Open Heart Surgery
..made easier from drugs designed using crystals grown in Space
Open heart surgery offers hope for a new lease on life, but the trauma caused by the surgery itself often triggers massive inflammation. This is because the immune system, which fights external factors, overreacts. Factor D is the protein which plays a key role in the biological steps that activate this immune response.
By blocking the natural action
of Factor D, the immune sys-
tem is prevented from inap-
propriately running “out of
control,” allowing the patient
To know how to block this
protein, detailed data about its
in space were used to determine this 3-D structure.
This data from crystals grown in space allowed
researchers to develop inhibitors which
specifically block Factor D’s active site.
Factor D blockers, with their great potential to alleviate the complication of inflammation associated with heart surgery, are now being developed for clinical trials. This work is being spearheaded by The Center for Macromolecular Crystallography together with its corporate partner. These new drugs, developed from space research, should be commercially
available as soon as 2001!
Shown above is the reconstructed 3-D structure of Factor D determined from crystals grown in space.