Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic blood disorder caused by a point mutation in the gene that codes for hemoglobin in red blood cells. This mutation in the protein leads to the formation of long polymeric strands of hemoglobin that cause the red blood cells to form into the characteristic sickled shape. These sickled red blood cells are too rigid to fit through capillaries and thus cause the problems associated with sickle cell disease such as anemia and tissue damage. Although this point mutation was first described over 50 years ago, no effective treatment has yet been discovered.  Our approach towards developing novel therapeutics involves screening large libraries of small peptides in an effort to discover ligands for the protein.  Once ligands have been identified, we can determine if their interactions are sufficient to prevent protein polymerization.  We will present some recent progress that we have made on this challenging biochemical problem.

Development of novel peptidic therapeutics for the treatment of sickle cell disease

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.