Patents by Inventor Vladimer Korinek

Vladimer Korinek has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • .beta.-catenin, Tcf-4, and APC interact to prevent cancer
    Patent number: 5851775
    Abstract: The APC tumor suppressor protein binds to .beta.-catenin, a protein recently shown to interact with Tcf/Lef transcription factors. Here, the gene encoding a Tcf family member that is expressed in colonic epithelium (hTcf-4) was cloned and characterized. hTcf-4 transactivates transcription only when associated with .beta.-catenin. Nuclei of APC.sup.-/- colon carcinoma cells were found to contain a stable .beta.-catenin-hTCF-4 complex that was constitutively active, as measured by transcription of a Tcf reporter gene. Reintroduction of APC removed .beta.-catenin from hTcf4 and abrogated the transcriptional transactivation. Constitutive transcription of TCF target genes, caused by loss of APC function, may be a crucial event in the early transformation of colonic epithelium. It is also shown here that the products of mutant APC genes found in colorectal tumors are defective in regulating .beta.-catenin/Tcf-4 transcrpitional activation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 22, 1998
    Assignees: Johns Hopkins University, Utrecht University
    Inventors: Nick Barker, Hans Clevers, Kenneth W. Kinzler, Vladimer Korinek, Patrice J. Morin, Andrew B. Sparks, Bert Vogelstein