A diagnostic test using macrocyclic compounds to detect the pathogenic prion proteins responsible for BSE and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease is being developed in France.

Anthony Coleman and his team from Université Lyon IBCP-CNRS are developing a diagnostic kit in conjunction with bioMérieux, Lyon, a company specialising in in vitro diagnostics. Calixarenes (bucket-shaped molecules based on alkyl groups linking several aromatic rings into a loop) made by Coleman are being incorporated into the kit. 

Coleman found that the calixarenes show a clear interaction with the pathogenic prion protein PrPSC, which is responsible for BSE and Creutzfeld-Jakob disease. The need for an ante-mortem blood test for these diseases has arisen following cases of blood poisoning through transfusions. On integrating the calixarenes into the diagnostic kit, the test can be used to detect prions pre-death, said Coleman. 

Calixarenes have also shown activity as enzyme inhibitors, antithrombotics, antivirals and antibacterials. The molecules do not have typical drug structures and so will not follow the same mechanisms, said Coleman. This could lead to the discovery of a new range of drugs, he said. 
 
Created from two noxious molecules (para-tert-butyl phenol and formaldehyde) in unpleasant organic solvents, it's surprising to find that these calixarenes have no significant toxicity, said Coleman.

Coleman said the next challenge is to obtain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and equivalent UK and European bodies to use calixarenes in drugs and pharmaceutical applications. 'I am very optimistic about the chances,' he said.

Elinor L Richards