Stroke Drug Development Services Targeting Immune Cells

The immune mechanisms in stroke involve innate immunity and adaptive immunity. A variety of immune cells are involved in causing ischemic brain damage, such as microglia, neutrophils, natural killer (NK) cells, T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, monocytes, and dendritic cells (DCs). Immune cells may also trigger or promote cytotoxic edema and neuronal death through the compromised blood-brain barrier (BBB) in cerebral hemorrhage. Since stroke induces a rapid and massive immune response, immune cells and inflammatory mediators have emerged as promising therapeutic targets for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Fig. 1. Neutrophils activation and adhesion in acute ischemic stroke. (Jickling, et al., 2015)

What We Offer

Ace Therapeutics provides reliable services for the development of stroke drugs that target immune cells. With a team of experts in immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, advanced equipment and proprietary methodologies, we can provide you with a one-stop stroke drug discovery service and accelerate your drug development process. Our services can be tailored to meet the specific needs of our clients' drug development programs.

• Identification of key immune cell types and molecular targets associated with inflammation in stroke
• Design and optimization of stroke drugs that target immune cells
• Evaluation of drug activity in modulating specific immune cell populations in vitro
• Pharmacodynamic evaluation using cell, tissue, or animal models of stroke
• DMPK and safety assessment

Which Immune Cells Can We Help Clients Target in Stroke Drug Development?

Targeting Microglia

Microglia undergo multiple phenotypic changes under ischemic stroke conditions, and the different stages of microglial phenotypic shifts contribute to their complexity. We can help clients develop novel therapeutic strategies to convert microglia to a protective phenotype by targeting the following targets.

Targeting Neutrophils

We can help clients analyze the role of neutrophils in ischemic stroke and preclinically develop one or more therapeutic strategies targeting neutrophils as a treatment for ischemic stroke, including:

• Reducing neutrophil activation and recruitment
• Blocking neutrophil adhesion to endothelial cells
• Blocking neutrophil migration and neurovascular interactions

Ace Therapeutics provides comprehensive immune cell screening, drug design and preclinical evaluation services to help pharmaceutical companies accelerate the translation of innovative immunotherapies for stroke from the laboratory to the clinic. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us!

1. Jickling, G. C., et al. (2015). Targeting neutrophils in ischemic stroke: translational insights from experimental studies. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 35(6), 888-901.