Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 Gene Polymorphism and its Soluble Level are Associated with Severe Coronary Artery Stenosis in Chinese and Asian Indians

Many established risk factors in atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) have been defined for Caucasians but not for other ethnic groups. For example, the Asian Indians have 4 times higher prevalence of CAD compared to Caucasians. Thus, there is an urgent need to find novel risk factors/gene polymorphisms in Asian patients that may lead to rapid diagnosis and facilitate drug discovery. During research by JHU scientists, a strong correlation was discovered between the prevalence of certain PECAM-l gene polymorphisms and CAD in Asian Indians and Chinese living in Singapore. In addition, elevated levels of plasma soluble PECAM-l was determined to be a marker for CAD in Asian Indian and Chinese patients and was correlated with the PECAM-l gene polymorphism. In vitro studies using endothelial cells over-expressing the PECAM-l gene polymorphisms provided direct evidence in regard to abnormal aggregation, adhesion and trans-endothelial migration of monocytes (TEM) as compared to cells expressing normal PECAM -1 gene. Description (Set) Proposed Use (Set) Potential commercial uses of this discovery include utilizing cDNA material on gene chips using the polymorphisms discovered for rapid diagnosis of patients with CAD (diagnostic assays). In addition, the cDNA may be used to prepare transgenic mice that can in turn be used in pre-clinical trials, as well as diagnostic assays or functional assays at the whole body level. The mutant cell lines created can be used in drug discovery studies and in functional cell based assays (drug screening assays). A combination gene/biochip assay could be designed to measure the level of soluble PECAM-l and the PECAM-l genotype polymorphisms above.

Inventor(s): Chatterjee, Subroto B.

Type of Offer: Licensing



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