Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and affects more than 20 million Americans, costing billions of dollars in health care annually. Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of joint cartilage, leading to a loss of the cartilage "cushion" between the bones of the joints. Risk factors associated with OA include age, obesity, traumatic injury and overuse due to sports or occupational stresses. There is no cure for OA and current treatments are directed at the symptomatic relief of pain, and at improving and maintaining joint function.

The invention relates to monoclonal antibodies that bind to the transcription factor NCOA6 (ASC-2, AIB-3, TRB, TRAP250, NRC). The antibodies have proven successful reagents for Western blotting and for purifying complexes containing NCOA6. The Western blot experiments revealed that NCOA6 is over-expressed in several breast cancer cell lines, and the purification experiments identified a protein complex containing NCOA6 (the ASCOM complex). The monoclonal antibodies may be useful reagents for studying the role of NCOA6 in transcription and for studying the ASCOM complex.

The invention described and claimed in this patent application is related to the delivery of heterologous nucleic acids or genes to particular target cells. In particular, the application relates to methods of delivering a heterologous nucleic acid or gene of interest to particular target cells using an Adeno-Associated Virus of serotype 5 (AAV5). The particular target cells identified include the alveolar cells of the lung and cerebellar and ependymal cells of the brain.

The invention relates to compositions of matter and methods for treating arthritis by modulating Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-alpha) signaling. TNF-alpha plays a key role in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including rheumatoid and septic arthritis, and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. TNF-alpha mediates its effects through receptors that contain a Pre-ligand Assembly Domain (PLAD). The inventors have discovered compounds that interfere with PLAD can block the effects of TNF-alpha in vitro.

This invention relates to materials and methods associated with polymorphic variants in two enzymes involved in folate-dependent and one-carbon metabolic pathways important in pregnancy-related complications and neural tube birth defects: MTHFD1 (5,10-methylenetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase, 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase, 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthase) and methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (NADP+ dependent) 1-like (MTHFD1L). These enzymes are extremely important in the promotion of DNA synthesis, a process that is critical for normal placental and fetal development.

Monoclonal antibodies directed at the proteins of murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs) have some value as immunological reagents, but differ greatly in their applicability. The kit described in this invention uses a monoclonal antibody designated 83A25, which identifies almost all ecotropic, xenotropic, polytropic, and amphotropic MuLVs. It can be used in a wide variety of procedures, including focal immunofluorescence assays on live or fixed monolayers, immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, immunohistochemical, and flow cytometric procedures.

A synthetic composition that contains the transglutaminase 1 (TGase I) enzyme and a lipid vesicle, which can be used to provide ameliorative therapy for inherited autosomal recessive ichthyoses (ARI). Icthyoses are rare inherited skin disorders that result in extensive scaling of the skin. Because this abnormality can affect heat and fluid transfer through the skin, individuals with this disease may have an increased risk for dehydration and skin infections. Each year, more than 16,000 babies are born with some form of ichthyosis. Ichthyosis affects people of all ages, races and gender.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronically infects over 300 million people worldwide. Many of them will die of chronic hepatitis or hepatocellular carcinoma. The present technology relates to the isolation and characterization of a novel neutralizing chimpanzee monoclonal antibody to HBV. The antibody was identified through a combinatorial antibody library constructed from bone marrow cells of a chimpanzee experimentally infected with HBV. The selected monoclonal antibody has been shown to react equally well with wild-type HBV and the most common neutralization escape mutant variants.

This application describes a composition and method for treating inflammatory bowel disease or other autoimmune diseases. The composition utilizes a vector which contains a first promoter which controls the expression of a regulatory transcription factor and a second inducible promoter which controls the expression of the gene of interest. The preferred gene of interest encodes an isoform of TGF-beta such as TGF-beta₁ or TGF-beta₃. The isoform of TGF-beta does not have to be hTGF-beta and can be a latent or active isoform of TGF-beta.

The current invention embodies a mouse model which is heterozygous for a null allele at the Men1 locus of murine chromosome 19. Men1 has similar exon-intron organization and amino acid identity compared with its human analog MEN1, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple endocrine neoplasia, type I (MENI). This mouse model has been shown to develop features remarkably similar to those of MEN1, which include tumors of the endocrine pancreas, pituitary, and parathyroids.