Research Tools
Feline Model of Glaucoma
WARF: P110032US01
Inventors: Gillian McLellan, Matthew Ellinwood, Markus Kuehn
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a spontaneously occurring, “large-eye” model of human glaucoma.
Overview
Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the United States, is an eye disease that results in optic nerve damage and loss of vision. However, few large-eyed models of spontaneous glaucoma exist, hindering efforts to develop strategies for treating and managing this disease.
The Invention
Researchers have identified a strain of cats with congenital glaucoma. They have captured the disease in a viable, outbred breeding colony with a highly informative pedigree. Results of molecular genetic and rigorous clinical and histopathologic studies confirm that the disease represents a homologue to a form of glaucoma in humans due to a mutation in LTBP2.
Applications
- Glaucoma research
- Development of novel glaucoma management strategies
Key Benefits
- Provides a spontaneously occurring, large-eyed model of human glaucoma
- Requires no external intervention to induce disease
- Cats are a long-lived species with eyes of comparable size and physiology to that of humans and have well-characterized visual systems.
- Model is well-characterized.
- Model is amenable to noninvasive imaging and electrophysiological studies, allowing assessment of disease progression in vivo.
Additional Information
For More Information About the Inventors
Tech Fields
For current licensing status, please contact Jennifer Gottwald at [javascript protected email address] or 608-960-9854