This project set out to discover and validate new potential molecules that might be the basis for developing a novel class of drugs that target the peroxiredoxin proteins. These proteins are implicated in many physiological processes in our bodies and play a role in our 24 hour body clock (circadian clock). Many diseases are now thought to associate with disruptions in our body clocks, and also in how the peroxiredoxin proteins themselves work. For example, numerous cancers display high peroxiredoxin levels, which may benefit them in spreading within a tissue and also throughout the body. Thus, finding molecules that can target the peroxiredoxin proteins have therapeutic potential in diverse areas.
We were successful in finding “lead” compounds using computational (“virtual”) screening approaches, which we went on to validate with biophysical tests and, in some cases also in biological systems (cells in petri dishes). These compounds represent a range of scaffolds upon which future, more potent, drugs can be built. We were able to find molecules that are able to target each of the six peroxiredoxin proteins, although in some cases, the compounds are able to target more than one of the proteins at the same time. This may be beneficial in some use cases (e.g. cancers with two peroxiredoxin proteins expressed at high levels).
The ERC Proof of Concept grant is thus a stepping stone that has allowed us to make these important findings that we may be able to develop patents from, and to commercialise (e.g. via a spin-out company) with further follow-on funding in the future.
