University of Veterinary Medicine

THURSDAY, July 24, 2024 -- Millions of Americans deal with the sleep deficits brought on by sleep apnea, and many turn to one of the few treatments out there, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines. But what if new neurochemical targets in the brain could lead to new, less cumbersome therapies for sleep apnea? That's what a team at the University of Missouri-Columbia are working on in their lab. They've pinpointed specific brain chemicals in mouse brains that link sleep apnea to one of its most unhealthy side effects, high blood pressure. “Our ultimate goal is to eventually help clinicians develop specific drugs to target either these neurochemicals or the proteins they bind to in a way that reduces high blood pressure,” explained senior study author David Kline , an investigator at the university's Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. The study, which was led by postdoctoral researcher Procopio Gama de Barcellos Filho , involved mice whose brains were subjected to a low-oxygen state similar to what humans experience when they periodically stop breathing due to sleep apnea. Examining the rodents' neurochemistry, Filho and Kline noticed key changes when in this "hypoxic" state. “When oxygen levels in the blood drop during sleep apnea, the forebrain sends warning signals to the brainstem area that controls heart and lung functions,” Kline explained. “By studying these signals, we found that two neurochemicals, oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), cause the brainstem to become overactive." Over the long term, this brainstem overactivity can trigger high blood pressure, he said, with all its attendant health issues, such as stroke. “Not only do those with sleep apnea often have high blood pressure, but they also lose a lot of sleep, they have more cognitive and memory issues, and they are more prone to injury at work due to sleepiness,” Kline added in a university news release. The findings were published recently in The Journal of Physiology . Could these new insights lead to drugs or other treatments that might short-circuit some of sleep apnea's worst effects on health? The research is early, and experts note that findings in animal studies doesn't always pan out in people. Still, Kline is hopeful. “This discovery opens the door for future research to block the pathways these neurochemicals use, ultimately helping to bring blood pressure back to normal levels," said Kline, who is also a professor in the university's College of Veterinary Medicine. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

SINGAPORE, December 19, 2023 – Austrianova, a member of the SGAustria group of companies, and a leading provider of cell encapsulated products as well as other biological products and services, today announced a newly published study demonstrating that one administration of Cell-in-a-Box® encapsulated cells followed by multiple rounds (metronomic) of low dose ifosfamide controls tumor growth in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer.* Chemotherapeutics such as ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide are normally inactive until they are metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes, primarily in the liver. The new publication from the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna and Austrianova that appeared in the international, peer-reviewed journal, Life, documents that a single implantation of Cell-in-a-Box® encapsulated cells (that have been modified to make a particularly active cytochrome P450) is able to activate at least 15 sequentially administered rounds of low dose ifosfamide treatments. Crucially, this study shows that the encapsulated cells remain alive and active and that the encapsulated cells are protected from the damaging effects of the activated chemotherapeutic. The encapsulated cell therapy has already shown promise in previous human clinical trials in which only two rounds of low dose ifosfamide treatment were administered without the usual side effects of chemotherapy and this new study thus supports the design concept of a later stage clinical trial with multiple doses of ifosfamide for pancreatic cancer. Austrianova CEO, Brian Salmons, said “This newly published study not only supports a metronomic treatment regime for patients given Cell-in-a-Box® plus low dose ifosfamide but it also demonstrates long term survival of encapsulated human cells in two different mouse models with and without the low dose chemotherapy.” Walter H. Gunzburg, Chairman of Austrianova, added “The principle behind this treatment can be used for many different solid tumors but also for long term delivery of any biotherapeutically active molecule, for example those that are needed for treatments outside the area of cancer such as diabetes, metabolic diseases, enzyme deficiencies etc.” *Brian Salmons and Walter H. Gunzburg (2023) Long term survival of cellulose sulphate encapsulated cells and metronomic ifosfamide control tumour growth in pancreatic cancer models – a prelude to treating solid tumours effectively in pets and humans. Life 2023, 13, 2357. About Austrianova Austrianova (the SG Austria Group), is a biotech company with a global footprint and operations in Singapore, Thailand and Germany. Austrianova utilizes a novel and proprietary technology for the encapsulation of living mammalian (Cell-in-a-Box®) and bacterial (Bac-in-a-Box®) cells. Cell-in-a-Box® protects the encapsulated cells from rejection by the immune system, allows cells to be easily transported, stored and implanted at specific sites in patients. The technology, which has been proven safe and efficacious in clinical trials carried out in Europe, allows companies to develop any kind of cells as a one-for-all living pharmaceutical. Bac-in-a-Box® is a similar protective device adapted for encapsulation of probiotic bacteria where it has human food and animal feed applications as well as re-balancing the microbiome due to its ability to extend storage under lyophilized conditions and to protect encapsulated bacteria against destruction by stomach acid. Austrianova now also offers GMP4Cells that includes competitively priced Master Cell Bank and Working Cell Bank production as well as “Fill and Finish” services for cell therapy products (such as stem cell therapies, biologics produced from cells e.g., vaccines, antibodies, enzymes, recombinant proteins, exosomes, etc.). Forward-Looking Statements This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Austrianova / SGAustria (the Company) and its respective businesses. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of each entity. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including risks from economic factors and the equity markets generally. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Austrianova undertakes no obligation to publicly up-date or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. This is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. SOURCE Austrianova Financial Information Contact: pierre.faddoul@square-associates.com Company and Technology Contact: information@austrianova.com For more information:

Facial recognition software used to study the social behavior of individual Greylag Geese in Europe will soon be used to monitor one of the rarest geese in the world, the Cape Barren Goose in South Australia. The technology was used to assess how each bird responds to images of themselves, other flock mates or partners and researchers say it could be used by other scientists or in citizen science apps around the world to monitor and record endangered wildlife or even to promote the welfare of animals in captivity. Facial recognition software used to study the social behaviour of individual Greylag Geese in Europe will soon be used to monitor one of the rarest geese in the world, the Cape Barren Goose in South Australia. The technology was used to assess how each bird responds to images of themselves, other flock mates or partners and researchers from the University of Vienna and Flinders University say it could be used by other scientists or in citizen science apps around the world to monitor and record endangered wildlife or even to promote the welfare of animals in captivity. Flinders BirdLab leaders Professor Sonia Kleindorfer and Dr Diane Colombelli-Négrel, worked on the software with support from the University of Vienna, University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria and the Konrad Lorenz Research Centre for Behaviour and Cognition. The program tested each goose face with lifesize 2D images of members of the Greylag Goose flock, originally started by the founding father of animal behaviour, Austrian scientist Konrad Lorenz in the 1950s. With 97% accuracy, each goose face could be correctly assigned within a photo library containing 6000 possible matches, researchers say in a new article in Journal of Ornithology. "Next the team placed life-sized photos in a grassy field to see whether geese behave differently to each image -- which they do," says Professor Kleindorfer, who founded Flinders University's BirdLab 20 years ago and now directs the Konrad Lorenz Research Centre, a core facility at the University of Vienna in Austria. "The geese approached the photo of their partner more quickly, gave friendly contactcalls and fed for longer. In contrast, when they saw a picture of themselves -- a goose they had never seen before -- they hissed and took longer to approach food, if they fed at all." The latest findings into visual cues of individuality not only gives insights into the birds' social structure but illustrate how the software to monitor individual faces or body patterns can be monitored using photographs collected in the field -- for animal numbers and movements -- in conservation efforts. "Animal welfare could also be enhanced through the use of photographs in captivity," says Flinders University's Dr Colombelli-Négrel, from the College of Science and Engineering. "For example, a photo might reduce the sense of isolation in a social species held in captivity, or serve as a 'soft introduction' before a new animal is introduced into an enclosure, although care should be given to avoid photos of a deceased relative, ally or dominant animal in the group. "Perhaps captive individuals in group-living species express reduced anxiety when exposed to a photograph of an unknown and smaller non-specific," she adds. Zoologist Konrad Lorenz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch in 1973, used the behaviour of the Greylag Goose to found the discipline of animal behaviour.