Retro-inverso peptides derived from leukemia inhibitory factor

Patent Number: 7,109,168

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is classically known for its ability to maintain murine embryonic stem cells in an undifferentiated state. Various types of non-embryonic stem cells also respond to LIF. For example, LIF supplementation to human fetal cortical cells increases telomerase activity and endows increased self-renewal potential (Wright et al. Human progenitor cells isolated from the developing cortex undergo decreased neurogenesis and eventual senescence following expansion in vitro. Exp Cell Res. 2006 Jul 1;312(11):2107-20). Other activities of LIF include chemoattraction of non-hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells (Kucia M et al. The migration of bone marrow-derived non-hematopoietic tissue-committed stem cells is regulated in an SDF-1-, HGF-, and LIF-dependent manner. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz). 2006 Mar 28), as well as ability to expand hematopoietic stem cells (Shih et al. A secreted and LIF-mediated stromal cell-derived activity that promotes ex vivo expansion of human hematopoietic stem cells. Blood. 2000 Mar 15;95(6):1957-66).

In this patent peptides that possess LIF-like activity are claimed.

The patent assignee, Myelos Corp, was sold to Bio-Technology General Corp in March 2001 for $35 million.

This technology may be useful not only for growing various stem cells in vitro, but also for administration systemically in order to expand endogeneous stem cells.

View this patent on the USPTO website.