Harnessing FK506-binding protein like (FKBPL) to improve peripheral artery disease outcomes and vascular stability.
Addressing underlying causes of peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects approximately one in five Australians. In Australia, a limb is lost every two hours due to severe PAD. People diagnosed with PAD also have up to six times higher prevalence of heart attacks and strokes. Despite these devastating consequences of PAD, the treatments used are suboptimal. Importantly, women are disproportionately affected by PAD with worse outcomes than men, for unknown reasons.
We discovered a new protein called FK506-binding protein like (FKBPL) that is a critical regulator of healthy vasculature, which if damaged, is a key hallmark feature of PAD. Its role in PAD is not known, and here we will develop improved FKBPL-based treatments and carry out comprehensive testing in preclinical models and patient samples.
We will understand better why women affected by PAD have worse outcomes, towards developing effective, targeted and personalised treatment for PAD.
Harnessing a new therapeutic target to restore vascular health
In this project, we will use innovative and unique approaches to understand the role of FKBPL in PAD and develop specific treatments. We will specifically look at whether FKBPL is involved in restoring blood flow to the affected leg and mechanism of this phenomenon.
In addition, our in-house development of vasculature-on-a-chip models will provide promising platform for accelerated drug discovery for PAD and reduce the use of animals in research. We will also test and repurpose FKBPL-based therapies for PAD, taking gender differences into account, to target the causes not just consequences of this debilitating condition.