Peptide Might Limit Stroke Damage

U.S. medical researchers have determined a peptide they discovered might provide protection against brain damage inflicted by a stroke.

The scientists at the Weill Cornell Medical College said the compound called SS31 is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and inhibit an oxidative stress molecule recently linked with stroke-related tissue damage.

In our experiments, we found that exposing mice to SS31 after an induced ischemic stroke led to a much smaller area of brain tissue being affected, said study author Dr. Sunghee Cho.

That finding suggests SS31 works by inhibiting the activity of CD36 — a scavenger receptor Cho and colleagues have previously linked with stroke-induced tissue damage.

The findings were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

In a separate study, SS31 was determined to stabilize the availability and durability of islet cell transplants for patients with type-1 diabetes, which is characterized by a lack of such insulin-producing cells.

The result is a dramatic increase in transplant success using cells from just one donor, said lead researcher Dr. Dolca Thomas.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.