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Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disease that affects over 2 million Americans, primarily over the age of 40. One of the major outcomes of Sjögren's syndrome is xerostomia (dry mouth) that is caused by immune system attack on moisture producing salivary glands. Researchers at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research have developed a therapy that alleviates xerostomia in a murine model of Sjögren's syndrome.

Available for licensing is a mouse model that constitutively expresses human interleukin-21 (IL-21). Traditionally, human IL-21 transgenic mouse models are difficult to produce as those with high IL-21 levels exhibit growth retardation and die before sexual maturity. The investigators generated transgenic mice that express human IL-21, which can stimulate murine cells in vitro thereby providing an accurate model to elucidate IL-21's role in immunity, immune disorders, and cancer.

Available for licensing are novel pyrrolopyrimidine compounds that disrupt the assembly of the perinucleolar compartment (PNC), a sub-nuclear structure highly prevalent in metastatic tumors. These notable compounds act without overt cytotoxicity.

The presence of the PNC positively correlates with metastatic capacity, making it a potential marker for cancer development and prognosis. These compounds could also serve as useful tools to elucidate the biology driving the formation and maintenance of the PNC, and unravel its association with metastasis.

Attempts to manage body weight are often unsuccessful or only temporary. This is, in part, due to antiquated dieting methods that attempt to address calorie consumption while ignoring metabolic and physical changes. Personalized and more comprehensive methods to track and manage body weight may be more effective.

Lactose, found in dairy products and other foods, is comprised of two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. In galactosemia, where galactose is not properly metabolized, build-up of toxic compounds, such as galactose-1-phosphate, can lead to liver disease, renal failure, cataracts, brain damage, and even death if this disorder is left untreated. Currently, the only treatment for galactosemia is elimination of lactose and galactose from the diet, but in some cases this is not sufficient to avoid long-term complications from the disorder.

The National Institutes of Health announces polyclonal antibodies against mouse cytochrome P450s CYP2J and CYP2C. Cytochrome P450s catalyze the metabolism of a wide range of exogenous compounds, including drugs, industrial chemicals, environmental pollutants, and carcinogens. The 2C family of cytochrome P450 metabolizes an extensive number of drugs which include tolbutamide, S-Warfarin, mephenytoin, diazepam and taxol. Many of the P450 enzymes are also active in the NADPH-dependent oxidation of arachidonic acid to various eicosanoids found in several species.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-organ inflammatory disease characterized by a significant morbidity and mortality related to both disease evolution as well as therapeutic side effects. At least half of SLE patients develop lupus nephritis.

mEpoR-/- hEpoR+: The mouse Erythropoietin Receptor knockout that contains a human Erythropoietin Receptor transgene can be used to define the potency of recombinant erythropoietin preparations used to treat anemia associated with chronic kidney disease.

Cre-recombinase under the control of mouse mammary tumor virus long terminal repeat (MMTV) was expressed in the salivary gland and mammary epithelial cells of adult mice, and induced recombination in all tissues.

Conditional knockout of Stat5a and Stat5b: Combined deletion of conserved Stat5a and Stat5b in mammary epithelium at different times during pregnancy reveal multiple distinct functions.