Unmet Need
In the United States, approximately 1.9-million new cancer cases are projected to be diagnosed with 608,570 cancer deaths in 2021 (see ACS). Early screening initiatives that detect cancer as well as novel therapeutics that target and destroy tumor cells may lead to a future decrease in the number of cancer-related mortality. To improve the outcomes for these newly diagnosed cancer cases and offer the best therapy, new understandings of cancer biology and advancements in research materials are urgently needed.
Long Interspersed Element 1 (LINE-1) retrotransposons have been identified to be overexpressed in more than half of human cancers. However, tools that evaluate the bio-machinery of LINE-1 and allow for the study of cellular events during LINE-1 expression and oncogenesis are limited. There is a strong need for the development of novel research tools that allow for the cancer cells to be evaluated in the context of LINE-1 expression.
Technology Overview
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a novel cell line containing a Tumor suppressor protein 53 (TP53) knockdown as well as an inducible LINE-1 transposable element. This invention may allow for further understandings of early disease development in various cancer types such as ovarian and colorectal cancer.
Stage of Development
Experimental data and cell lines are available.
Publication
Ardeljan et al. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2020 Feb;27(2):168-178.
