Technologies

Invention Summary
Neurokinin-1 (NK-1) belongs to a family of receptors known to bind neurotransmitters, tachykinins, with different affinities and mediate a range of physiological functions. These receptors are expressed differentially in bone marrow, mammary epithelial cells and neural tissues. While the expression of NK-1 is constitutive in neural tissues, in bone marrow cells its expression is inducible by hematopoietic regulators. NK-1 receptors and its ligands have been implicated in the pathology of several lymphoproliferative disorders such as Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and inflammatory diseases.The present technology relates to a discovery of NK-1 variant in the bone marrow cells that is differentially expressed in mature hematopoietic cells and peripheral immune cells. A novel gene was discovered, termedHematopoietic Growth Factor Inducible Neurokinin-1type (HGFIN), because of its expression in differentiated hematopoietic cells and peripheral immune cells and its absence in progenitor bone marrow mononuclear cells. Further research indicated that HGFIN is a cell cycle inhibitor. This reveals a role for HGFIN in hematopoietic proliferation and regulation, and suggests a potential application in the treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders. Human melanoma and breast cancer cell lines also showed expression of HGFIN. HGFIN has been shown to bind substance P, a tachykinin peptide, and may play a role in substance P-mediated early integration of cancer cells to the bone marrow. Thus targeting NK-1 and other NK receptors in combination with HGFIN could be beneficial in the treatment of cancers.Market Application: