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Mr. Kammerer, why is the breakthrough in your research so important that not only all major domestic media, but also foreign media reported on it?
Richard Kammerer: Because our basic research into the neurotoxin botulinum neurotoxin variant A1, also known as botox, may enable many medical applications in the future, especially in the field of chronic pain treatment. There are more than fifty applications where our research could be important, and new ones are added every day.
Tell me one…
-Kammerer: Botulinum toxin, or Botox for short, is already used today to treat pain or reduce excessive sweating. However, it takes up to seven days after injection to work. For example, if you suffer from almost unbearable pain due to severe migraine or neck pain, it is a great advantage that this period can be reduced to less than a day. Other uses may be to suppress tumor growth or prevent spastic cramps.
What exactly is this botulinum toxin?
-Kammerer: You know it under the name Botox from the beauty industry. The extremely potent neurotoxin, when used in a targeted way, can paralyze individual muscles that the beauty industry uses to reduce wrinkles. Bacteria called Clostridium botulinum produce this substance during their metabolism, which takes place anaerobically, without oxygen. These bacteria are found in soil and therefore food can also become contaminated. The substance they produce, botulinum toxin, is highly toxic to humans and mammals, causing paralysis and, if left untreated, death. There are one or two cases of botulism every year in Switzerland; This is almost always due to improperly preserved food, where bacteria can multiply in the absence of oxygen. There is a large field of research internationally focusing on the search for new antidotes.
But you couldn’t find that, could you?
-Kammerer: No, quite the opposite, and this actually happens by accident. We made a protein called DARPin (Designed Ankyrin Repeat Protein), which is expected to act as an antibody against the venom. First, what we expected appeared in the test tube: The protein completely blocked the activity of botulinum toxin. But in actual nerve cells and muscle tissue, things looked different: The effect of Botox combined with our DARPin was actually accelerated in the nerve cells. So instead of an antidote, we found an amplifier, so to speak.
How did you come across Botox research?
-Kammerer: As part of an industrial collaboration with a major pharmaceutical player, my research team and I were able to demonstrate how Botox binds to nerve cells. Our results were a great success almost exactly ten years ago and were published in the famous specialist journal “Nature”. At that time we approached this project almost naively: we later learned that many laboratories, some very well-known, were investigating the same topic. If we had known this, we might never have started this project. We were then invited to a major conference, the Toxins Meeting in Lisbon, where I was able to give the keynote. I was so excited about the topic that I decided to continue researching this area.
Lucky breaks, that is, unexpected results with surprising consequences, often lead to breakthroughs in research; Has there been such a development in your career before?
-Kammerer: We encounter unexpected results all the time – that’s the beauty of science: you make an assumption, you try to prove it, and perhaps you get a result that completely contradicts the assumption. Then the assumption was wrong and you need more information to make a revised assumption; Then you try to prove it. This is how knowledge acquisition, research, and ultimately science itself works; constant review of what you think you know. This is research. But I have never experienced such a lucky opportunity before!
How long do you think it will take for the first applications of your research to reach patients?
-Kammerer: Unfortunately, even in the best-case scenario this would still take years. If the industry is interested, multiple studies need to be conducted to determine whether the DARPin/Botox combination works as intended in humans. After all, it still needs the approval of the authorities; This is also a long process.
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
