[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 162 (Monday, August 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51823-51824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20862]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S.
Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance
with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results
of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent
[[Page 51824]]
applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage
for companies and may also be available for licensing.
ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent
applications listed below may be obtained by writing to the indicated
licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,
Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7057; fax: 301/402-0220. A
signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive
copies of the patent applications.
Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Blade-1 Region Peptides: Use as Cell
Migration Modulators
Description of Technology: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an
enzyme integrally involved in many normal physiological processes that
require degradation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix, such as
cell migration and invasion, wound repair, bone remodeling,
angiogenesis, and embryonic growth. MMP-9 is shown to be involved in
the progression of several diseases including many cancers,
cardiovascular diseases, CNS diseases, respiratory diseases, and
arthritis. In cancer, MMP-9 is thought to promote growth, migration,
and spread of cancer cells by catalyzing the degradation of
extracellular matrix proteins, releasing bound growth factors, and
allowing cancer cells to escape from the primary tumor.
NIH Inventors have discovered that specific polypeptides
corresponding to Blade-1 region of MMP-9 hemopexin domain can stimulate
migration of cells, specifically the migration of cells expressing
[beta]1 integrin. The present technology can be used to develop novel
therapeutic candidates for the prevention and treatment of human
disease conditions mediated by MMP-9 promoted cell migration, e.g.,
cancer, inflammation, fibrotic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, CNS
diseases, respiratory diseases, angiogenesis and arthritis.
Applications: Development of therapeutics for treating or
preventing human diseases (cancer) using MMP-9 Blade-1 domain
polypeptides or peptide analogs.
Development Status: Early-stage.
Inventors: SK Akiyama et al. (NIEHS)
Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/360,328 filed 30
Jun 2010 (HHS Reference No. E-146-2010/0-US-01)
Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
Licensing Contact: Suryanarayana Vepa, PhD, J.D.; 301-435-5020;
[email protected].
Collaborative Research Opportunity: The National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis,
Cell Adhesion Group, is seeking statements of capability or interest
from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop,
evaluate, or commercialize this technology. Please contact Elizabeth M.
Denholm, PhD at 919-541-0981 or [email protected] for more
information.
Melanocyte Pigmentation or Proliferation With Neuregulin: Compositions
and Methods to Treat Skin Disorders, Including Skin Cancer
Description of Invention: Human skin pigmentation is regulated by
complex and intricate interactions among melanocytes and keratinocytes
in the epidermis and fibroblasts in the dermis. A number of factors
secreted from keratinocytes and/or from fibroblasts have been shown to
be involved in regulating skin pigmentation after UV exposure. NIH
investigators have previously demonstrated that the less pigmented and
thicker skin on the palms and soles is regulated by underlying
fibroblasts in those areas, specifically via a secreted factor (DKK1)
that modulates Wnt signaling. Now, using microarray analysis to compare
gene expression patterns in 15 different primary dermal fibroblast
populations derived from the dorsal trunk skin of three different skin
phototypes (I, III and VI), these investigators have identified a
number of genes that differ dramatically in expression. One among them,
neuregulin 1 (NRG-1), secreted by fibroblasts derived from dark skin,
effectively increases the pigmentation of melanocytes in tissue culture
and in an artificial skin model and regulates their growth, suggesting
it is one of the major factors determining human skin color. NRG-l was
observed to be highly expressed by fibroblasts derived from darker
skin. NIH investigators believe that NRG-1 increases the proliferation
of human melanocytes via the phosphorylation of Akt. These results
suggest a potential role for NRG-1 in regulating constitutive human
skin color and perhaps its dysfunction in pigmentary skin diseases.
Based on these observations, NIH investigators are currently developing
compositions and methods of modulating pigmentation and proliferation
of a melanocyte to prevent or treat skin disorders, including skin
cancer.
Applications:
Therapeutics for skin disorders.
Therapeutics for skin cancer.
Development Status: Early stage and studies on reconstructed skin
model and in melanocytes.
Inventors: Vincent J. Hearing and Wonseon Choi (NCI)
Related Publications:
1. Choi W, Wolber R, Gerwat W, Mann T, Hearing VJ. Characterization
of the influence of fibroblasts on melanocyte function and
pigmentation. In: Proc. XXth Intl. Pigment Cell Conf., edited by K.
Jimbow, Bologna, Italy: Medimond, 2008, p. 79-82.
2. Choi W, Wolber R, Gerwat W, Mann T, Batzer J, Smuda C, Liu H,
Kolbe L, Hearing VJ. A novel fibroblast-derived melanogenic paracrine
factor neuregulin-1 (NRG-1) that modulates the constitutive color and
melanocyte function in human skin. J. Cell Sci. in press, 2010.
Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/357,846 filed 23
Jun 2010 (HHS Reference No. E-100-2010/0-US-01).
Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
Licensing Contact: Suryanarayana Vepa, PhD, J.D.; 301-435-5020;
[email protected].
Collaborative Research Opportunity: The Center for Cancer Research,
Laboratory of Cell Biology, is seeking statements of capability or
interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further
develop, evaluate, or commercialize the use of NRG-1 (or modifiers of
its function) to regulate skin pigmentation. Please contact John Hewes,
PhD at 301-435-3121 or [email protected] for more information.
Dated: August 17, 2010.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-20862 Filed 8-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P