Drug Discovery & Development
Transgenic Mouse for Testing Chemotherapeutic Agents
WARF: P00331US
Inventors: Mary Ellen Perry, Susan Mendrysa
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in transgenic mice that are conditional knockouts for mdm2.
Overview
The gene mdm2 is a negative regulator of p53, which plays a key role in apoptosis and is important in chemotherapy. Mice with knockout mutations in mdm2 would be useful in studying this gene; however, mdm2 is also essential for embryonic development.
The Invention
UW-Madison researchers have developed transgenic mice that are conditional knockouts for mdm2. In these mice, exons 7-9 of the mdm2 gene are flanked with a particular sequence. When exposed to a specific recombinase, these exons should be deleted, rendering the gene non-functional.
Applications
- Mice may be useful for testing chemotherapeutic agents.
- Murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from the mice may also be useful for testing chemotherapeutic agents.
- MEFs could be used as positive controls in assays to screen for compounds that interfere with the mdm2/p53 interaction.
Key Benefits
- Knockout mutations can be tissue specific.
Tech Fields
For current licensing status, please contact Jennifer Gottwald at [javascript protected email address] or 608-960-9854