UO shares expertise on DNA research.Byline: GREG BOLT The Register-Guard The University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. has agreed to share technology and materials developed in its labs with a San Diego-based biotechnology company looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. new treatments for disease and age-related disorders. The company, MitoKor, will gain access to protein separation technologies and monoclonal antibodies This is a list of monoclonal antibodies, antibodies which are clones of a single parent cell. When used as medications, the generic names end in -mab (see "Nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies"). developed for the study of mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondria are the biological engines that produce the energy that keeps cells alive, and MitoKor specializes in commercial applications of mitochondrial mitochondrial pertaining to mitochondria. mitochondrial RNAs a unique set of tRNAs, mRNAs, rRNAs, transcribed from mitochondrial DNA by a mitochondrial-specific RNA polymerase, that account for about 4% of the total cell RNA that medicine. Financial terms were not disclosed. Don Gerhard, director of technology transfer for the UO, said the university will get some cash up front, will be paid for other technology as it is needed and could earn additional payments later if the research helps produce new products. "The university and MitoKor feel it reflects a fair balance of shared risk and shared reward," he said. "This is a significant deal for the university and one that we hope will reflect a step forward in what will be a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship." The UO technology was developed by biology professor Roderick Capaldi, an internationally known expert on mitochondria and member of the UO Institute of Molecular Biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller , and professor Mike Marusich, director of the monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-lived, antibody-producing B cell (see immunity) to a fast-growing facility at the UO Institute of Neuroscience. It includes an innovative method for protein separation and specially developed monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies are specially cultured antibodies used to detect and measure a suite of proteins controlled by mitochondrial DNA. By understanding which proteins are controlled by specific genes, scientists can better understand gene functions. Mitochondrial abnormalities are connected with a variety of illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. , Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease or Parkinsonism, degenerative brain disorder first described by the English surgeon James Parkinson in 1817. When there is no known cause, the disease usually appears after age 40 and is referred to as Parkinson's disease. and Type 2 diabetes type 2 diabetes n. See diabetes mellitus. . It also plays a major role in the aging process, and MitoKor is collaborating with the nonprofit Buck Institute for Age Research The Buck Institute for Age Research is the United States' first independent biomedical research institute devoted solely to research on aging and age-related disease. The mission of the Buck Institute is to extend the healthspan, the healthy years of life. to better understand aging through mitochondrial research. A key to that effort is unraveling the DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. in mitochondria, which is separate from the DNA found in chromosomes and which governs most human development. Unlike chromosomal DNA, which is an equal blend of genetic material from the mother and father, mitochondrial DNA is handed down only by the mother. "It turns out that just as human development is focused on chromosomal DNA, there is this enormous wealth of information on disease states and the health of the human body that you can glean from the mitochondrial DNA," Gerhard said. "It's essential to the functioning of the body. If the mitochondria are not functioning, cells die because they can't get enough energy." Capaldi is a leading expert on the function of genes in mitochondrial DNA, and Marusich has developed specialized research tools for analyzing proteins in mitochondria. The deal with MitoKor is part of the UO's effort to expand the transfer of university-developed technology from the laboratory to the marketplace. The university earned more than $500,000 last year from licensing and option agreements based on UO research, the largest amount ever for the school. The 10 licensing agreements signed by the university last year also tied its record. Gerhard said many high-tech companies were hit hard by the recession and especially the terrorist attacks last fall, but he said he's still expecting another strong year. "This really is the function of the university's technology transfer program," Gerhard said of the MitoKor deal. "It's one of a number of license and option agreements the university enters into with commercial entities that will diligently carry forward technology to the marketplace." |
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