Research

Life Sciences & Biotechnology

Title :

Development of novel phagocytosis assay system for screening of validated drugs (repurposing) : an innovative approach

Area of research :

Life Sciences & Biotechnology

Principal Investigator :

Dr. subrata K Das, shobit Institute Of Engineering And Technology, Uttar Pradesh

Timeline Start Year :

2023

Timeline End Year :

2026

Contact info :

Equipments :

Details

Executive Summary :

Phagocytosis is a crucial physiological pathway where macrophages, neutrophils, and other cells ingest harmful particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells. Disrupting this pathway increases organisms' susceptibility to viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. sepsis is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity due to severe life-threatening infections with multi-organ dysfunction. Neutrophil dysfunction is well-known in patients with sepsis, but there are no clinically validated laboratory tests for neutrophil function, limiting the development and testing of potential immunomodulatory therapies. An easy and quick phagocytosis assay is essential to evaluate defective phagocytosis pathways in cell types. Inhibitor drugs interfering endososome trafficking can be used as a prophylactic approach, blocking pathogen entry at the early stage. Increased lysosome-mediated function plays a crucial role in tumor survival and can be an attractive target for cancer therapy. Currently, available phagocytosis assay systems are costly and time-consuming due to the conjugation of bioparticles, wash/quench steps, cell lifting for flow cytometry, and autofluorescence problems. A calcium sulfate-based engineered particle has been developed to follow the sequential events of phagocytosis, allowing for the development of cell culture and peripheral blood-based assays for laboratory research, nuetrophil function tests, and screening of approved drugs for therapeutic inhibitors to stop viral infections at the early stage by interfering endolysosomal trafficking.

Total Budget (INR):

38,72,260

Organizations involved