Associate Professor Tracey Gaspari: Inhibiting IRAP – can this help us improve outcomes in cardiac and vascular disease?

Cameron Hollands: Targeting IRAP to combat diabetes-induced vascular and cardiac disease

Associate Professor Tracey Gaspari is Head of the IRAP Pharmacology Lab and holds a continuing teaching and research appointment in Dept of Pharmacology, Monash University. She is internationally recognised as a cardiovascular pharmacologist in the field of Renin Angiotensin System (RAS) biology/pathophysiology and has pioneered the novel concept of targeting Insulin Regulated Aminopeptidase, otherwise known as IRAP in CVD, with a focus on vascular and fibrotic diseases. A/Prof Gaspari’s career encompasses both basic and translational/commercialisation research evidenced by the Monash driven spin-out company, Inosi Therapeutics (in collaboration with Prof Rob Widdop, A/Prof Siew Yeen Chai and Prof Phil Thompson), with a focus on development of novel IRAP inhibitors to treat chronic fibrotic diseases. She led the recent team, in collaboration with Inosi, that was successful in being awarded an MRFF-TTRA Project Grant on development of IRAP inhibitors to treat diabetic nephropathy (2021-2023). Her recent work on targeting IRAP in vascular diseases was recognised with the award of a Vanguard grant to investigate IRAP as a target in treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, which will form part of the presentation in today’s seminar.

Cameron Hollands is in the 3rd year of his PhD studies in the Department of Pharmacology, Monash University under the supervision of A/Prof Gaspari and Prof Rob Widdop. His research program has focused on the role of IRAP in diabetes-induced CVD. His work demonstrated that IRAP plays a key role in vascular, cardiac and renal injury in the STZ-model of type 1 diabetes and that IRAP deficiency or inhibition can limit diabetes-induced increases in inflammation, oxidative stress and fibrosis in this model. These results provided the stimulus for the MRFF-TTRA grant investigating IRAP as a target in diabetic nephropathy. Cam is currently finishing a study investigating the efficacy of inhibiting IRAP in a robust rat model of type 2 diabetes in which he is investigating the effect of a novel IRAP inhibitor developed by Inosi Therapeutics with everyone eagerly awaiting the results of this study. Cam has presented his work at national meetings and will present his work at the prestigious World Congress in Pharmacology, in July 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/93278404518

Passcode: 781094

May 17 2023