Jump to content

A new invention that may help Cushies


Recommended Posts

  • Chief Cushie

This was in Today's Email Newsletter

 

from http://ott.od.nih.gov/db/abstractdetails.asp?RefNo=1033

 

Description of Invention:

Nuclear receptors are ligand-activated transcription factors that regulate a wide range of biological processes and dysfunction of these receptors can lead to proliferative, reproductive and metabolic diseases, such as cancer, infertility, obesity and diabetes. Nuclear receptors are the second largest class of drug targets and the market for nuclear receptor targeted drugs is estimated to be almost 15% of the $400 billion global pharmaceutical market. Researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease have isolated a novel protein termed STAMP (SRC-1 and TIF-2 Associated Modulatory Protein) that interacts with the biologically active domains of the coactivators TIF-2 and SRC-1 (J. Biol. Chem. (2002) 51,49256-66) and present data which support a role for STAMP as an important new factor in the glucocorticoid regulatory network. There remains a need for novel therapeutics that specifically block or enhance specific genes and an emerging therapeutic goal is the discovery of agents that modulate co-activators or co-repressors in a tissue specific manner.

 

The invention is a novel protein that plays a key role in modulating transcriptional properties of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-steroid complexes during both gene induction and gene repression, and is likely to modulate the transcriptional properties of all the steroid receptors including androgen, mineralocorticoid and progesterone receptors. The inventors have shown that ectopically expressed STAMP protein both modulates the EC50 of glucocorticoid receptor-agonist complexes for induced genes and increases glucocorticoid receptor-repressive activity of suppressed genes in a manner that is inhibited by specific siRNAs under physiologically relevant conditions. The modulation of STAMP levels at the cell or organism level could possibly be used as a therapeutic able to modify inappropriate gene expression that occurs in certain diseases or as a result of long-term steroid treatment.

 

Available for licensing are claims directed to compositions which are capable of modulating the GR gene expression in a mammalian cell using DNA, siRNA or antibodies and to methods of shifting a steroid dose-response curve, where less of the steroid needs to be administered because the composition contains the STAMP polypeptide. The novel STAMP functional sequence can be used in a composition of matter claim or as a target that could be regulated by an antibody or perhaps other modulator that would vary the ability of STAMP to either induce or repress the activity of glucocorticoid receptors. Diseases that could be treated include: hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, Cushing's Disease as well as any disease requiring chronic steroid treatment such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Asthma, inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. The present invention provides a broad, flexible IP platform that should be of interest to companies which focus on nuclear receptors as drug target and lead discovery generators, as well as to companies which have the capability to develop STAMP's potential as a therapeutic.

 

Inventors:

S. Stoney Simons and Yuanzheng He (NIDDK)

 

Patent Status:

DHHS Reference No. E-056-2004/0 --

U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/548,039 filed 26 Feb 2004

PCT Application No. PCT/US2005/006393 filed 25 Feb 2005, which published as WO 2005/082935 on 09 Sep 2005

 

Licensing Status:

In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further development through collaborative research with the inventors via a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

 

Portfolios:

Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine-Therapeutics-Cardiology-Other

Internal Medicine-Therapeutics

Internal Medicine-Other

 

For Additional Information Please Contact: Susan Carson D.Phil.

NIH Office of Technology Transfer

6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325

Rockville, MD 20852-3804

Phone: (301) 435-5020

Email: carsonsu@mail.nih.gov

Fax: (301) 402-0220

 

Web Ref: 1033

Last Updated On: 1/05

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Chief Cushie

It's nice to see that someone is working on stuff that might be beneficial to us...someday!

 

At least we got a mention :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...