IIT Hyderabad group finds new molecule to treat ALS disease

IIT Hyderabad has found a molecule named ‘AIM4’ which is likely to be used as a treatment of a rare and devastating neurodegenerative disease known as 'Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis' (ALS), also called 'Lou Gehrig's disease'. A group of researchers from the institute has discovered the molecule. ALS is a disorder that severely impacts the natural movement of muscles and can cause paralysis and death. It takes place due to alterations in particular genes, which may be prompted by reasons such as metals, pesticides, smoking, and exposure to toxins. At present, there are no drugs available to treat ALS. The treatment options are confined to two drugs only for controlling the condition. Research is in progress across the globe to find better drugs that can seize this disorder and not merely manage the symptoms. Such research needs to find the causes for the beginning of ALS.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules published the results of this research. The research was conducted by a team of IIT Hyderabad spearheaded by Dr. Sandeep Singh, Dr. Rajakumara Eerappa, and Dr. Basant Kumar Patel, faculty from the Department of Biotechnology. Prof. Ganesan Prabushankar from the Department of Chemistry was also a part of the research. The paper has been co-authored by these scientists along with research scholars - Ms. Waghela Deeksha, Ms. Usha Saraswat Mahawar, Mr. Gembali Raju, Mr. Amandeep Girdhar, Ms. Vidhya Bharathi, Mr. Vikas Ramyagya Tiwari, and Mr. Suman Abhishek.

The IIT Hyderabad Research team found that AIM4 was better compared to previously found molecules in averting protein phase separation. The research team has also discovered by means of computational studies that AIM4 has a definite binding site on this protein and binding energy calculations have presented that the connection between AIM4 and the mutant protein is energetically favourable, which makes it a promising drug for the potential treatment of ALS.

Read More: