DARPA Biostasis program aims to slow biochemical reactions to improve treatment outcomes for brain injuries, infections

To improve outcomes for service members who suffer traumatic brain injuries, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a program that aims to slow down biochemical reactions inside cells to extend the length of time that life-saving treatment can be rendered.

DARPA’s new Biostasis program aims to extend the so-called “golden hour” treatment window using molecular biology. Methods including antibodies and other simple biological treatments, holistic treatments that apply to whole cells and tissues, and scaling to the level of a complete organism will be used.

“At the molecular level, life is a set of continuous biochemical reactions, and a defining characteristic of these reactions is that they need a catalyst to occur at all,” Tristan McClure-Begley, the Biostasis program manager, said. “Within a cell, these catalysts come in the form of proteins and large molecular machines that transform chemical and kinetic energy into biological processes. Our goal with Biostasis is to control those molecular machines and get them to all slow their roll at about the same rate so that we can slow down the entire system gracefully and avoid adverse consequences when the intervention is reversed or wears off.”

The program seeks to use proteins to manipulate cellular energetics. In nature, for example, wood frogs and tardigrades can reach a state known as “cryptobiosis” in which all metabolic processes appear to stop, yet the animals continue living. This allows them to survive freezing, dehydration and extreme radiation.

“Nature is a source of inspiration,” McClure-Begley said. “If we can figure out the best ways to bolster other biological systems and make them less likely to enter a runaway downward spiral after being damaged, then we will have made a significant addition to the biology toolbox.”

DARPA plans to collaborate with federal health and regulatory agencies to develop a path for human biostasis use over the course of the five-year, fundamental research program. The ultimate goal is to develop multiple methods to reduce the risk of permanent damage or death resulting from an acute injury or infection.