Pasithea Therapeutics publishes study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that shows an increase in α5 integrin expression in ALS human and mouse brain tissue, and further demonstrates targeting α5 integrin results in improved surviv

-- PAS-003 is a monoclonal antibody targeting α5/β1 integrin for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“ALS”) --  

-- Lead α5/β1 integrin drug candidate to be selected in H2 2023 -- 

PALO ALTO, Calif. and MIAMI, Aug. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pasithea Therapeutics Corp. (NASDAQ: KTTA) (“Pasithea” or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, research, and development of innovative treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced a publication in the internationally renowned scientific peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), related to its PAS-003 drug discovery program, that describes an increased expression of α5/β1 (α5) integrin on motor neurons in ALS human and mouse tissue, as well as the blockade of this integrin as a potential new approach to treat ALS patients.

The study entitled “Elevated α5 integrin expression on myeloid cells in motor areas in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a therapeutic target in ALS” can be found here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2306731120

The paper presents new findings from an interdisciplinary collaboration of scientific teams at Pasithea, the Mayo Clinic, and Oregon Health & Science University, combining results from human post-mortem tissues from ALS patients and from tissue samples from the superoxide dismutase-1 G93A mouse model of ALS (SOD1^G93A).

Key findings from the publication show:

• an increased expression of α5 integrin in motor pathways of the central and peripheral nervous system in post-mortem tissues from ALS patients with various clinical ALS phenotypes and disease duration;
• specificity of α5 integrin in ALS compared to other integrins;
• presence of α5 integrin-positive microglia, particularly in the zone of active and prior neuronophagia;
• an increased expression of α5 integrin in microglia and macrophages in the SOD1^G93A mouse model of ALS linked to disease progression;
• the administration of a monoclonal antibody against α5 integrin increased survival in the SOD1^G93A mouse model of ALS compared to an isotype control; and
• the administration of a monoclonal antibody against α5 integrin improved motor function on behavioral testing in the SOD1^G93A mouse model of ALS compared to an isotype control.

“This work began at Stanford University, where we have spent decades studying integrin related targets,” commented Pasithea's Chairman, Dr. Larry Steinman. “It was especially gratifying to see the α5 antibody survival and behavioral benefits replicated at an independent CRO. I especially enjoyed our collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, the world’s leading ALS medical center, where we saw overwhelming evidence that in ALS patients α5 expression is upregulated in motor neurons and not in sensory neurons.”