clinical trials. The work proposed in this application will support this goal.

Faculty Supervisor:

Raymond Andersen;Alice Mui

Student:

Santhi Jampani;Benjamin Yeremy;Jeff Yoon

Partner:

ZebraPeutics Inc

Discipline:

Biochemistry / Molecular biology

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of British Columbia