05 February 2024
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and progressive disease with a high mortality rate, characterized by scarring of the lungs, which reduces their capacity to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream. Therapeutic options are limited since the molecular mechanisms driving its pathology are not yet fully understood.
Recent ex vivo research has revealed increased expression levels of the anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) protein in fibrotic lung tissues of patients. Furthermore, based on published data, AGR2 is linked to Wnt signaling, although the exact pathway and interaction partners remain unclear.
Hence, with our latest call for proposals on opnMe, we invite you to submit research ideas that address the following question:
How would you propose to investigate and confirm the mechanistic roles of intracellular versus secreted anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) in the progression of lung fibrosis using disease relevant cellular models?
We invite experts in the field to propose robust disease-relevant and functional cellular test systems, which can readily show the impact of AGR2 modulation and distinguish between its intracellular and extracellular roles. Should your proposal be selected, your project will be pursued collaboratively, and you can expect up to 200,000 euros in research funding.
Apply soon as your proposals can only be accepted if they arrive by April 10, 2024, 11:59 pm PST.
No registration required
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About our opn2EXPERTS question:
How would you propose to investigate and confirm the mechanistic roles of intracellular versus secreted anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) in the progression of lung fibrosis using disease relevant cellular models?
With ambitious questions such as this, we share precisely formulated biological questions with the scientific community as part of our opn2EXPERTS program. By sharing our questions from the biology field, we intend to explore novel solutions for discovery research that will benefit the needs of patients.
About opnMe:
opnMe.com, the open innovation portal of Boehringer Ingelheim, aims to accelerate research initiatives to enable new insights of disease biology in areas of high unmet medical need by sharing well-characterized molecules and offer collaborations for science. In the spirit of collaboration, our molecules are provided to the scientific community to help unlock and fulfill their full potential. These molecules are either freely available as “Molecules to Order” or applied via scientific research submissions as “Molecules for Collaboration”. Interested scientists are invited to submit testable research hypotheses with these assets in novel diseases or combinations. With our “opn2EXPERTS” program, we enlist advice on key scientific issues to fuel further drug discovery and deliver novel solutions that benefit unmet patient needs, such as our recent call on “progressing sustainable drug delivery device technologies”.