Membrane Lipid Therapy, a ground breaking innovation

Membrane Lipid Therapy (MLT) is a novel and unique technology and scientific platform developed by our team of scientists proposing a totally new Therapeutic Approach. Instead of directly targeting intra-cellular proteins, MLT-based compounds are designed to influence lipid organization in cell membranes based on structure–function principles, leading to the regulation of critical molecular signalling pathways involving associated peripheral proteins and downstream events.

The most commonly used rational approach in drug design involves isolating a protein to elucidate its structure and then design molecules that regulate its activity. Membrane Lipid Therapy (MLT) involves the rational design of molecules that regulate the structure and functions of very different cellular targets: membrane lipids. In comparison with our ever increasing understanding of the structure/function relationships of proteins, the structure and functions of biologic membranes has largely been overlooked until very recently. Recent advances in our understanding of lipid membrane structures and their interactions with peripheral signal transduction proteins have opened the way to develop synthetic lipids that target cell membranes, opening the way to the development of novel and alternative therapeutic strategies that may offer significantly improved treatments for a number of important pathologies with very important medical needs unmet, such as Oncology, Neurodegenerative diseases, Metabolic disorders or Inflammation.

We firmly believe this new therapeutic approach (MLT) constitutes a "disruptive innovation" that will radically change the way diseases are fought. Based in the results of more than 20 years cutting edge research conducted by our team of leading scientist, MLT-based products offer an exceptional combination of high efficacy and lack of side-effects or toxicity, even in extremely demanding therapeutic areas like malignant brain tumors, Alzheimer's disease or Spinal Cord Injury

Conventional and membrane-lipid-therapy approaches for the treatment of pathologies. The molecular entities regulated by the treatment are colored, whereas the molecular entities that are not affected by the therapy are shown as open symbols. (a) Conventional chemotherapy is characterized by the interaction of a drug with a target protein (green). Upon drug binding, the activity of such a protein, the downstream elements and gene expression are modulated (lower panel). (b) In membrane-lipid therapy, the clinical drug binds to membrane lipids, regulating the structure of a membrane, with subsequent modulation of the activity of a membrane protein and downstream events

... based on first class new science

Each type of cellular membrane has a specific lipid constitution. The most common lipids in membranes are usually phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyletanolamine, phosphatidylserine, sphingomyelin and cholesterol. Distribution of lipids in membranes is heterogeneous and the existence of microdomains adds complexity to the cellular barriers. Some domains inside a given membrane have defined lipid compositions and properties that differ significantly of those of other areas of the same membrane. Variability in types and abundance of membrane lipids, the morphological heterogeneity of the membranes, the existence of asymmetries in the texture of the membranes, both longitudinal and transversal, implies a level of heterogeneity unknown until recently. Small variations in the composition of these membranes (which happen at physiologic level or induced through drugs) give place to changes in the lipid structure, with the consequent differential regulation of diverse physiologic or pathologic processes. It is well known that olive oil (with oleic monounsaturated fatty acid) or fatty acids omega-3 (polyunsaturated) have beneficial influence on human health, while high consumption of butter (contains mainly saturated fats) is associated to diverse pathologic processes (increase of cholesterol, hypertension, atherosclerosis, etc.). The differences that produce these lipids on the cellular and physiologic functions are closely related with the lipid membrane therapy. Although the beneficial health effects are well known in the nutraceutic field, the possibilities of this new knowledge have not been exploited at pharmacologic level.

Lipid composition of the membrane regulates the activity of the membrane proteins and determines the secondary structure of the same. Lipids can be organized in vitro in a wide variety of structures, and this organization depends in great measure on the "molecular shape" of the membrane components (see next figures).

Lipids found at biologic membranes have different molecular forms (a), what gives place to a wide variety of lipid ordinations (a, b and c). In fact, the membrane lipids are able to form more secondary structures than proteins and nucleic acids together. In a mammalian cell the cellular membranes usually show up polarizations in many tissues, with basal, lateral and apical areas. Also, in these large areas, smaller membrane domains appear. In all these areas, as well as in all the internal membranes that flood the cell, characteristic lipid and protein compositions do show up.

Relevant related documents:

 Membrane Lipid Therapy: a new approach in molecular medicine (2.86 MB). Escriba. Trends in Molecular Medicine, Jan. 2006

 Membranes: a meeting point for lipids, proteins and therapies (675.48 kB). Escriba et al. J. Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 2008