Patents Examined by Jim Ketter
  • Patent number: 9765349
    Abstract: The present invention provides trans-complementation systems for expressing gene products in plants. In general, the invention provides systems including a carrier vector and a producer vector, both based on plant viruses. The producer vector is defective for at least one function needed for successful systemic infection of a plant, e.g., replication, cell-to-cell movement, or long distance movement. The carrier vector supplies the missing function in trans. Certain producer vectors lack a functional coat protein coding sequence, in which case the corresponding producer vector supplies coat protein in trans. The invention also provides novel plant viral vectors and methods of use, e.g., to produce polypeptides or active RNAs in plants.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: iBio, Inc.
    Inventors: Oleg Fedorkin, Shailaja Rabindran, Vidadi Yusibov
  • Patent number: 9758799
    Abstract: Yeast cells are transformed with an exogenous xylose isomerase gene. Additional genetic modifications enhance the ability of the transformed cells to ferment xylose to ethanol or other desired fermentation products. Those modifications include deletion of non-specific or specific aldose reductase gene(s), deletion of xylitol dehydrogenase gene(s) and/or overexpression of xylulokinase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2017
    Assignee: Cargill Incorporated
    Inventors: Vineet Rajgarhia, Kari Koivuranta, Merja Penttila, Marja Ilmen, Pirkko Suominen, Aristos Aristidou, Christopher Kenneth Miller, Stacey Olson, Laura Ruohonen
  • Patent number: 9744194
    Abstract: The invention relates generally to methods of treating spasticity, rigidity, or muscular hyperactivity conditions by introducing a portion of an expanded population of neural stem cells into an area of a recipient spinal cord.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignees: Neuralstem, Inc., The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Karl K. Johe, Thomas G. Hazel, Martin Marsala, Osamu Kakinohana
  • Patent number: 9725709
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multistage procedure for treatment of biological samples (e.g., living cells with membranes, and the like) with a substance (e.g., a drug, DNA, RNA, plasmids, and other biomolecules or materials) to achieve more efficacious intracellular delivery and transfection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: OPENCELL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: John Mark Meacham, Kiranmai Durvasula, Andrei G. Fedorov, Fahrettin Levent Degertekin, Akash Mehta
  • Patent number: 9725714
    Abstract: This disclosure provides for compositions and methods for the use of nucleic acid-targeting nucleic acids and complexes thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Paul May, Rachel E. Haurwitz, Jennifer A. Doudna, James M. Berger, Matthew Merrill Carter, Paul Daniel Donohoue
  • Patent number: 9717583
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are medical products with a layer of dehydrated modified basement membrane preparation formed thereon. The basement membrane has been modified before dehydration of remove low molecular weight components. Methods of making and using the products also are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Cell and Molecular Tissue Engineering, LLC
    Inventors: Ulrike W. Klueh, Donald L. Kreutzer
  • Patent number: 9719096
    Abstract: The invention provides a system of heavy metal sequestration by bacteria. The bacteria expresses the ppk, mt, and/or ?-galactosidase (lacZ) genes and can tolerate at least 25 ?M mercury, 1,000 ?M zinc, 250 ?M cadmium, and 3,000 ?M Pb. The system allows for facile determination of the presence of heavy metal contaminants in a liquid and the facile collection of the bacteria that has sequestered large amounts of heavy metal. Further provided is a system of gene expression in bacteria that comprises phage and plastid gene expression elements and delivers a particularly high level of protein expression and heavy metal resistance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignee: Inter American University of Puerto Rico
    Inventor: Oscar N. Ruiz
  • Patent number: 9714273
    Abstract: A method of producing synthetic spider silk, including: transforming Escherichia coli with an expression vector; fermenting the transformed E. coli in a culture medium; inducing spider silk protein expression in the cultured E. coli; extracting the spider silk; and purifying the spider silk. Related vectors and genetically modified cells are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2017
    Assignee: Utah State University
    Inventors: Randolph V. Lewis, Dong Chen, Justin A. Jones, Sreevidhya T. Krishnaji, Paula F. Oliveira, Gargi Bhattacharyya
  • Patent number: 9702008
    Abstract: The present invention provides novel methods for diagnosing a state of health based on the determination of specific miRNAs that have altered expression levels in different conditions, e.g. disease states compared to healthy controls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2017
    Assignee: HUMMINGBIRD DIAGNOSTICS GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas Keller, Eckart Meese, Anne Borries, Peer Friedrich Staehler, Markus Beier
  • Patent number: 9695430
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for genetically modifying a filamentous fungus host for improved protein production. The method comprises that a filamentous fungus host is genetically modified to overexpress or to be deficient of specific genes. The invention relates also to the modified hosts. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for improved production or for producing an improved composition of proteins, such as cellulases, hemicellulases, other proteins involved in the degradation of lignocellulosic material, or other proteins, in a filamentous fungus host.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignee: Teknologian Tutkimuskeskus VTT OY
    Inventors: Tiina Pakula, Markku Saloheimo, Mari Hakkinen, Ann Westerholm-Parvinen, Merja Penttila, Marika Vitikainen
  • Patent number: 9689042
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods in which glucose metabolism is correlated to oncogenesis through certain specific pathways; inhibition of certain enzymes is shown to interfere with oncogenic signaling, and measurement of certain enzyme levels is correlated with patient survival. The present methods comprise measuring level of expression of at least one of the enzymes involved in glucose uptake or metabolism, wherein increased expression of the at least one of the enzymes relative to expression in a normal cell correlates with poor prognosis of disease in a patient. Preferably the genes whose expression level is measured include GLUT3, PFKP, GAPDH, ALDOC, LDHA and GFPT2. Also disclosed are embodiments directed towards downregulating the expression of some genes in glucose uptake and metabolism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of California
    Inventors: Yasuhito Onodera, Mina Bissell
  • Patent number: 9683987
    Abstract: Provided is a gastric cancer cell line derived from a mouse deficient in E-cadherin and p53, and a use thereof. The E-cadherin- and p53-deficient, murine-derived gastric cancer cell line of the present invention was confirmed to have histopathological characteristics similar to those of human gastric cancer, have an epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype and an activated ?-catenin pathway, and promote cancer growth in vivo due to potential of carcinogenesis, and thus the gastric cancer cell line of the present invention can be effectively used for the evaluation of the activity of new anticancer drugs and the development of metastasis inhibitors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: National Cancer Center
    Inventors: Hark Kyun Kim, Jun Won Park
  • Patent number: 9682353
    Abstract: A container system includes a bag comprised of one or more sheets of flexible polymeric material, the bag having an interior surface at least partially bounding a chamber, the chamber being adapted to hold a fluid. A flexible sparging sheet is secured to the interior surface of the bag so that a compartment is formed between the interior surface of the bag and the sparging sheet, at least a portion of the sparging sheet allowing gas to pass therethrough. A tubular port or tube is secured to the bag so that a passage bounded by the tubular port or tube communicates with the compartment. A mixing element is disposed within the chamber of the bag, the mixing element being spaced apart from the flexible sparging sheet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: Life Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Michael E. Goodwin, Nephi D. Jones, Jeremy K. Larsen
  • Patent number: 9683254
    Abstract: The invention is directed to compositions, e.g., cell-based and multiplexed platforms, to screen for small molecule drugs that inhibit enzymes such as proteases, e.g., viral proteases, e.g., HIV proteases; and methods for making and using these compositions. The invention provides compositions and methods for identifying compositions, e.g., drug molecules, that can inhibit proteases, e.g., viral proteases such as HIV proteases. In alternative embodiments, the invention provides cell-based platforms or assays to screen for compositions, e.g., small molecules or drugs, that inhibit or modify the activity of enzymes such as calcium-dependent protein convertases involved in HIV envelope protein processing, including cleavage of the HIV gp160 envelope precursor, resulting in gp120 and gp41 envelope products. In one embodiment, the invention provides a cell-based or multiplexed platform for monitoring the activity of enzymes, e.g., proteases such as viral proteases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY (SDSU) FOUNDATION
    Inventor: Roland Wolkowicz
  • Patent number: 9677068
    Abstract: Methods are provided for, inter alia, detecting nucleic acid molecules resistant to degradation, such as a plurality of RNA molecules bound to a ribosome, using various technologies including deep sequencing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2017
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Jonathan Weissman, Nicholas Ingolia, Sina Ghaemmaghami, John Newman
  • Patent number: 9670520
    Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the culturing of cells, preferably E1-immortalized HER cells, more preferably PER.C6 cells in a reactor in suspension in a cell culture medium, wherein the cells produce a biological substance, preferably an antibody, wherein at least one cell culture medium component is fed to the cell culture and wherein the cell culture comprising the cells, the biological substance and cell culture medium is circulated over a separation system and wherein the separation system separates the biological substance from substances having a lower molecular weight than the biological substance and wherein the biological substance is retained in or fed back into the reactor. Preferably part of the substances of lower molecular weight is continuously removed from the cell culture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: Patheon Holdings | B.V.
    Inventors: Gerben Meile Zijlstra, Robert Patrick Hof, Jacob Schilder
  • Patent number: 9670449
    Abstract: A system and method are described for electroporating a sample that utilizes one or more sets of electrodes that are spaced apart in order to hold a surface tension constrained sample between the electrodes. The first electrode is connected to the lower body of the system while the second electrode is connected to the upper body. Both electrodes are connected to a pulse generator. Each electrode has a sample contact surface such that the first electrode and the second electrode may be positioned to hold a surface tension constrained sample between the two sample contact surfaces and the sample may receive a selected electric pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Assignee: APPLIED BIOSYSTEMS LLC
    Inventors: Richard Jarvis, Mike Byrom, Dmitriy Ovcharenko
  • Patent number: 9669437
    Abstract: A method for scavenging aromatic hydrocarbons present in a contaminated substrate includes treating the contaminated substrate with Pseudomonas taoyuanensis S03 deposited in DSMZ under an accession number DSM 32185, the aromatic hydrocarbons are benzene, naphthalene, toluene, ethylbezene or xylene. A method for scavenging crude petroleum or a refined product thereof present in a contaminated substrate includes treating the contaminated substrate with Pseudomonas taoyuanensis S03 deposited in DSMZ under an accession number DSM 32185, such that the crude petroleum or the refined product thereof is emulsified by Pseudomonas taoyuanensis S03.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2017
    Inventors: Wan-Lan Chai, Jing-Dong Chow, Jen-Chieh Pang, Yi-Cheng Ho
  • Patent number: 9664692
    Abstract: A kit for determining for a female subject the implantation potential of embryos obtained or to be obtained by assisted fertilization is described. The kit includes at least one reagent suitable for detection of levels of FF G-CSF or FF G-CSF mRNA, such as anti-G-CSF antibody or a nucleic acid probe for detection of levels of G-CSF mRNA. The kit may also include a set of concentration standards of FF G-CSF and aspirator tips for removing an oocyte and follicular fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2017
    Assignee: FEMALON S.P.R.L.
    Inventors: Nathalie Ledee, Marie-Pierre Piccinni
  • Patent number: 9657275
    Abstract: The present invention is directed generally to eukaryotic host cells comprising artificial endosymbionts and methods of introducing artificial endosymbionts into eukaryotic host cells. The invention provides artificial endosymbionts that introduce a phenotype to host cells that is maintained in daughter cells. The invention additionally provides eukaryotic host cells containing magnetotactic bacteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2017
    Assignee: Bell Biosystems, Inc.
    Inventors: Caleb Bell, III, Alexey Bazarov