AGT broadens patent to include cancer, heart disease

AGT Biosciences has filed to broaden the patent on its SelS gene, already a prime suspect in type 2 diabetes and inflammatory diseases, to cover heart disease, cancer infertility and other disorders.

The company is seeking to extend protection on both the gene and its protein product, selenoprotein S, which forms an outer-membrane receptor that is expressed in a range of tissues and organs in the body.

CEO Prof Greg Collier said the company's research teams at Deakin University and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research in Texas had found "interesting correlations" between particular variants of the SelS gene and circulating levels of molecules involved in inflammation and other disorders.

Collier said SelS, formerly known as Tanis, is a member of the selenoprotein family, distinguished by the presence of a cysteine amino-acid residue that binds the rare-earth element selenium.

Selenium is known to protect cells against oxidative stress and DNA damage, key processes involved in cancer, heart disease and aging. Collier said SelS was one of only two receptor proteins among the 26 selenoproteins now known in humans -- most others are enzymes.

He said a paper by Cambridge researchers published in Science earlier this year showing that selenoproteins were tightly linked to many diseases involving free radicals and oxidative damage "put the icing on the cake."

The SelS receptor has a distinctive pattern of distribution in a range of body tissues, and the company's researchers have demonstrated correlations between certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SelS gene and diseases involving these tissues.

"We're convinced of the role of SelS in type 2 [non-insulin dependent] diabetes, and our pharmaceutical partner is working hard on potential diabetes therapeutics," Collier said. "Now, by combining animal models with gene-scans of human populations, we have shown that SelS variation is potentially involved in susceptibility to many diseases."

Earlier this year AGT announced its discovery of another gene, Parl, on chromosome 3, that appears to have a critical role in regulating the function of mitochondria, the tiny biochemical 'batteries' that power cells.

Collier said SNPs in Parl correlated not only with diabetes susceptiblity, but also with variable rates of cellular aging in humans from middle age onwards.

"As with our protection of PARL for cancer and other diseases, this is another example of AGT Biosciences' ability to leverage its strong IP portfolio to develop novel therapeutic leads," Collier said.

"The possible application of SelS to diseases including cancer and inflammation opens new revenue possibilities for the company in markets worth billions of US dollars per annum."