The Intellectual Property Department is pleased to announce the issuance of a new U.S. patent. U.S. Patent No. 7,273,713 issued on September 23, 2007 for the invention entitled “Methods of Modulating Mitochondrial NAD-Dependent Deacetylase.” The inventors are Drs. Eric Verdin, Brian North, and Bjoern Schwer of GIVI.
The process of acetylating or deacetylating amino acid residues within a protein is emerging as a novel mechanism to regulate protein activity and function. Reversible lysine acetylation regulates various cellular function such as transcriptional regulation, cell motility, immune synapse formation, programmed cell death, enzymatic activity, protein trafficking. The mitochondrial protein deacetylase, SIRT3, was identified by the Verdin group. Increased activity of SIRT3 can provide a protective effect against apoptosis and is likely to be involved in the regulation of mitochondrial metabolism during fasting. The inventors have developed an assay method that measures the extent to which test compounds modulate the activity of SIRT3 by measuring the change in level of substrate acetylation in the presence or absence of the test compound. Compounds identified as modulators of SIRT3 activity by this method can be used to develop novel therapeutics targeted at a variety of conditions, with deacetylase inhibitors having potential use in the treatment of cancer and deacetylase activators having potential utility in metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and obesity.
Congratulations to Eric, Brian, and Bjoern on this latest addition to the Gladstone Institutes’ intellectual property portfolio.
Wendy Washtien, IP Department
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