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Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center • Athens, GA 30602 Phone 706.542.1404 [email protected] http://research.uga.edu/gateway Technology Available for Licensing UGARF Case #1268 New Targets for Chagas Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Application Chagas disease, caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a lifelong health problem in Central and South America, where an estimated 18 million people are infected with this parasite and 100 million are at risk of infection. T. cruzi is known to also be pathogenic in over 100 mammal species other than humans, including dogs, cats and rodents, and the infection can be transmitted from these animals to humans. Historical attempts to develop vaccines for parasitic diseases such as Chagas disease have been largely futile, and there is a critical lack of methods for diagnosis and treatment for T. cruzi in particular. Improved drugs and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of T. cruzi infection are needed, as well as new diagnostic methods. This invention aims to address these issues by providing new targets for vaccine and drug development. These targets could also be used to develop diagnostic kits and screening assays. Problems Addressed (benefits/advantages) Previously unknown targets that are essential for energy generation in specific life cycle stages Discovery of additional stage-related T. cruzi proteins opens up new avenues for diagnosis, treatment and prevention Diagnosis of T. cruzi infection through any number of stage-specific T. cruzi proteins to provide more accurate diagnosis of Chagas disease Technology Summary Proteomic analysis of T. cruzi has identified many new life-stage specific molecular targets suitable for use in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Chagas disease. Vaccine development Diagnostic kits Targets for drug development Development of screening assays to identify inhibitors of stage-related enzymes present in mammalian host or insect vectors, which could then be used as therapeutic agents to treat T. cruzi infection Inventors Rick Tarleton, Distinguished Research Professor, Cellular Biology http://cellbio.uga.edu/directory/faculty/rick-l-tarleton Research in the Tarleton laboratory focuses on the immunology and pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection and Chagas disease. Three broad questions are being addressed: 1) How is immune control initiated and maintained during the infection; 2) How does T. cruzi manage to avoid immune clearance and maintain an infection for decades in hosts; and 3) What is the relationship between immunity, parasite persistence, and disease development? The ultimate goals of these investigations are to provide insights into the immunologic basis of parasite control and pathogenesis in T. cruzi infection and to use this information to design methods for prevention of infection or intervention in chronic disease. Ron Orlando, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology James Atwood, Post-doctoral fellow Brent Weatherly, Post-doctoral fellow Technology Development and IP Status US patent #7,780,969 Contact Rachael Widener Senior Licensing Manager 706-542-5095 [email protected]