Columbia Technology Ventures
Categories
Search
Collections
Express Licenses
Sign In

Treatment and prevention of intestinal graft-versus-host disease following HPSC transplantation

Overview
Request Info
More Like This
Express Licensing

This technology is a method of bolstering immune defenses in intestinal tissue for the prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease, which is often caused by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Unmet Need: Prevention of stem cell transplantation-related complications

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HPSC) transplantation, a common therapy for various genetic diseases and cancers, often results in potentially fatal complications, such as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). It is thought that GVHD arises as a result of perturbations to the intestinal microbiota following allogeneic HPSC transplantation, leading to increased leukocyte activation that is characteristic of this complication. As such, a treatment that enhances intestinal resilience may prevent the onset of GVHD in transplant patients.

The Technology: Protein analogs for prevention and treatment of GVHD

This technology utilizes analogs of glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) to bolster intestinal barrier function in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients in order to protect against GVHD. Using a specified dosing schedule that promotes tissue repair, the proposed therapeutic regimen significantly reduces intestinal permeability that contributes to inflammation and GVHD onset. With few off-target effects and a low toxicity profile, this technology may be used in conjunction with existing therapeutic regimens to greatly reduce the incidence of GVHD in HPSC transplantation recipients.

This technology has been validated in mouse models of allogeneic HPSC transplantation.

Applications:

  • Prevention and treatment of GVHD following HPSC transplantation
  • Prevention of alloreactivity in solid organ transplants
  • Treatment of toxicity after high-dose chemotherapy or radiation
  • Therapies for autoimmune disorders of the gut (e.g. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis)

Advantages:

  • Reduces risk of GVHD following HPSC transplantation
  • Promotes intestinal tissue repair
  • May be used simultaneously with existing treatment regimens
  • High specificity of drug mechanism
  • Few off-target effects and low toxicity profile

Lead Inventor:

Ran Reshef, M.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending

Tech Ventures Reference: