University of Pittsburgh Announces Four Patents Issued in April 2022

Pitt innovators were issued four patents in April 2022.

Featured patent: 11,298,409  Mutant Huntington-Mediated Protein Dysfunction

Huntington’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive neurological dysfunction and selective neuronal loss caused by a mutation in the gene that produces the protein huntingtin. Robert Friedlander, the Walter E. Dandy Professor and Chairman, University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery, and colleagues have identified an interaction between mutant huntingtin (muHtt) protein and a mitochondrial transport protein complex TIM23. The investigators demonstrated that binding of muHtt to TIM23 inhibits mitochondrial protein import. This results in mitochondrial dysfunction, which leads to neuronal dysfunction and cell death. The malfunction occurs very early in the development of Huntington’s Disease, making it an attractive therapeutic target. Researchers successfully attenuated the import defect and subsequent neuronal death, as well as significantly restored mitochondrial activity by overexpression of TIM23 subunits.

This work carries significant implications for protein import-based gene therapies in the treatment of Huntington’s Disease.

For more information on this technology, including licensing, contact Maria Vanegas at mvanegas@innovation.pitt.edu.

Below is a listing of all patents issued to Pitt innovators in April 2022.