[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 225 (Friday, November 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 65756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22820]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Public Teleconference Regarding Licensing and Collaborative 
Research Opportunities for: ``Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted 
Sites'' (BORIS): A Novel Protein That Can Be Used for Diagnosis and as 
a Therapeutic Target for the Treatment of Several Cancers; Dr. Victor 
Lobanenkov et al. (NIAID)

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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Technology Summary

    The technology describes the discovery of a novel gene encoding the 
DNA-binding factor, ``Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites'', 
BORIS, related to the unique, evolutionarily conserved, CTCF factor 
involved in regulation of genomic imprinting and cancer. Furthermore, 
it describes several splice variants of BORIS that translate into 
different proteins and antibodies of BORIS that can be used for 
diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Technology Description

    A very recent finding is that protein CTCF (expressed in all 
somatic tissues) binds, in a methylation-dependent manner, to the 
imprinting control regions thus allowing somatic cells to distinguish 
functionally maternal from paternal alleles. The new factor, BORIS, 
shares with CTCF the same spectrum of DNA sequence specificity and it 
is normally expressed only in germ cells of human gonads (when patterns 
of gene imprinting are re-established), but not in CTCF-expressing 
somatic cells.
    Additionally, since cell-growth controlling CTCF has properties of 
a tumor suppressor gene, abnormal activation of BORIS upon cancerous 
transformation of somatic cells results in competition with the normal 
function of CTCF, thereby promoting tumor growth. The inventors found 
that antibodies against BORIS are present and can be detected in human 
blood serum taken from patients with cancer but not from healthy 
donors. Additionally, 14 new alternative splice forms of the BORIS 
polypeptide have been identified which show specificity to specific 
cancers, suggesting that circulating antibodies for specific BORIS 
splice variants in cancer patients can be associated with specific 
types or stages of malignant tumors.
    Therefore, BORIS can be used in both diagnostic and therapeutic 
arenas: First, mutations in BORIS genomic locus or detection of encoded 
by the BORIS locus mRNAs or polypeptides expressed in any tissue 
besides normal gonads may be indicative of a pre-cancerous or cancerous 
state thus serving a diagnostic and/or prognostic purpose; and, second, 
targeting of abnormally activated BORIS should serve as a novel 
therapeutic approach to treat cancer.

BORIS Technology Can Have Three Major Applications

    1. BORIS can be used as a therapeutic target for anti-cancer 
treatments.
    2. BORIS expression can serve as a diagnostic marker for specific 
cancers other than testis.
    3. Detection of antibodies against BORIS in blood serum samples can 
also be used as an indicator of pre-cancerous or cancerous condition 
existing.

Competitive Advantage of Our Technology

    Cancer/testis (CT) genes, predominantly expressed in the testis 
(germ cells) and generally not in other normal tissues, are aberrantly 
expressed in human cancers. This highly restricted expression provides 
a unique opportunity to use these CT genes for diagnostics, 
immunotherapeutic, or other targeted therapies. BORIS is a newly 
described CT gene shown to be expressed in several cancers including 
lung, brain, uterine and endometrial among others and thus can be used 
as a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target.

Patent Estate

    This technology consists of the following patents and patent 
applications:
    1. U.S. Patent Application No. 10/505,377 filed October 20, 2004 
and all foreign counterparts [E-227-2001/0-US-03];
    2. U.S. Patent Application No. 11/575,732 filed March 21, 2007 and 
all foreign counterparts [E-241-2004/0-US-04]; and
    3. PCT Application No. PCT/US2007/7728 filed August 30, 2007 [E-
117-2006/0-PCT-02]

Next Step: Teleconference

    There will be a teleconference where the principal investigator 
will explain this technology. Licensing and collaborative research 
opportunities will also be discussed. If you are interested in 
participating in this teleconference please call or e-mail Mojdeh 
Bahar; (301) 435-2950; [email protected]. OTT will then e-mail you 
the date, time and number for the teleconference.

    Dated: November 9, 2007.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
 [FR Doc. E7-22820 Filed 11-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P