Health

Drug developers can now design new proteins down to the nanometre. This opens the gates to a new generation of drug treatments for diseases like influenza and Alzheimer's. To help them do this, Dr. Ajasja Ljubetič, the researcher leading the CC‑LEGO project, together with his supervisor, Nobel Prize winner David Baker, developed a toolbox for protein assembly, fusing proteins together using well-understood structures called ‘coiled coils’. The project used cutting-edge software to create LEGO-like building blocks, crafting entirely new proteins never seen before in nature. By inserting synthetic DNA into bacteria, they were able to get them to produce the new proteins so they could be tested. The tests showed that these experimental new proteins could be built into cages and fibres that may act as vehicles to carry drugs safely into the body, helping to reduce side effects and ensuring that these medicines work as intended.

Simplified mini versions of organs are being used in the fight against viruses, helping to reveal how they spread and how antiviral drugs work. Traditionally, this has been done using animal testing or immortalised cancerous cell lines – cells that have mutated to divide indefinitely. However, these traditional models still fail to fully capture how viruses interact with human cells in the body. The OrganoVIR project brought a group of early-career researchers together to make simplified 3D mini-organs, known as organoids. These can better recreate how viruses spread in the body and how antiviral drugs work, while using fewer test animals. Throughout the project, the researchers developed skills in organoids and virology, as well as in management and business, boosting the technology transfer potential of the research. They were able to adapt these human organoids to study how viruses such as coronaviruses and picornaviruses enter the human body and establish infection.

Dental implants are the most functional and esthetic solution for replacing missing teeth. Yet up to 43 % of implants will develop peri-implantitis, an inflammatory disease caused by microorganisms that adhere to the dental implants’ surface, leading to inflammation and bone destruction. In around half of cases, peri-implantitis leads to the need to replace an implant, resulting in significant costs, a long recovery period, potential severe health issues for patients, and added strain on the healthcare system. Dr. Anastasia Beketova, dentist and specialist in Implant Prosthodontics, who led the RegrOssBio project, developed new types of injectable biomimetic materials to treat peri-implantitis in collaboration with material scientists of the Baltic Biomaterials Center of Excellence of RTU and under the guidance of Professor Janis Locs. These products, based on materials that closely mimic the mineral and organic composition of bone, can both eliminate harmful bacteria that cause the disease and generate new bone tissue around the implant. This can save patients and healthcare systems thousands of euros in implant replacement and enhance patients’ well-being. The researchers are now working on bringing these biomaterials to market.