Phantasmidine, a Nicotinic Receptor Agonist for the Treatment of Addiction and Neurological Disorders

The inventors have isolated and characterized an alkaloid, phantasmidine, from the skin of the Ecuadoran poison frog E. anthonyi. Phantasmidine is selective for beta4-containing receptor subtypes, unlike many nicotinic receptor agonists currently in development, which target beta2-containing receptor subtypes.

Gs Alpha LoxP (Gnastm1Lsw) Mouse Model for Metabolism Studies

Generation of a floxed Gnsa gene for the G-protein Gs alpha (Gsalpha) for the construction of conditional knockout mice. The heterotrimeric G protein Gsalpha couples many receptors to adenylyl cyclase and is essential for hormone-stimulated cAMP generation. Previous mouse models with germ-line mutations in Gnas, the gene that encodes Gsalpha had limited usefulness in trying to decipher the role of Gsalpha pathways in specific tissues since only heterozygotes were viable and could be analyzed.