Transgenic Frog Lines to Study Retina Degeneration
A JHU researcher has developed lines of transgenic frogs in which transgenes induce photoreceptor degeneration in vivo and can visibly reveal the viability status of the photoreceptors through a fluorescent reporter. These frog lines produce thousands of progeny that can be used to screen therapeutic interventions, including chemical compounds, and cDNAs delivered by means of transgenes. As cell culture is of limited utility as a screening platform for therapies to inhibit retinal degeneration, because it fails to effectively reproduce the pathology of retinal degeneration, this invention consists of the first animal lines that can be useful for high-throughput screening of therapeutic candidates that may intervene and inhibit photoreceptor cell death. Description (Set) Proposed Use (Set) These animals can be used to screen chemical compounds as well as cDNAs and libraries of cDNAs in order to identify chemicals/drugs, genes, and pathways involved in photoreceptor cell death. Patent (Set) US Patent App. Pub. No. 2008/0244760Inventor(s): Marsh-Armstrong, Nicholas Reed
Type of Offer: Licensing
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