When fundamental research finds therapeutic pathways

This study is a very good example of fundamental research during which researchers attempt to better understand a mechanism, leading to the discovery of a new function of a protein. “We weren't expecting this at all and our discoveries could ultimately lead to a therapeutic application", Ingrid Struman stresses. Although its arrival on the drug market is still far away, the 16K PRL fragment could have a major benefit with its antiangiogenic and thrombolytic effects. Because, as the researcher points out, “many tumour treatments using antiangiogenic therapy cause thrombosis problems in patients".  Using an antiangiogenic that also has a thrombolytic effect could therefore allow us to overcome these side effects. “But at this stage, this is still only a hypothesis...”, Ingrid Struman emphasises.

One of the next stages of this research is to see whether the 16K PRL fragment is naturally present to regulate the formation of blood clots. Little is still known of the physiological role of 16K PRL today.  A study shows that PRL is synthesised and cleaved into 16K PRL by the retina and that these molecules play a role in the prevention of angiogenesis in the retina. It is the only physiological role of 16K PRL to have been demonstrated up until now. Besides this physiological role, various studies have revealed that 16K PRL is associated with effects observed in certain pathologies. This is particularly the case in peripartum cardiomyopathy where an excess of 16K PRL in the heart plays an important role in the development of this disease. (Read the article “Detecting peripartum cardiomyopathy”).