The Huntington's Inhibitor

There has been research done at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology on how an enzyme in the brain can interact with a compound for Huntington’s Disease. It is said that it actually inhibits the its activity. This means that it can be used as a possible treatment method. They first identified the molecular structure of the enzyme KMO, which is found in the brain. The found that a compound called UPF 648 was able to bind incredibly well to the enzyme thus acting like an inhibitor. The only problem was that it was not a molecule that would make it past the blood brain barrier. They are now on a search for other compounds that can act as great inhibitors but also make it into the brain through the blood.


Even though they did not find this compound, I believe this is a huge achievement in itself. They were able to map the structure of KMO which is such a huge deal because it was not done before, and took a great deal of time. Also, I believe that even though UPF 648 was not an ideal compound, it is a step in the right direction. I think that it is a huge accomplishment knowing that one day they could possibly find a compound to suppress Huntington’s.