Lysosome may play the key role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases
Each neurodegenerative disease, for instance, Parkinson disease (PD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is characterized by involvement of specific brain regions/neuronal subgroups, as well as accumulation of specific toxic protein aggregates. One common mechanism encompassing all neurodegenerative diseases, however, may be inefficient degradation of toxic protein aggregates. Since lysosome is the main site for bulk protein degradation, drugs developed by Zincure aim at boosting lysosomal function to effectively remove toxic protein aggregates in these diseases.
MMP-9 is the key of Acute Ischemic Brain Injuries
Following brain ischemia, MMP-9 activity begins to rise not only in the brain parenchyma, but also in vascular endothelial cells and peripheral neutrophils. MMP-9 activation in the latter cells contributes to the breakdown of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and thus allows the immune cell infiltration and further brain cell damage. New drugs developed by Zincure selectively inhibit the over-activation of MMP-9 in blood and brain, ameliorating BBB disruption and ischemic brain damage.