Posted on September 19, 2001 at 9:45 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB has received two major grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation totaling more than $550,000.

David Curiel, M.D., director of the UAB Gene Therapy Center, is receiving nearly $200,000 over two years and Clyde R. Guidry, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of ophthalmology at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital is the recipient of two three-year grants totaling more than $300,000.

Curiel’s research focuses on a “radical redesign of a virus to allow it to deliver therapeutic genes selectively to pancreatic cells.” He uses an adenovirus, a modified cold virus that is altered to effectively carry genetic material to a targeted cell. “Gene therapy holds great promise for preventing and treating the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes,” Curiel said.

Guidry’s research addresses a complication of diabetic retinopathy, an eye disorder that results from changes in the retinal blood vessels. When these changes occur, scar-like tissue develop within the eye and detach the retina from its normal position, resulting in severe visual loss or blindness. Presently, the only effective method of treatment is to surgically remove the scar tissue.

Guidry’s studies focus on the cells within the scar tissue, specifically the Muller cells, and how insulin-like growth factors stimulate the shrinking activity of the vessels that causes retinal detachment. Guidry’s early findings suggest that “Muller cell contraction is regulated by assembly of an internal complex of adhesion proteins.” Experiments under way are attempting to define the essential components of this adhesion complex and the role of insulin-like growth factors in complex formation.

“Research projects such as these are within JDRF’s seven priorities as we work toward our goals of diabetes prevention and reversal of complications,” said Robert Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of JDRF. “New gene therapy techniques give us more options to help patients while we seek a cure.”