ATL Standard

Researchers at Georgia Tech have identified a potential breakthrough in the treatment of glaucoma, a disease affecting four million Americans that can lead to blindness. Led by Professor Raquel Lieberman from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, the team discovered two antibodies capable of breaking down myocilin, a protein linked to increased eye pressure when malfunctioning.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Nexus. Lieberman explained that myocilin mutations can obstruct fluid drainage in the eye, causing pressure buildup similar to an overinflated basketball. The new antibodies either prevent myocilin from clumping or break it down after aggregation, allowing fluid to circulate properly.

“These exciting results provide proof of concept that targeted antibodies for mutant myocilin aggregation could be therapeutic,” stated Alice Ma, a Ph.D. graduate involved in the research. She emphasized its potential beyond glaucoma, noting implications for diseases like Alzheimer’s where protein clumping occurs.

The discovery is based on nearly 20 years of collaboration with Jennifer Maynard from the University of Texas at Austin. Lieberman's lab focused on understanding how these antibodies functioned and selected those most effective at degrading myocilin.

“This study builds on 10 years of work that explains how myocilin folds to how to break it down,” said Lieberman. She envisions clinical applications for this fundamental research, especially for early onset glaucoma patients often seen by her collaborator Rebecca Neustein at Emory University.

Lieberman’s work not only aims to help glaucoma patients but also offers insights into treating other protein-aggregation diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Institutes of Health.