Molecular Pacemakers for Heart and Brain
Lead Inventors: Eric Kandel, Ph.D.Problem or Unmet Need:Ion channels, a group of specialized proteins in the membranes of nerve and muscle cells, play essential roles in the physiology of all cells. In recent years ion channels have been implicated in a long list of diseases, including cystic fibrosis, diabetes, cardiac arrhythmias, neurologic and psychiatric diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and hypertension. Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated (HCN) channels, which are often referred to as pacemaker channels, help generate the rhythmic electrical impulses that power the heart and brain. Defective pacemaker ion channels can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and may also underlie certain neurological diseases. Therefore, there is a high demand for methods to modulate the activities of pacemaker channels, which can be the site of integration of multiple electrical and biochemical pathways.The technology describes an isolated nucleic acid encoding a BCNG (brain cyclic nucleotide gated 1) protein, BCNG-related protein or their portions. It provides a way to identify a nucleic acid in a sample, which encodes a BCNG protein or a BCNG-related protein. Furthermore, compounds that interact with or modulate a BCNG protein or a BCNG related protein could be identified and administered to patients with diseases that involve faulty ion channels.
Novel therapeutic target for treatments of heart arrhythmias and neurological diseases Better understanding of the mechanisms of a wide range of cardiac and neurological diseases caused by defective pacemaker activities
The method can be used to identify previously unknown BCNG-related nucleic acids. Compounds that regulate BCNG or BCNG-related protein activity could be used in the therapy and management of neurological, cardiovascular, renal, pulmonary or hepatic conditions, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, long QT syndrome, sick sinus syndrome, age-related memory loss, cystic fibrosis, sudden death syndrome or a pacemaker rhythm dysfunction.
The technology describes an isolated nucleic acid encoding a BCNG (brain cyclic nucleotide gated 1) protein, BCNG-related protein or their portions. It provides a way to identify a nucleic acid in a sample, which encodes a BCNG protein or a BCN...
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