Dr. Yancy Ferrer-Acosta and Dr. Yamixa Delgado Reyes
We are excited to share the positive impact of a collaborative research pilot project, awarded by the Alliance in 2021-2022, that helped advance the research careers of two new investigators by integrating their different expertise to expand knowledge. This pilot project titled “Delivery of Edelfosine through the blood-brain barrier using a transferrin-based delivery system for epilepsy”, was awarded by the Alliance to Dr. Yamixa Delgado (PI) from San Juan Bautista
School of Medicine and Dr. Yancy Ferrer (Co-PI), previously at Universidad Central del Caribe and now at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. This pilot project and its preliminary data strengthened their research productivity, which has led to other collaborative projects that integrate their disciplines of neuroscience (Ferrer) and nanomedicine (Delgado).
A significant outcome of this Alliance-funded research pilot project was a peer-reviewed publication, “ Pérez-Caraballo, D., Torres, G., Estrada, S., Inostroza-Nieves, Y., Pérez, D., Ferchmin, P., Delgado, Y., & Ferrer-Acosta, Y. (2024). Neuroprotection and activation of anti-inflammatory and plasticity mechanisms by PLC-β inhibition after cholinergic hyperstimulation in hippocampal slices and microglial cells. IBRO Neuroscience Reports. In the publication, Drs. Delgado and Ferrer are the corresponding authors. In this study, they used the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine (Pilo) to probe epilepsy-associated mechanisms and explore the effects of Edelfosine (Ef), a synthetic alkyl-lysophospholipid (ALP) and a phospholipase C (PLC)-β inhibitor, as a potential antiepileptic agent. By targeting PLC-β activation, a link between muscarinic stimulation and brain injury, they assessed edelfosine’s neuroprotective effects.
This publication was crucial in achieving, as a research team, their inclusion as one of three research projects of promising new investigators sponsored by the NIH-funded for the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Phase 1 (P20), Principal Investigator: Dr. Filipa
Godoy (UPR-MSC), titled: “COBRE Puerto Rico Center for Microbiome Sciences”. Dr. Yancy Ferrer is the Project Lead, and Dr. Yamixa Delgado is the Co-Lead for the project titled “Determining the impact of Edelfosine on restoring the gut microbiota after an epileptic insult”. Dr. Delgado will work closely with Dr. Ferrer to contribute to the development, characterization, and optimization of a targeted drug delivery system (DDS) that will transport the drug Edelfosine into the brain.
This project will investigate whether Edelfosine (Ef) affects the gut microbiota and their metabolites following an epileptic insult. Their hypothesis suggests that Ef, as an anti-inflammatory agent, will reduce seizures bypreventing microbial dysbiosis, enhancing alpha diversity, and influencing the transport of beneficial metabolites into the brain. Their main goal is to evaluate the potential impact of Ef-DDS on gut microbiota for its preclinical use in treating epileptic patients. This COBRE opportunity will provide the resources needed to understand Ef’s mechanisms and foster their growth as independent researchers.
From left to right: Dr. Stephanie M. Dorta Estremera, Dr. Yamixa Delgado Reyes, Dr. María A. Sosa Llorens, Dr. Filipa Godoy Vitorino, Dr. Mark Miller, Dr. Yancy Ferrer-Acosta, and Dr. Roberto E. Rodríguez Morales.
