21 June 2004 13:43
Quark Biotech Announces Discovery of Proteins Regulating Antioxidant Defense
FREMONT, Calif., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Quark Biotech, Inc. announced today the discovery of the function of a
family of proteins called sestrins, which regulate antioxidant defense and modulate an important cell signalling
pathway. The discovery was published in the journal Science (Volume 304, pp 596-599). The study was done in
collaboration with the Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH; The Engelhardt Institute
of Molecular Biology, and Cancer Research Center, both of Moscow, Russia; and National Center for Biotechnology
Information, National Institutes of Health, MD.
Reactive oxygen species or reactive nitrogen species, also known as free radicals, are by-products of the body's
metabolism and are known to contribute to a number of conditions including Alzheimer's disease, myocardial
infarction, atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease, radiation injury and sunburn. Mammalian cells contain elaborate
defense systems to detoxify these radicals; however, the same free radicals function as important signals in pathways
modulating cell proliferation and cell death. Thus, antioxidant defense mechanisms must be tightly regulated to prevent
oxidative damage but maintain cell signalling. Quark, with its collaborators, has discovered that sestrins regulate
antioxidant defense and modulate signalling involved in cell proliferation and cell death. As a result, sestrins
represent a new and important class of therapeutic targets.
"We found that sestrins are involved in re-establishing the cells' 'anti-oxidant firewall' which
prevents damage by free radicals but allows cell signaling," commented Dr. Peter Chumakov of Cleveland Clinic
Foundation and author of the study. "Sestrins are regulated by the oncoprotein p53 and can protect the cells from
apoptosis or cell death induced by ischemia or hydrogen peroxide. By modulating sestrin activity, we can potentially
develop therapeutics for reactive oxygen related pathologies as well as ischemic diseases."
Dr. Daniel Zurr, CEO of Quark Biotech, said, "We are delighted to be collaborating with Cleveland Clinic and
other premier research institutes. The publication in Science demonstrates our continuing ability to perform cutting
edge research which we believe will lead to the development of first-in-class therapeutics."
About Quark Biotech
Quark Biotech, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Fremont, CA, is pioneering Endpoint Driven Drug
Development (ED3). ED3 is a vertically integrated drug development approach that starts with defining a desired clinical
endpoint in any specified disease to design drug candidates to achieve the defined endpoint. Quark's approach
uncovers the critical gene and protein functions profoundly affecting relevant disease pathways allowing the company to
develop conceptually novel drugs that provide previously unavailable benefits to patients. The Company currently focuses
on developing therapeutics to treat metabolic disorders such as diabetes type II and co-morbidities in parallel to the
ongoing pharmaceutical collaborations in other disease areas. Quark operates research facilities in Fremont, California,
also housing the corporate product development teams, and Ness-Ziona, Israel. Additional information is available at
http://www.quarkbiotech.com/.
Contacts: Quark Biotech, Inc. The Ruth Group Boaz Laor Janine McCargo Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations
646-536-7033 (510) 402-4020 jmccargo@theruthgroup.com laorb@qbius.com Quark Biotech, Inc.
CONTACT: Boaz Laor, Executive Vice President, U.S. Operations, Quark Biotech, Inc., +1-510-402-4020, laorb@qbius.com;
or Janine McCargo of The Ruth Group, +1-646-536-7033, jmccargo@theruthgroup.com
Web site: http://www.quarkbiotech.com/
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