New applications for tried and tested medicines

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is not only the main regulator of calcium metabolism but is also involved in other physiological processes to maintain normal body functions. Research findings indicate that abnormal CaSR function and/or abundance play a significant role in the development or progression of several non-communicable diseases (or NCDs) such as Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and degenerative muscle loss. These diseases account for 25% of all illnesses in the world.

Different diseases -- same starting point

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), such as the CaSR, are molecular targets for more than 35% of all modern pharmaceutical compounds. The Marie Sklodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN)" CaSR Biomedicine" project will therefore not only investigate fundamental questions about cell type- and ligand-specific signalling pathways of the CaSR, but will primarily test novel effects and applications of CaSR-directed drugs in 14 multi-disciplinary sub-projects in 8 countries. These subprojects will focus on aging-associated diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, muscle weakness) and on various forms of cancer such as neuroblastoma, colon, or breast cancer.

"As these CaSR-modulating drugs already exist, even though their use is currently restricted to a few diseases, they have been tested and approved for human use," explains project coordinator Enikö Kallay of the Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research at the Center of Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology. "If these drugs could also be successfully used to treat other diseases, which would save a lot of time and money that are needed for the development and approval of new drugs."

The team led by Daniela Riccardi (Professor at Cardiff University and a partner in the ETN) received international acclaim for the discovery that Asthma, a common chronic disease could be successfully treated using existing CaSR-inhibiting drugs. Finding ways to use CaSR-directed drugs also for the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and various types of cancer, would be a breakthrough.

This four-year "CaSR Biomedicine" project is the second European Training Network that Enikö Kallay has brought to the MedUni Vienna in the last five years. By coordinating this Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions project, which is funded by 3.6-million-Euros of the Horizon 2020 programme of the EU, Enikö Kallay facilitates the cooperation of 13 research groups in eight countries -- a network which will foster research excellence centred around the MedUni Vienna. In addition to the overall coordination of this international collaborative research and training programme, Enikö Kallay will also supervise its research activities taking place at the Medical University of Vienna. Sabina Baumgartner-Parzer of the Clinical Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism (Department of Internal Medicine III) and Isabella Ellinger (Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research) will be assisting her in the implementation of the project.