Patents; Cloning Volumes Of Receptor Genes
By Edmund L. Andrews
Published: October 24, 1992
A small pharmaceutical research company has patented the genetic code for two molecular switches that could help unravel the secrets of a chemical in the brain associated with mood disorders, sleep problems and even sexual appetite.
The target of the invention is serotonin, a powerful messenger chemical in the brain with a rainbow of effects. Pharmaceutical companies around the world have been racing to develop drugs that modulate serotonin. One of the most successful efforts has been the new antimigraine drug Migran, produced by Glaxo Holdings P.L.C.
Like other chemical neurotransmitters, serotonin affects the body by latching onto large proteins on the surface of cells called receptors. The messenger chemical acts like a key, and the receptor is like a lock or switch that activates or shuts down particular cellular functions. The mystery of serotonin is that it affects quite a number of different receptors, and has different effects depending on where the receptors are located.
The new patent, obtained by the Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corporation of Paramus, N.J., covers the genes to a pair of important serotonin receptors. Company officials said the genes made it possible to clone large volumes of the receptor, free of distracting contaminants. The cloned receptor make it much easier to search for "clean" drugs that bind only to that receptor and block serotonin without causing other unwanted side effects, they said.
Company officials said the particular receptors covered by the patent, known as 1D Alpha and 1D Beta, appear to be involved in many disorders and are being investigated by companies around the world.
Synaptic researchers received patent 5,155,218.
Patents are available by number for $3 from the Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, D.C. 20231.