Association of Nanoparticle and Kidney Stone Formation

Nanobac Announces Publication of Association of Nanoparticle and Kidney Stone Formation

Results May Change Approach to Medical Management of Kidney Stones

Last update: 11:28 a.m. EST Feb. 19, 2008

TAMPA, FL, Feb 19, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Nanobac Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Nanobac" or "the Company") announces publication in the International Journal of Nanomedicine research that scientists from the University of California San Francisco collaborating with Nanobac scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center have concluded demonstrating that calcium deposits in the human kidney called Randall's Plaque may in fact be Calcifying Nano Particles (CNPs, also referred to as nanobacteria) which lead to the formation of Kidney Stones.

The study, led by Marshall Stoller M.D. of UCSF and Neva Ciftcioglu, formerly Nanobac's Director of Science at NASA Johnson Space Center, found that CNPs were identified and cultured from Randall's Plaques and detected by Nanobac's proprietary diagnostics. This could represent potential new early diagnosis and treatment opportunities for patients who suffer from Kidney Stones.

Dr. Olavi Kajander, Nanobac's Chief Research and Science Officer, stated: "A strong link was found between the presence of Randall's Plaques and the detection of CNPs. These results suggest new insights into the etiology of Randall's Plaque formation, and will help us understand the pathogenesis of stone formation. Further studies on this topic may lead to new approaches on early diagnosis and novel medical therapies of kidney stone formation."

Nanobac Pharmaceuticals Inc. is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.nanobac.com .

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Article - International Journal of Nanomedicine
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International Journal of Nanomedicine

Issue: ON-LINE EARLY
Pages: 0-0

Association between Randall’s plaque and calcifying nanoparticles

Neva Çiftçioglu1, Kaveh Vejdani2, Olivia Lee2, Grace Mathew1, Katja M Aho3, E Olavi Kajander4, David S McKay5, Jeffrey A Jones5, Marshall L Stoller2

1Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA; 2Department of Urology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; 3University of Kuopio, Department of Biosciences/Biochemistry, Kuopio/Finland; 4Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, Tampa, FL, USA; 5National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

Objectives: Randall initially described calcified subepithelial papillary plaques, which he hypothesized as nidi for urinary calculi. The discovery of calcifying nanoparticles (CNP), also referred to as nanobacteria, in calcified soft tissues has raised another hypothesis about their possible involvement in urinary stone formation. This research is the first attempt to investigate the potential association of these two hypotheses.

Methods: We collected renal papilla and blood samples from 17 human patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy. Immunohistochemical staining (IHS) was applied using monoclonal antibody (mAb) against CNP. Homogenized papillary tissues and serum samples were cultured for CNP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed on papillary samples. Serum samples were tested for CNP antigen and antibody with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: Randall’s plaques (RP) were visible on gross inspection in 11 out of 17 samples. IHS was positive for CNP antigen in 8 of the visually positive samples, but in only 1 of the remaining samples. SEM revealed spherical apatite-formations in 14 samples confirmed by EDS analysis. In cultures, all serum samples and 13 tissue homogenates grew CNP. In ELISA, 14 samples were positive for CNP-antigen and 11 samples were positive for CNP-antibody.

Conclusion: There was evidence of a link between detection of CNP and presence of RP. Although causality was not demonstrated, these results suggest that further studies with negative control samples should be made to explore the etiology of RP formation, thus leading to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of stone formation.

Keywords: calcifying nanoparticles, nanobacteria, Randall’s plaque, urinary stone

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