Recent Patents on Biomarkers (Discontinued) - Volume 1, Issue 3, 2011

Glycosylation is one of the most common post-translational modifications on proteins and lipids. The functions of glycosylation include immune regulation and pathogen invasion, signaling, protein structure regulation, protein quality control and degradation, and cell adhesion and migration. Due to these diverse functions, detecting glycosylation has recently become a target of biomedical research. Many recent advances hav Read More

Cancer is a malady that ranks high in causing significant morbidity and mortality. Due to the complex genetic alterations and consequential biochemical and cellular changes that accompany the tumorigenic process, detection and treatment of this disease has been a formidable task. Extensive research over the last several decades has brought to light some of the key signature modifications that are specific to cancer Read More

Probiotics are intestinal microorganisms that enhance gastrointestinal homeostasis by positively affecting the intestinal microbiota balance. The commensal gut microbiota confer health benefits to their host by helping dietary digestion, regulating gut immunity, maintaining the microbial balance, and preventing pathogen colonization. Probiotics are increasingly being used for irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel Read More

Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and acetylcholinesterase belong to the esterase family. They have roles in neurotransmission and in metabolizing drugs and toxins. Sharing similar biochemical and structural properties, they have overlapping functions. Patents obtained on these enzymes relate to the sequence of genes coding for the proteins, as well as methodological issues about screening of individuals who are susceptible to Read More

TWEAK is a cytokine that belongs to the TNF superfamily. TWEAK binds to the Fn14 receptor to activate alternative and classical NFκB pathways, MAPKs, TAK1 and PI3K/Akt intracellular signaling pathways. TWEAK regulates cell proliferation, cell death, cell differentiation, angiogenesis and inflammation. Functional studies targeting TWEAK and/or Fn14 implicate the system in acute and chronic tissue injury, tissue repair and Read More

The use of biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of disease; as well as to guide the choice of therapeutic regimens is predicted to be one of the leading priorities in clinical practice. The sheer complexity of the human cell, including its growth and signaling pathways, has made one of the biggest challenges in the cancer field the identification and characterization of such biomarkers and their translation into info Read More

Chromosomal translocations are primary events in the development of leukemias and are used as biomarkers of various hematological malignancies. Biomarkers enable rational modifications of primary cancer therapies and provide new opportunities for early intervention. A biomarker is a gene/altered gene, protein, or other change that acts as a precursor of a biomedical phenotype before that phenotype is Read More

The recent patents annotated in this section have been selected from various patent databases, and are relevant to the articles published in this journal issue. The patents are categorized in fast emerging patent biomarker applications e.g. discovery and validation in drug discovery, clinical development and molecular diagnostics, bioinformatics, preclinical biomarker discovery, personalized medicine, translational biomarker Read More