Highly Hypoxia Specific Gene Expression System By the Combination of the Erythropoietin Enhancer and the Erythropoietin 3'-Untranslated Region for Ischemic Disease Gene Therapy

Gene therapy with VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is a new potential treatment for ischemic heart disease. Currently, VEGF is the most effective therapeutic gene for neo-vascularization and there is a need for it to be regulated. This invention relates to gene therapy and to the compositions and methods for treating ischemic diseases and other diseases by localized hypoxic conditions. A highly hypoxia specific gene expression system has been developed by the combination of the erythropoietin enhancer and the erythropoietin 3�-untranslated region.

Benefits
An illustrative embodiment of this technology is a method for treating an ischemic disease like heart disease, comprising administering to a patient in need of treatment a composition comprising a mixture of a plasmid and a pharmaceutically acceptable gene delivery carrier.
This technology can be used in the treatment of cancer in patients having a solid tumor by administering a plasmid where the expression of the anticancer agent in an ischemic region of the solid tumor is higher than in non-ischemic tissues.

Stage of Development
A utility patent application has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (US 2006/0074042 A1). This technology is part of an active and ongoing research program. It is available for developmental research support/licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.

Additional Info
*M. Lee, J. Rentz, M. Bikram, S. Han, D. A. Bull, S. W. Kim. Hypoxia inducible VEGF gene delivery to ischemic myocardium using water-soluble lipopolymer. Gene Ther. 10: 1535-1542 (2003).
*http://www.pharmacy.utah.edu/pharmaceutics/groups/kim/

Inventor(s): Donghoon Choi, Sung Wan Kim, Minhyung Lee

Type of Offer: Licensing



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