Peanut therapeutics and diagnostics to treat severe food allergies

Up to 10% of the US population suffers from food allergies, with more than 40% of those experiencing life-threatening anaphylaxis. Peanut is one of the most common food allergens that give rise to persistent IgE-mediated food allergy. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is used to reduce sensitivity to an allergen through repeated, small-dose exposure to the allergen. However, only a subset of patients develop a sustained response to the allergen and OIT carries notable side effects. 

P2Y14 Receptor Antagonists for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases, Including Pulmonary and Renal Conditions and Chronic Pain

This technology includes the development of selective P2Y14R antagonists for the treatment of asthma, sterile inflammation of the kidney, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. The P2Y14 receptor (P2Y14R) is a target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including pulmonary and renal conditions. Selective P2Y14R antagonists have demonstrated efficacy in animal models of asthma, pain, diabetes, and acute kidney injury. However, the prototypical antagonist is not optimal for in vivo administration, as it displays a low oral bioavailability.

AAV5 Vector for Transducing Brain Cells and Lung Cells

The invention described and claimed in this patent application is related to the delivery of heterologous nucleic acids or genes to particular target cells. In particular, the application relates to methods of delivering a heterologous nucleic acid or gene of interest to particular target cells using an Adeno-Associated Virus of serotype 5 (AAV5). The particular target cells identified include the alveolar cells of the lung and cerebellar and ependymal cells of the brain.

Antagonists of Hyaluronan Signaling for Treatment of Airway Diseases

Airway diseases, such as Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), constitute a major health burden worldwide. It is estimated, for example, that nearly 15.0% of the adult population in the US are affected with such diseases, and the economic cost burden is over $23 billion annually. Unfortunately, the current options for treatment of such diseases are quite limited, consisting only of bronchodilators and inhaled steroids. The need for a novel and more effective class of therapeutics agents is imperative.

Generation of Artificial Mutation Controls for Diagnostic Testing

This technology relates to a method of generating artificial compositions that can be used as positive controls in a genetic testing assay, such as a diagnostic assay for a particular genetic disease. Such controls can be used to confirm the presence or absence of a particular genetic mutation. The lack of easily accessible, validated mutant controls has proven to be a major obstacle to the advancement of clinical molecular genetic testing, validation, quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA), and required proficiency testing.

Diisocyanate Specific Monoclonal Antibodies for Occupational and Environmental Monitoring of Polyurethane Production Exposure-related Asthma and Allergy and Clinical Diagnosis

CDC researchers have developed monoclonal antibodies useful as diagnostics for diisocyanate (dNCO) exposure and for toxicity characterization of specific dNCOs. Currently, dNCOs are used in the production of all polyurethane products and are the most commonly reported cause of occupational-induced asthma and also linked to allergic contact dermatitis. Presumptive diagnosis of dNCO asthma is presently dependent on criteria such as work history, report of work-related asthma-like symptoms and nonspecific airway reactivity to methacholine challenge.

Auscultatory Training System and Telemedicine Tool with Accurate Reproduction of Physiological Sounds

This CDC developed auscultatory training apparatus includes a database of prerecorded physiological sounds (e.g., lung, bowel, or heart sounds) stored on a computer for playback. Current teaching tools, which utilize previously recorded sounds, suffer from the disadvantage that playback environments cause considerable distortion and errors in sound reproduction. For example, to those trainees using such systems, the reproduced respiratory sounds do not “sound” as if they are being generated by a live patient.

Improved Acoustic Plethysmograph System for Noninvasive Measurement of Pulmonary Function

CDC researchers have developed a novel acoustic whole body plethysmograph (AWBP) that allows measurement of tidal volume in lab animals, independent of gas compression in the lung. This system provides particular advantages over the traditional whole body plethysmograph (WBP) when measuring model animals with increased gas compression due to increased airway resistance or increased acceleration in the breathing pattern.
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