| Method of Diagnosing Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis |
| The invention can be used to develop tests that are much more rapid than conventional tests for determining drug resistance. It relates to the discovery that a putative gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTb) with no previously identified function is responsible for the ability of the bacteria to activate a class of second line thioamide drugs used for MTb infections. The gene, termed "etaA", codes for the synthesis of a monooxygenase, the enzyme responsible for the oxidative activation of the... More... |
| Mouse Fibroblasts Stably Expressing C-Type Lectin Receptors DC-SIGN and L-SIGN |
| The NIH is pleased to offer for licensing mouse fibroblasts that stably express the C-type lectin receptors DC-SIGN and L-SIGN (CD209 and CD209L, respectively). L-SIGN and DC-SIGN both exhibit selectivity for highly mannosylated glycoproteins. DC-SIGN is also selective for certain Lewis X sugar groups. These types of interactions allow L-SIGN and DC-SIGN to interact with a wide spectrum of pathogens including HIV, hepatitis C virus, and SARS coronavirus, which appear to use L-SIGN and DC-SIGN... More... |
| Novel Chemoattractant-Based Toxins to Improve Vaccine Immune Responses for Cancer and Infectious Diseases |
| Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in United States and it is estimated that there will be more than half a million deaths caused by cancer in 2009. A major drawback of the current chemotherapy-based therapeutics is the cytotoxic side-effects associated with them. Thus there is a dire need to develop new therapeutic strategies with fewer side-effects. Immunotherapy has taken a lead among the new therapeutic approaches. Enhancing the innate immune response of an individual has been... More... |
| Method of Treating and Preventing Infections in Immunocompromised Subjects with Immunostimulatory CpG Oligonucleotides |
| Primary disorders of the immune system can be divided into four categories, (1) disorders of the humoral immunity, (2) disorders of cellular immunity, (3) disorders of phagocytes, and (4) disorders of complement. In addition, there are many causes of secondary immunodeficiency such as treatment with immunosuppressive or chemotherapeutic agents, protein-losing enteropathy, and infection with a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Generally, immunocompromised patients are unable to mount an immune... More... |
| Aerosolized Vaccines |
| Vaccine delivery to humans by mucosal routes may offer some operational and immunological advantages over intramuscular administration by needle-and-syringe. Potential targets include the oral, nasal, rectal conjunctival, and vaginal surfaces with the oral and nasal routes being the most practical to consider for infants, children and adults of both sexes. Needle-free delivery methods may improve compliance, reduce discomfort, and improve safety of vaccines; particularly in the developing world,... More... |
| Use of Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids for Visualizing DNA |
The compounds described in this technology may be useful in the development of nucleic acid detection kits for various pathogens.
Technologies for genomic detection most commonly use DNA probes to hybridize to target sequences, and require the use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to amplify target sequences. Replacing the DNA probe with peptide nucleic acid (PNA) can greatly eliminate the need for PCR because the binding strength of PNAs to complementary DNA is stronger than DNA b... More... |
| Treatment of Tuberculosis — Adjuvant Therapies to Increase the Efficiency of Antibiotic Treatments |
| There is growing evidence that resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is governed in large part by the regulation of host cell death. Lipid mediators called eicosanoids are thought to play a central role in this process. The subject invention is a novel method of enhancing the efficacy of antibiotic treatments for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection by co-administering an inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase and a COX-2 dependent prostaglandin. Inhibition of 5-lipoxygena... More... |
| Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) for Detection of DNA or RNA and Identification of a Disease or Pathogen |
| The NIH announces a novel method for fast, simple, and accurate detection of nucleic acids outside the modern laboratory. Nucleic acid testing is highly specific and often provides definitive identification of a disease or pathogen. Methods to detect nucleic acid sequences and identify a disease or pathogen are dominated by PCR, but applying PCR-based techniques in remote settings is challenging. Researchers at the NIH have developed a universal, colorimetric, nucleic acid-responsive diagnosti... More... |
| Alleviating Symptoms of Th2-Like Cytokine Mediated Disorders by Reducing IL-13 Receptor-Expressing Cells in the Respiratory Tract |
This invention relates to the alleviation of symptoms of Th2-like cytokine mediated disorders, such as allergy, asthma, and to hyperinflammatory responses in the respiratory tract to infectious diseases and parasitic infections, including tuberculosis, schistosomiasis, leishmania, and filariasis.
This invention claims a variety of methods and uses of a chimeric molecule comprising a toxic moiety and a targeting moiety that specifically binds to a cell surface receptor for IL-13, to all... More... |