SEATTLE, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Omeros Corporation
(NASDAQ:
OMER) today announced that research on mannan-binding
lectin-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) has been published in
the April 18, 2011 Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Wilhelm Schwaeble,
Ph.D., Professor of Immunology at the University of Leicester and
the senior author of the paper, led an international team of
researchers who demonstrated that blocking MASP-2 function
significantly reduces tissue damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion
injury.
Ischemia is the interruption of blood flow to tissue, which can
be caused by myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), strokes and
other medical disorders as well as a wide range of surgical
procedures. When blood flow is restored to ischemic tissue
(reperfusion), the process can trigger an excessive inflammatory
response leading to tissue destruction and impaired organ function.
MASP-2, which was first identified by researchers at the University
of Leicester, is a pro-inflammatory protein target in the
complement system. The complement system, an important component of
the immune system, initiates an inflammatory response as a result
of tissue damage or microbial pathogen invasion.
Professor Schwaeble and his colleagues demonstrated in animal
models of cardiac and gastrointestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury
that inhibition of MASP-2 function blocked the excessive
inflammatory response, resulting in significantly less tissue
damage.
MASP-2 is a key component of the innate immune response and its
inhibition could potentially provide a novel approach to treating
other inflammatory disorders, including neuropathy and other
complications of diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and
autoimmune disorders. Omeros holds worldwide exclusive
intellectual-property rights related to
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