Download Case name Owner Website description Integrates DNA Methylation

Case name
Test Kit that Simultaneously Measures DNA Methylation and Chromatin Structure to Identify Cancer and Other
Diseases
Owner
Website
University of Florida
http://technologylicensing.research.ufl.edu/technologie
s/14663_test-kit-that-simultaneously-measures-dnamethylation-and-chromatin-structure-to-identify-cancerand-other-diseases
description
Integrates DNA Methylation and Chromatin Structure Assessment to Better Predict Chance of Disease
This integrated DNA test kit helps diagnose disease by measuring methylation and chromatin structure at the
same time, giving it an edge over disease detection kits that employ separate evaluations. Locked inside every
tissue sample is valuable information about a person s health. By studying the language of cells, genes and
proteins, researchers can better understand disease development, including how cancer progresses. DNA
methylation, which helps control gene expression, and chromatin structures, protein-DNA interactions in
eukaryotes, can undergo cancer-induced changes. Evaluating these gene reactions and changes at multiple loci
together rather than in isolation can lead to more accurate diagnoses. Simultaneous analysis, however, tends to
be costly using available technology. University of Florida researchers have developed a test kit that merges
methyltransferase footprinting (MAPit) and targeted-bisulfite-sequencing (bisulfite patch PCR) into what they call
MAPit-patch. This technology allows for parallel measurement at single-molecule resolution of DNA methylation
and chromatin structure at the same time across several genomic loci and samples with minimal DNA input
requirements. The inexpensive test kit has numerous clinical applications and will prove useful in any research
laboratory that has a need for multi-locus and multi-sample processing. The national market for genetic testing,
which now stands at around $5 billion a year, could reach $25 billion by 2012.
Application
Test kit for identifying biomarkers that indicate disease, especially cancers
Advantages
Enables low-cost screening of multiple tissue samples, providing a competitive advantage over available
DNA test kits
Features a gene-targeted rather than genome-wide design, facilitating the technology s transition to
clinical applications
Assesses DNA methylation and chromatin structure at the same time, making it more accurate at detecting
disease than separate measurements
Avoids averaging of DNA methylation and chromatin structure measurements, allowing detection of
critical subpopulations of cells (e.g. drug-resistant cells)
Technology
Researchers at the University of Florida merged available technologies to create a MAPit-patch test kit that
permits simultaneous assessment of DNA methylation and chromatin structure. It can process several biological
samples with hundreds of genes at once and requires only small DNA inputs. The test kit s targeted (rather than
genome-wide) approach is appropriate for clinical applications where assessment of particular disease
biomarkers is required. The MAPit-patch may have already identified a new class of cancer biomarkers.
Date
Case Ref.
2014-01-30 00:00:00
14663
Application number
USPending US2016-0115530
Applicants
University of Florida
Inventors
Michael P. Kladde, Nancy H. Nabilsi, Carolina E. Pardo,
Support:
Access to additional documentation
Support from inventors
Please inquire
Please inquire
Classification
IPC classifications
CPC classifications
89930
89931
Bibliographic details:
Publication number
Publication date
2017-03-02
Priority number
Estimated expiry year
2017