[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 82 (Friday, April 29, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22351-22352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8546]


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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, DHHS.

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

[[Page 22352]]

Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive copies of 
the patent applications.

Standard Slide for Testing the Axial Resolution of Microscopes

Edward Cho and Stephen Lockett (NCI/SAIC--Frederick)
DHHS Reference No. E-148-2005/0--Research Tool
Licensing Contact: Michael Shmilovich; 301/435-5019; 
[email protected]

    Available for licensing as a research tool for both internal use or 
commercial distribution is a test slide for three-dimensional 
resolution. The U.S. Government has not applied for patent rights on 
this invention. The resolution of an optical system must be accurately 
measured in multiple dimensions when acquiring imaging data for 
biological or materials applications. Such measurements permit 
quantitative analysis of data obtained from the optical system. The 
invention is a microscope slide that can be adapted for a variety of 
microscopy applications (e.g., electron, confocal, widefield 
fluorescence, and deconvolution) to measure and resolve multiple points 
or objects in three-dimensional space by having objects of known 
distances separated in three dimensions. The slide is ideally suited to 
test the precision of the resolution of an optical system to determine 
the quality of the optical system and its separate components. This 
allows for proper quality control of existing instruments, as well as a 
method to evaluate instruments that are being considered for purchase. 
The slide is designed with markings having known distances to determine 
resolution and allows for the quantification of spatial data.

Use of Targeted Bone Marrow Cell Infiltration To Induce Pigmentation 
and Hair Growth in Skin

Riccardo Cassiani-Ingoni (NINDS); U.S. Provisional Application filed 18 
Mar 2005
(DHHS Reference No. E-343-2004/0-US-01)
Licensing Contact: Fatima Sayyid; (301) 435-4521; [email protected]

    A long standing problem in skin research has been the difficulty of 
inducing stem cells such as bone marrow cells, to infiltrate the skin. 
Such infiltration could be the basis of numerous therapeutic 
intraventions. The present invention describes a method of using 
localized inflammation to induce targeted bone marrow cell effects in 
the skin. Among the conditions treated in the preliminary trials are 
hair and pigmentation loss.
    Alopecia (hair loss) is a common condition that results from 
diverse causes such as altered physiology, surgical trauma and/or 
certain drugs. The present invention relates to methods of increasing 
hair growth and melanocyte proliferation. Such methods include 
administration of bone marrow cells, an agent that mobilizes bone 
marrow cells or a combination thereof.

Creation and Characterization of Carcinogen-Altered Mouse Epidermal 
CellLines

Stuart H. Yuspa (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-154-2004/0--Research Tool
Licensing Contact: Jesse S. Kindra; (301) 435-5559; 
[email protected]

    The invention relates to the creation of three (3) cell lines that 
may be used as models of putative initiated cancer cells. The cell 
lines can be used in basic research assays and low/high throughput 
screening assays.
    Cell line 308 evolved from a calcium-resistant focus from adult 
mouse epidermis that was exposed to the carcinogen, 7,12-
dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). Cell lines F and D were derived by 
treating primary newborn mouse epidermal cells in culture with N-
methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and DMBA, respectively. These 
three (3) nontumorigenic cell lines derived from differentiation-
resistant, carcinogen-induced foci may be considered to be putative 
initiated cells.
    The creation and characterization of the cell lines was published 
in Yuspa and Morgan, 1981, ``Mouse Skin Cells Resistant to Terminal 
Differentiation Associated with Initiation of Carcinogenesis,'' Nature, 
vol. 72-74; and Hennings et al., 1987, ``Response of Carcinogen-Altered 
Mouse Epidermal Cells to Phorbol Ester Tumor Promoters and Calcium,'' 
The Society for Investigative Dermatology, Inc., vol. 88, no. 1, 60-65.

Conditionally Immortalized Cell Line of Metanephric Mesenchyme

Zoia B. Levashova et al. (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-181-2001/0--Research Tool
Licensing Contact: Marlene Shinn-Astor; (301) 435-4426; 
[email protected]

    An immortalized rat cell line with characteristics of 
undifferentiated kidney blastemal cells has been established (Kidney 
Int. 60:2075, 2003). Not only can these cells be maintained in culture, 
but they retain the capacity to differentiate into epithelial-like 
cells. This cell line may have utility in studying the molecular 
mechanisms of mesenchymal-epithelial conversion, kidney development, 
and kidney tumorigenesis. It may also have future application in the 
development of renal xenographs or other forms of kidney tissue 
transplantation.

A Transgenic Mouse Model for Tetracycline Regulation of Active TGFbeta1 
in Mice: tetO TGFbeta1

Adam B. Glick (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-300-1999/0--Research Tool.
Licensing Contact: Marlene Shinn-Astor; (301) 435-4426; 
[email protected]

    Many human cancers and other skin ailments arise from 
overexpression of the polypeptide TGFbeta1 growth factor. This growth 
factor is a growth inhibitor whose function involves cell 
differentiation and development. It is thought that overexpression of 
this protein is a contributing factor in many diseases, including 
certain cancers and dermal fibrosis.
    There is a need for mouse models that can exhibit overexpression of 
TGFbeta1 in a locally specific manner. Such is the technology being 
made available. The technology relates to a mouse model where the 
overexpression in epithelial cells is achieved via the bigenic 
tetracycline regulatory system. Expression of tetO TGFbeta1 occurs when 
the mice are bred with a second transgenic line expressing the 
transactivator tTa or rTa. The rTa or tTa have been coupled with 
keratin 5 promoters, enabling localized activation of tetO TGFbeta1 in 
the presence or absence of tetracyclines upon successful mating. The 
potential uses of these models is invaluable and can assist similar 
research involving different tissue specificity.

    Dated: April 14, 2005.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, , Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-8546 Filed 4-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P