Title: Methods and Compositions Involving microRNA
Patent Number: 8,568,971
Filed: Sept. 24, 2010
Lead Inventor: David Brown, Asuragen
The invention, the patent's abstract states, "concerns methods and compositions for isolating, enriching, and/or labeling miRNA molecules and for preparing and using arrays or other detection techniques for miRNA analysis. Moreover, the … invention concerns methods and compositions for generating miRNA profiles and employing such profiles for therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic applications."
The patent specifically claims the diagnostic use of miR-21 in various cancers.
Title: Compositions and Methods for the Delivery of Biologically Active RNAs
Patent Number: 8,569,065
Filed: March 15, 2010
Lead Inventor: Kevin Polach, Egen
The invention, the patent's abstract states, relates to "novel compounds, compositions, and methods for the delivery of biologically active RNA molecules to cells. Specifically, the invention provides novel nucleic acid molecules, polypeptides, and RNA-protein complexes useful for the delivery of biologically active RNAs to cells and polynucleotides encoding the same. The invention also provides vectors for expressing said polynucleotides … [as well as] cells and compositions comprising the novel compounds and vectors, which can be used as transfection reagents.
"The invention further provides methods for producing said compounds, vectors, cells, and compositions," according to the abstract. "Additionally, vectors and methods for delivering biologically active RNA molecules to cells and/or tissues are provided."
Title: Cationic Lipids and Methods for the Delivery of Therapeutic Agents
Patent Number: 8,569,256
Filed: June 30, 2010
Lead Inventor: James Heyes, Protiva Biotherapeutics (Tekmira Pharmaceuticals)
The invention provides "compositions and methods for the delivery of therapeutic agents to cells," the patent's abstract states. "In particular, these include novel cationic lipids and nucleic acid-lipid particles that provide efficient encapsulation of nucleic acids and efficient delivery of the encapsulated nucleic acid to cells in vivo. The compositions of the … invention are highly potent, thereby allowing effective knockdown of a specific target protein at relatively low doses. In addition, the compositions and methods of the … invention are less toxic and provide a greater therapeutic index compared to compositions and methods previously known in the art."
Title: Low-density Lipoprotein Receptor-mediated siRNA Delivery
Patent Number: 8,569,258
Filed: Aug. 13, 2012
Inventor: Jon Chatterton, Alcon
"The invention provides interfering RNA molecule-ligand conjugates useful as a delivery system for delivering interfering RNA molecules to a cell in vitro or in vivo," the patent's abstract states. "The conjugates comprise a ligand that can bind to a low-density lipoprotein receptor or … family member. Therapeutic uses for the conjugates are also provided."
Title: Method for Transformation of Grasses
Patent Number: 8,569,582
Filed: June 22, 2010
Inventor: Zeng-Yu Wang, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
The invention, the patent's abstract states, relates to "methods for transforming grass plants with Agrobacterium. The invention allows creation of transgenic grass plants without the need for callus as a target tissue for transformation, thus providing a rapid method for the production of transgenic grass plants. Transgenic grass plants produced by this method are also provided."
Title: Generating Transgenic Potatoes with Novel Resistance to Potato Cyst Nematodes by Silencing Nematode Parasitism Genes of CLE-1 and CLE-4s
Patent Number: 8,569,578
Filed: July 30, 2010
Lead Inventor: Xiaohong Wang, US Department of Agriculture
The invention, the patent states, relates to a polynucleotide that produces a dsRNA hairpin that can inhibit the growth of a Globodera rostochiensis nematode by silencing CLE genes, and its use in controlling populations of the parasite.