Technologies

Bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis are diseases associated with elevated IL-4 production from dysregulated T helper 2 (TH2) cells. Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the RIKEN Yokohama Institute have discovered that Mina regulates the amount of IL-4 produced and that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Mina locus are associated with asthma and rhinitis. Thus, Mina could be used as a genetic marker to predict susceptibility and diagnosis of allergic diseases and to screen for compounds useful as therapeutic agents. Granted patents or published applications: US Publication No. 2011/0269125-A1 Related scientific references: Mariko Okamoto, Melanie Van Stry, Linda Chung, Madoka Koyanagi, Xizhang Sun, Yoshie Suzuki, Osamu Ohara, Hiroshi Kitamura, Atsushi Hijikata, Masato Kubo & Mark Bix; Mina, an Il4 repressor, controls T helper type 2 bias; Nature Immunology 10, 872 - 879 (2009) Licensing Opportunities: We are currently seeking licensing opportunities in all fields for the development of this technology. Contact the Office of Technology Licensing (Phone: 901-595-2342, Fax: 901-595-3148) for more information.