Itxaso San Juan

Mrs. Itxaso San Juan

CIC bioGUNE

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
GBGaneko Bernardo-Seisdedos
Ganeko Bernardo-Seisdedos
JCJorge M. Charco
Jorge M. Charco
IJItxaso San Juan
Itxaso San Juan
SGSandra García-Martínez
Sandra García-Martínez
PUPedro Urquiza
Pedro Urquiza
Oscar MilletOscar Millet
Oscar Millet
Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), also known as Günther’s disease, results from a deficient activity in the fourth enzyme, uroporphyrinogen III synthase (UROIIIS), of the heme pathway. Ciclopirox (CPX) is an off-label drug, topically prescribed as an antifungal. It has been recently shown that it also acts as a pharmacological chaperone in CEP, presenting a specific activity in deleterious mutations in UROIIIS. Despite CPX is active at subtoxic concentrations, acute gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity was found due to the precipitation in the stomach of the active compound and subsequent accumulation in the intestine. To increase its systemic availability, we carried out pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) studies using alternative formulations for CPX. Such strategy effectively suppressed GI toxicity in WT mice and in a mouse model of the CEP disease (UROIIISP248Q/P248Q). In terms of activity, phosphorylation of CPX yielded good results in CEP cellular models but showed limited activity when administered to the CEP mouse model. These results highlight the need of a proper formulation for pharmacological chaperones used in the treatment of rare diseases.