Adenosine Deaminase Deficient Transgenic Mice and Methods and Uses
Thereof
Market: Restrictive lung disease, including asthma, SCID,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and pulmonary fibrosis, is a
prevalent condition. In the US asthma affected 29.5 million people in 2005.
Asthmatics visited the doctor in offices and outpatient clinics 14.6 million
times in 2004, and there were 1.8 million visits to the emergency room.
Unfortunately, asthma was the cause of death for 3,780 people in the US in 2004.
Likewise, COPD, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, affect many people.
It is estimated that 16 million people are diagnosed with COPD, with 14 million
more yet undiagnosed. In 2000 alone there were 1.5 million emergency room
visits, and 726,000 hospitalizations. In 2004 there were $20.9B in direct costs
attributed to COPD. COPD is the 4 th leading cause of death in the US, and is
predicted to be the 3 rd by 2020. There is a significant and growing market
looking for earlier diagnosis and better treatment options.
Competitors and Current Problems: Adenosine signaling is
complicated, and abnormal adenosine levels lead to multiple effects. Likewise,
restrictive lung diseases are multi-factorial and require both genetic and
environmental factors. The ability to focus on individual factors in a
controlled setting is both appealing and necessary to advance the field.
The Technology: Scientists at
UTHealth and Baylor College of Medicine developed adenosine deaminase
(ADA)-deficient mice that contain the deaminase under a placenta-specific
promoter, allowing fetal development to proceed normally and then resulting in a
live mouse lacking post-partum ADA expression. This well-characterized model has
very high levels of adenosine, making it an excellent model for biochemical,
genetic, and immunological studies of adenosine signaling. It is becoming
increasingly clear that adenosine signaling through adenosine receptors plays an
important role in regulating features of chronic lung disease. This mouse model
exhibits lung abnormalities, making it an excellent tool for screening adenosine
based therapeutics on pulmonary endpoints.
UTHealth Ref. No.:
1998-0008
Inventors: Drs. Kellems and
Blackburn
Patent Status: Issued U.S. 6,207,876
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