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Accurate automated organ and disease feature segmentation is a challenge for medical imaging analysis. The pancreas, for example, is a small, soft, organ with low uniformity of shape and volume between patients. Because of the lack of uniform image patterns, there are few features that can be used to aid in automated identification of anatomy and boundaries. Segmentation of high variability features is uniquely difficult for a computer to perform.

There are no analgesics to ameliorate chronic pain without adverse side-effects (e.g., respiratory depression, gastrointestinal effects, tolerance, dependence), thus forcing patients into a difficult choice of negative impacts on quality of life. Most of the analgesics used for chronic and acute pain are drugs such as oxycodone, morphine, oxymorphone, and codeine. All of these opioids have been subject to misuse; prescription drug abuse is a severe problem worldwide, causing high mortality and greatly increased emergency room visits.

Summary: 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks research co-development partners and/or licensees for a high-powered electronic device and coil that delivers Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) pulses as well as the software that controls the device for treating treatment resistant depression, substance use disorders and other CNS disorders.

Description of Technology: 

Tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (TNFR2)-expressing regulatory T cells (Tregs), present in the tumor microenvironment, play an important role in tumor immune evasion. TNFR2 plays a crucial role in stimulating the activation and proliferation of Tregs, a major checkpoint of antitumor immune responses. In addition to its expression on Tregs, TNFR2 is also known to be overexpressed on some types of tumors and the survival and growth of these tumor cells is promoted by ligands of TNFR2.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. CTLA-4, PD-L1) have recently shown significant promise in the treatment of cancer.  However, when used alone, these checkpoint inhibitors are limited by the absence or repression of immune cells within the targeted cancer.  For those cancers associated with these limited immune systems, there remains a need for effective therapies.  Agents capable of recruiting and activating immune cells to these types of cancers could extend the overall and complete response rates of combination therapies within the immunooncology domain. 

HMGN polypeptides belong to the high mobility group (HMG) family of chromosomal binding peptides. HMGN polypeptides typically function inside the cell nucleus to bind to DNA and nucleosomes and regulate the transcription of various genes. HMGN polypeptides also can be released by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, the extracellular release of a HMGN polypeptide initiates activation of the immune system. Therefore, it has potential use as a biological therapeutic for stimulating an immune response.

Englerin A, a natural product, has shown growth-inhibiting activity against renal cancer cell lines. The compound is an agonist of protein kinase C (PCK) theta, which results in cell cytotoxicity, insulin inhibition, and selective activation of viral replication in T cells.  Englerin A derivatives are promising treatment strategies for any diseases associated with PKC theta and/or ion channel proteins.

Several novel tropolone derivatives have been identified that inhibit HIV-1 RNase H function and have potential for anti-viral activity due to reduced cellular toxicity.  Inhibiting RNase H function is a potential treatment for many viral infections, since RNase H function is essential for viral replication for many pathogenic retroviruses such as HIV-1 and HIV-2.  Although many hydroxytropolone compounds are potent RNase H inhibitors biding at the enzymatic active site, they are limited as therapeutic candidates by their toxicity in mammalian cells.  The toxicity thought to

Bone-loss-related diseases, such as periodontitis, are characterized by an imbalance between the formation and activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, leading to bone loss. There are several signaling pathways that participate in the osteoclastogenesis process. Finding inhibitors of these pathways and other osteoclastogenesis-related pathways may have an effect on bone-loss diseases.

Summary:

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) seeks research co-development partners and/or licensees for Chimeric VLP Vaccines to Prevent HTLV-1 Infection.