Mina, an IL-4 Repressor, a Predictor of Atopic Diseases, such as Allergic Rhinitis, Bronchial Asthma and Atopic Dermatitis (SJ-08-0005)



Technology Name
(St. Jude Reference #)
Mina, an IL-4 Repressor, a Predictor of Atopic Diseases, such as Allergic Rhinitis, Bronchial Asthma and Atopic Dermatitis (SJ-08-0005)
Description Bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis are diseases associated with elevated IL-4 production from dysregulated T helper 2 (TH2) cells. Researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the RIKEN Yokohama Institute have discovered that Mina regulates the amount of IL-4 produced and that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Mina locus are associated with asthma and rhinitis. Thus, Mina could be used as a genetic marker to predict susceptibility and diagnosis of allergic diseases and to screen for compounds useful as therapeutic agents.
Keywords Mina, asthma, rhinitis, allergic diseases
Granted Patents or Published Applications International application published on December 17, 2009 as WO 2009/151518
Related Scientific References Mariko Okamoto, Melanie Van Stry, Linda Chung, Madoka Koyanagi, Xizhang Sun, Yoshie Suzuki, Osamu Ohara, Hiroshi Kitamura, Atsushi Hijikata, Masato Kubo & Mark Bix; Mina, an Il4 repressor, controls T helper type 2 bias; Nature Immunology 10, 872 - 879 (2009)
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Last update: September 2010