[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 102 (Thursday, May 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29766-29768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12790]
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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
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.
UOK 257, the First BHD Tumor Cell Line, and UOK257-2 Wild Type FLCN-
Restored Renal Cell Line as In Vitro and In Vivo Models of Energy/
Nutrient Sensing Through the AMPK and mTOR Signaling Pathways
Description of Invention: Scientists at the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) have developed a novel renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell
line designated UOK257, which was derived from the surgical kidney
tissue of a patient with hereditary Birt-Hogg-Dube' (BHD) syndrome and
companion cell line UOK257-2 in which FLCN expression has been restored
by lentivirus infection. These cell lines harbors a germline mutation
of FLCN gene (alias BHD) and displays loss of heterozygosity, can grow
as xenograft in nude mice. Patients affected with BHD develop skin
papules (fibrofolliculomas), lung cysts, spontaneous pneumothorax and
an increased risk for bilateral multifocal renal tumors. Loss of both
copies of the FLCN gene has been documented in BHD renal tumors;
however, the molecular mechanisms by which inactivation of the encoded
protein, folliculin, leads to the BHD phenotype are currently unknown.
They have developed an important research tool for in vitro folliculin
functional studies. The companion cell line will be extremely useful
for comparative biochemical analyses of cell culture systems in which
the FLCN gene is either expressed or inactivated, including
identification of renal tumor biomarkers, alteration of biochemical
pathways resulting from loss of FLCN
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function, tumorigenicity of FLCN null versus FLCN restored cells,
preclinical therapeutic drug testing in xenograft animal models
produced from injection of these cell lines, etc. UOK 257 and UOK257-2
are thus useful cell models for studying the underlying molecular
derangements associated with mTOR pathways and other biogenesis
pathways in human kidney cancer and for evaluating novel therapeutic
approaches for this disease. UOK257 is also one of the 40-member renal
cancer cell lines in the Tumor Cell Line Repository of the Urologic
Oncology Branch (UOB), National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Applications
In vitro and in vivo cell model for BHD cancer syndrome.
Research tool for investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms
contributing to advanced BHD, including the identification of new BHD
tumor antigens for immunotherapy.
Research tool for studying genes transcription status of
genes involved in BHD to reveal the genetic processes occurring in BHD
tissues that may contribute to advanced disease.
Positive control cell line for FLCN gene expression and
function studies, including cytogenetics, gene mutation research, and
examination abnormalities of interaction with other proteins that may
contribute to BHD.
Research tools for testing the activity of potential anti-
cancer drugs against BHD, a disease which has no effective treatment
options; tool for searching tumor markers for diagnosis, prognosis and
drug resistance.
Therapeutic drug testing for targeting BHD renal tumors,
possible starting material for developing a cancer vaccine against BHD.
Advantages
Cell line is derived from a BHD patient: These cell lines
are anticipated to retain many features of primary BHD samples and
novel BHD antigens identified from this cell line are likely to
correlate with antigens expressed on human BHD type of RCC tumors.
Studies performed using these cell lines may have a direct correlation
to the initiation, progression, treatment, and prevention of BHD type
of RCC in humans.
Molecular and genetic features are well characterized:
This cell line is part of NCI Urologic Oncology Branch's Tumor Cell
Line Repository. The inventor has elucidated many physical
characteristics of the cell lines, including chromosomal attributes and
valuable studies on functions of BHD gene, their data suggest that
FLCN, mutated in the BHD syndrome, and its novel interacting partner,
folliculin-interacting protein (FNIP1), may be involved in energy and/
or nutrient sensing through the AMPK and mTOR signaling pathways.
Inventor: W. Marston Linehan (NCI).
Related Publications
1. Yang Y, Padilla-Nash HM, Vira MA, Abu-Asab MS, Val D, Worrell R,
Tsokos M, Merino MJ, Pavlovich CP, Ried T, Linehan WM, Vocke CD. The
UOK 257 cell line: a novel model for studies of the human Birt-Hogg-
Dub[eacute] gene pathway. Cancer Genet Cytogenet. 2008 Jan
15;180(2):100-109. [PubMed: 18206534.]
2. Baba M, Hong SB, Sharma N, Warren MB, Nickerson ML, Iwamatsu A,
Esposito D, Gillette WK, Hopkins RF 3rd, Hartley JL, Furihata M, Oishi
S, Zhen W, Burke TR Jr, Linehan WM, Schmidt LS, Zbar B. Folliculin
encoded by the BHD gene interacts with a binding protein, FNIP1, and
AMPK, and is involved in AMPK and mTOR signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci
USA. 2006 Oct 17;103(42):15552-15557. [PubMed: 17028174.]
Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-131-2010/0--Research Tool.
Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
Licensing Status: Available for licensing under a Biological
Materials License Agreement.
Licensing Contact: Betty B. Tong, Ph.D.; 301-594-6565;
[email protected].
Collaborative Research Opportunity: The Center for Cancer Research,
Urologic Oncology Branch, is seeking statements of capability or
interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further
develop, evaluate, or commercialize kidney cancer tumor cell lines as
described in above abstract through MTA, CRADAs, CTAs, BML, etc.:
For laboratory interests in the basis of metazoan tumor
cell survival, including growth factor-regulated nutrient uptake;
glucose or glutamine metabolism and epigenetic gene control; tumor cell
bioenergetics and cell growth through AMPK and mTOR signaling pathways.
In vitro and in vivo cell model for BHD cancer syndrome.
It is a valuable research tool for a laboratory interested in
identification of new BHD tumor antigens for immunotherapy.
These paired cell lines for FLCN gene expression and
function studies, including gene therapy, cytogenetics, gene mutation
research, and examination of abnormalities of interaction with other
proteins that may contribute to BHD.
The excellent in vivo model for preclinical xenograft
imaging, including stable transfection. Cells could be labeled with
reagents for PET, Luciferase, Fluorescence, for transgenic mice,
optical molecular imaging, etc., and provides a useful platform for
preclinical drug evaluations.
Please contact John Hewes, Ph.D. at 301-435-3131 or
[email protected] for more information.
Highly Sensitive microRNA 31 in situ Hybridization Assay To Detect
Endometrial Cancer
Description of Invention: Investigators at the National Cancer
Institute have developed a sensitive, specific and robust human
microRNA in situ hybridization (ISH) assay that can detect, quantify,
and identify cancer biomarkers. Currently available microRNA (miRNA)
markers can be detected by microarray, Northern Blot, real time RT-PCR,
and sequencing analysis. However, these assays cannot specify tissue
and cell types that contain miRNAs without laser microdissection (LMD).
LMD has severe limitations as it requires expensive equipment and its
miRNA yields are too low to be detected by the aforementioned
techniques.
Available for licensing is an optimized an ISH assay to detect
miRNAs. ISH represents an efficient and specific assay to detect miRNA
of interest due to direct interaction with specific tissue and cell
types. This ISH assay utilized fresh cell lines and it can be adapted
to frozen cells and tissue samples. Utilizing the assay, the
investigators have found that miRNA-31 is decreased in cancerous
endometrial cells in comparison to controls. This ISH assay provides
for a less expensive, more efficient and highly sensitive assay to
detect and quantify microRNAs.
Applications
Method to detect and quantify miRNAs.
Method and kits to diagnose endometrial cancer.
Advantages: Cost effective, highly sensitive assay to detect
miRNAs.
Development Status: The technology is currently in the pre-clinical
stage of development.
Market
U.S. microRNA revenues were $20 million in 2008 will
increase to more than an estimated $98 million in 2015.
Global cancer market is worth more than eight percent of
total global pharmaceutical sales.
[[Page 29768]]
Cancer industry is predicted to expand to $85.3 billion by
2010.
Inventors: Hui Han and John E. Niederhuber (NCI).
Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/253,617 filed 21
Oct 2009 (HHS Reference No. E-303-2009/0-US-01).
Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
Licensing Contact: Jennifer Wong; 301-435-4633;
[email protected].
Dated: May 20, 2010.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-12790 Filed 5-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P