Orai1-Calcium Channel-Targeted Peptides Reduce Pulmonary Inflammation
Saira Ahmad
Microbiologist & Research Scientist, Eldec Pharmaceuticals
Orai1 is a ubiquitously-expressed plasma membrane Ca2+ channel, which regulates inflammation. SPLUNC1 is a multifunctional innate defense protein that is critical for lung health and which controls expression levels of the Orai1 Ca2+ channel in the lung. The discovery that SPLUNC1 controls Orai1 protein levels, is the basis for one of Eldec Pharmaceuticals’ programs. We have designed, generated, and screened a peptide library and have developed ELD607, a fully-optimized anti-Orai1 peptide. While global Orai1 knockdown leads to immunosuppression, inhalation of ELD607 inhibits Orai1 in the lungs without unwanted immunosupressive effects. In this presentation, we will discuss ELD607 as an immunomodulator of pulmonary diseases.
Saira Ahmad is a senior scientist at Eldec Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a preclinical stage biotechnology company developing peptide immunomodulators for treatment of inflammatory diseases. She obtained her Bachelors of Science from University of Virginia and PhD at George Mason University (VA) focusing on microbiology and infectious diseases. She then did her postdoctoral studies researching into naturally-occurring peptides and their mechanism of interaction with pulmonary pathogens at the University of North Carolina in Dr. Robert Tarran’s lab (co-founder of Eldec Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). At Eldec Pharmaceuticals, she leads research on peptide drug delivery and lung immune and inflammatory responses.