Miragen Therapeutics this week announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office for a patent application covering microRNAs that modulate smooth muscle proliferation and differentiation.
Specifically, the intellectual property claims methods of use in modulating miR-143, which the company said plays a critical role in controlling smooth muscle cells at the site of vascular injury.
Studies conducted by Miragen with collaborators at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in a carotid artery ligation model demonstrated that “injection of synthetic mimics of miR-143 stopped blood vessel blockage by inhibiting stenosis at the site of vessel injury,” Miragen said.