44 results about "Melanopsin" patented technology

This invention provides conjugates of therapeutic or active agents with melanotransferrin or with other ligands of a melanotransferrin receptor, melanotransferrin receptor modulators, and related compositions and methods for modulating blood-brain barrier transport by, providing methods of screening and selecting such conjugates, ligands, and modulators in vitro and in vivo, and methods of use of such conjugates, modulators and ligands in diagnosis and the treatment of diseases, including particularly diseases of the central nervous system or lysosomal storage diseases.

The invention provides a three-channel lighting apparatus with the option to support the human circadian rhythm. By choosing especially the blue LED and green phosphor, the range of biological activity that can be changed is optimized. By adjustment of the LED spectra a bigger range in melanopsin effectiveness factor, at the same CCT range (from daylight like CCT down to dimmed halogen), can be obtained.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The newly discovered retinal ganglion cell photoreceptor melanopsin absent in the central fovea of the eye but distributed throughout the remaining human retinal body provides both non-visual biological / physiological input inducing circadian entrainment, and visual input affecting perceived brightness; this perceived brightness is not the object brightness commonly associated with luminance and perceived color of an object in central view, but the perception of brightness of a whole space or task background. Discussed are improvements to circadian lighting systems based on melanopsin stimulation whereby ambient and / or device background lighting may be temporally tuned over a range of prescribed color temperatures from a first subset of lighting having a higher melanopic content to a second subset of lighting having a lower melanopic content or vice versa in accordance with a desired circadian cycle, and in a manner where net light output is of a constant perceived brightness and color throughout temporal tuning.

The present invention is directed to a kit-of-parts or composition containing nucleic acid sequences coding for high-avidity, allo-restricted TCR, wherein the TCR are independently directed against the tyrosinase antigen, the melan-A antigen and the survivin antigen. The invention is further directed to a kit-of-parts or composition containing at least three groups of transgenic lymphocytes transformed with vectors coding for TCR against said antigens. Furthermore, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition and its use in the treatment of diseases involving malignant cells expressing said tumor-associated antigens. The invention further relates to a nucleic acid molecule coding for a TCR that recognizes the survivin antigen, a TCR encoded thereby and a T cell expressing said TCR. Further, the invention discloses a vector, a cell and a pharmaceutical composition encoding / containing same and their use in the treatment of diseases involving malignant cells expressing survivin.

The invention provides a three-channel lighting apparatus with the option to support the human circadian rhythm. By choosing especially the blue LED and green phosphor, the range of biological activity that can be changed is optimized. By adjustment of the LED spectra a bigger range in melanopsin effectiveness factor, at the same CCT range (from daylight like CCT down to dimmed halogen), can be obtained.

A calorimetric pupil light reflex testing device for diagnostic assessment of the ocular and central nervous system diseases based on melanopsin and non-melanopsin spectral light properties. The device employs blue and red light emitting diodes emitting light at wavelengths of approximately 472 nanometers and 630 respectively to elicit pupillary constriction. The light emitting diodes are each provided within a handheld light wand, allowing the light emitting diodes to be hand held. The light emitting diodes provide intense light and the predetermined wavelengths, thereby eliminating the necessity of a light meter or colored filter.

A light source and a method of generating a light using the light source is disclosed. The light source is configured to produce a plurality of distinct colors in generating the light, one of the distinct colors falling within a blue spectral light band. A light controller modulates the spectral light produced by the plurality of distinct colors. The modulation provides melanopsin contrast in order to increase melanopsin responsiveness of a subject exposed to the generated light and maintains the color temperature, color quality, and color constancy experienced by the subject in a lit viewing environment within an acceptable range.

A light-sensitive chimeric protein comprising domains from at least two members of the G-protein-coupled-receptor (GPCR) protein super family, which are fused to yield a light-sensitive GPCR chimera capable of coupling a light signal to the signaling cascade of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 6 (mGluR6) is provided for medical therapy and for the manufacture of medicaments for improving vision, in particular for treating loss of vision resulting from retinal photoreceptor degeneration. A first of the at least two GPCR family members contributes domains which mediate the light-sensitivity to the chimeric light-sensitive GPCR protein. This first member belongs to the family of light-sensitive GPCR proteins also called photopigments, and in some embodiments this light-sensitive GPCR protein is melanopsin, in particular human melanopsin. A second of the at least two GPCR family members is mGluR6, which contributes domains for coupling the light signal to the intracellular signalling cascade of mGluR6, which is a native component of the cell membrane of ON-bipolar cells in the inner retina.

The present invention relates to a GFP-CAP peptide having an amino acid sequence derived from TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor-β1) and a cell adhesion sequence, wherein the amino acid sequence derived from TGF-β1 consists of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 and the TGFP-CAP peptide is represented by the following formula I: Ile-Trp-Ser-Leu-Asp-Thr-Gln-Tyr-Cell adhesion sequence (I). The TGFP-CAP peptide of the present invention exhibits excellent anti-angiogenic activity. In addition, the TGFP-CAP peptide of the present invention prevents effectively melanin generation in skin to have skin whitening effects. The present peptide shows much higher stability and permeability to skin than natural-occurring TGF-β1. Such plausible activities and safety of the present peptide enable advantageously to application to drugs, quasi-drugs and cosmetics.

A calorimetric pupil light reflex testing device for diagnostic assessment of the ocular and central nervous system diseases based on melanopsin and non-melanopsin spectral light properties. The device employs blue and red light emitting diodes emitting light at wavelengths of approximately 472 nanometers and 630 respectively to elicit pupillary constriction. The light emitting diodes are each provided within a handheld light wand, allowing the light emitting diodes to be hand held. The light emitting diodes provide intense light and the predetermined wavelengths, thereby eliminating the necessity of a light meter or colored filter.

A peptide formed from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, according to the present invention, shows a melanogenesis increment activity and an adipogenesis inhibitory activity. A peptide of the present invention, by increasing phosphorylation of MITF, which is a transcription factor for increasing a tyrosinase expression, and CREB for increasing an MITF expression, consequently increases a tyrosinase expression and ultimately increases melanin synthesis. A peptide of the present invention, by reducing the amount of fat accumulated inside a cell and reducing expressions of perilipin and PPARγ, which contribute to adipogenic mechanism, ultimately inhibits adipogenesis. The present invention provides a composition for remedying or treating melanin hypopigmentation, the composition comprising the peptide, and provides pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing obesity.

Tissue slices and whole organisms offer substantial challenges to fluorescence imaging. Autofluorescence and absorption via intrinsic chromophores, such as flavins, melanin, and hemoglobins, confound and degrade output from all fluorescent tags. An “optical window,” farther red than most autofluorescence sources and in a region of low hemoglobin and water absorbance, lies between 650 and 900 nm. This valley of relative optical clarity is an attractive target for fluorescence-based studies within tissues, intact organs, and living organisms. Novel fluorescent tags were developed herein, based upon a genetically targeted fluorogen activating protein and cognate fluorogenic dye that yields emission with a peak at 733 nm exclusively when complexed as a “fluoromodule”. This tool improves substantially over previously described far-red / NIR fluorescent proteins in terms of brightness, wavelength, and flexibility by leveraging the flexibility of synthetic chemistry to produce novel chromophores.

The invention belongs to the field of biological technology. The wild-type cinerea cinerea strain is used as the background strain to knock out the gene of a key enzyme cylindroxone dehydratase in the melanin synthesis pathway, and construct a gene deletion mutation of the cinerea cinerea capable of producing a large amount of cylindroxone The main steps of the strain Δbcscd1 are as follows: use fusion PCR technology to fuse the 5'-UTR and 3'-UTR of the target gene bcscd1 with the upstream and downstream coding regions of the hygromycin fragment Hph to obtain the upstream and downstream fusion fragments, and use PEG-mediated The protoplast transformation method was used to transform the fusion fragment into wild-type protoplasts for double-crossover homologous recombination, and the gene deletion mutant strain Δbcscd1 was obtained through screening and identification. The gene deletion mutant strain constructed by the method of the invention has high genetic stability and low toxicity. The present invention also proposes a method for specifically purifying cylindroporin through steps such as extraction, rotary steaming and column chromatography.

The invention relates to a peptide and a preparation method and application thereof. The peptide comprises a sequence as shown in SEQ ID No.1 or a sequence, where one or more amino acids are substituted, deleted, inserted and / added in the sequence as shown in SEQ ID No.1. The peptide displays activity of inhibiting melanoblast or melanogenesis or activity of whitening. The invention also providesa nucleotide sequence which encodes the peptide, a carrier containing the nucleotide sequence and a host comprising the vector. The peptide is similar to the amino acid sequence of MSH-alpha, and canbe prepared on a large scale by means of a biofermenting method, so that the peptide can be used for the whitening cosmetic industry.

An objective of this invention is to identify and provide a gene encoding medaka protein B. An additional objective of the present invention is to provide human and murine homologues of the gene. To achieve the above mentioned objectives, the inventors performed positional cloning on the B gene. The gene encoding medaka protein B was successfully isolated, and the present invention has come to completion. Accordingly, in accordance with the invention, there are provided a nucleic acid encoding medaka protein B and those encoding homologues thereof. According to another aspect of the invention, there are provided a nucleic acid listed in Seq. No. 1 that encodes medaka protein B and a nucleic acid listed in Seq. No. 3 that encodes mouse protein B / AIM-1. According to the invention, there is provided a method of suppressing melanin production characterized in that expression of the gene encoding protein B is suppressed.

Embodiments disclosed herein can provide ocular photo-bio- stimulation through light stimulation of specific wavelengths to the eye's retina, and to the entire eye's retina, the retina peripheral to the fovea, and / or the retina peripheral to the macula. In certain embodiments, the light stimulation is targeted at or to the rods. In other embodiments, the light stimulation is targeted at or to the ganglion cells or it is targeted at or to the rods and the ganglion cells, wherein the ganglion cells targeted or stimulated are the melanopsin containing ganglion cells (ipRGCs) or can also be called mRGCs.

An optical filter may reduce the frequency and / or severity of photophobic responses or for modulating circadian cycles by controlling light exposure to cells in the human eye in certain wavelengths, such as 480nm and 590nm, and a visual spectral response of the human eye. The optical filter may disrupt the isomerization of melanopsin in the human eye reducing the availability of the active isoform, whereas the attenuation of light weighted across the action potential spectrum of the active isoform attenuates the phototransduction cascade leading to photophobic responses. Embodiments of an optical filter are described. In one embodiment an optical filter may be configured to transmit less than a first amount of light in certain wavelengths, and to transmit more than a second amount of lightweighted across the visual spectral response. Methods of use and methods of manufacturing optical filters are also described.

A method of treating an eye disease comprising administering an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to a mammalian subject by subretinal injection, wherein the AAV vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding melanopsin operably linked to an expression control sequence to promote expression of melanopsin in cells of the eye of the subject.

The invention provides a light indicator (100) for use in evaluating a quantity of melanopsin active radiation, the light indicator (100) comprising a light indicator element (110) comprising a sensing area (111), wherein the light indicator element (110) comprises a light reflecting element (120) configured to reflect at least part of light illuminating the sensing area (111) having one or more wavelengths selected from the wavelength range of an absorption band of melanopsin in the visible wavelength range and configured to absorb at least part of light illuminating the sensing area (111) having one or more wavelengths in the visible wavelength range outside the wavelength range of the absorption band of melanopsin in the visible wavelength range; and a non-sensing area (130) configured adjacent to the sensing area (111), wherein the non-sensing area (130) has an achromatic color having a lightness in the range corresponding to the lightness of shades of gray.

Provided is a double-chain siRNA molecule targeting a microphthalmia-associated transcription factor MITF coding gene. A sense strand of the siRNA molecule has a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 and an anti-sense strand has a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4, and the anti-sense strand specifically binds to mRNA of the MITF coding gene, to degrade the mRNA, thereby reducing the systhesis of melanin. Further provided is an application of the siRNA molecule in freckle whitening cosmetics or the preparation of medicines for treatment of diseases related to melanin gene.

The invention provides a tissue-engineered epidermis detection method. The tissue-engineered epidermis detection method includes melanocyte and keratinocyte detection, sterile detection, mycoplasma detection and endotoxin detection. By means of staining of cell nucleuses of melanocytes and keratinocytes, distribution of the melanocytes and the keratinocytes can be seen, so that melanocyte uniformity, skin graft uniformity and a proportion of the melanocytes and the keratinocytes on a basal layer can be seen; biosafety of tissue-engineered epidermis is detected by sterile detection, mycoplasma detection, endotoxin detection and the like. Thus, the tissue-engineered epidermis detection method can be used for detecting whether content of the melanocytes on the basal layer, skin graft uniformity and biosafety of the tissue-engineered epidermis reach the standards or not objectively, comprehensively and accurately.

A light source and a method of generating a light using the light source is disclosed. The light source is configured to produce a plurality of distinct colors in generating the light, one of the distinct colors falling within a blue spectral light band. A light controller modulates the spectral light produced by the plurality of distinct colors. The modulation provides melanopsin contrast in order to increase melanopsin responsiveness of a subject exposed to the generated light and maintains the color temperature, color quality, and color constancy experienced by the subject in a lit viewing environment within an acceptable range.

A light therapy system (12) for delivering a controllable amount of melanopsin light includes a lighting assembly (16) for producing a light output (68) having a controllable illuminance and color temperature. Based on the received target melanopsin illumination, the controller (24) of the system constructs a suitable control schedule (71) for controlling the parameter level of the lighting assembly over time such that during the defined treatment period The indicated amount of target melanopsin illumination is delivered in total in (78). The relative melanopsin sensitivity of humans to light of different color temperatures is considered when constructing the control schedule. The color temperature of the delivered light is controlled accordingly so that after adjustments are made for the color, the amount of light delivered meets the input exposure target.

Methods of weight treatment in animals are presented including: stimulating a retinal ganglia of the animal by an exposure to a narrow spectrum light. In some embodiments, the stimulating the retinal ganglia of the animal is associated with a stimulation of melanopsin. In some embodiments, the stimulation of melanopsin is associated with a inhibition of melatonin secretion. In some embodiments, inhibition of melatonin secretion is associated with a stimulation of leptin secretion. In some embodiments, the stimulation of leptin secretion is associated with a decrease in appetite in the animal. In some embodiments, the exposure to the narrow spectrum light is associated with a weight loss in the animal. In some embodiments, the narrow spectrum light is in a spectrum range of approximately 435 to 520 nanometers.

A method of treating an eye disease comprising administering an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to a mammalian subject by subretinal injection, wherein the AAV vector comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding melanopsin operably linked to an expression control sequence to promote expression of melanopsin in cells of the eye of the subject.

Provided herein are polynucleotide cassettes, vectors, and recombinant adeno- associated viruses for the expression of a melanopsin and for optogenetic expression of a transgene in a mammalian cell.

Systems and methods are disclosed for creating high dynamic range (HDR) Neurally Primed Content (NPC) for stimulating a content viewer's melanopsin vision system (MVS), based on standard content, for viewing on a high dynamic range (HDR) display. The color and brightness information of a piece of standard content are analyzed. Based on the analysis, a color lookup table (CLUT) is created for use in converting the standard content color and brightness information to a higher bit depth representation of the color and brightness information. Using the CLUT and the standard content, a high dynamic range (HDR) logical representation of the content is creating having the higher bit depth. Finally, an NPC physical color representation of the higher bit depth HDR logical representation of the content is created for viewing on an HDR display.

A light source module includes a first light-emitting element and a packaging portion covering the first light-emitting element. The packaging portion includes a first additional light-emitting body, a second additional light-emitting body, and a third additional light-emitting body. The light of each light-emitting element and light-emitting body is mixed to form the emitted light of the light source module, and the emitted light is warm white light. The spectral energy in the wavelength range (470~515nm] accounts for 10.0%~25.0% of the entire spectral energy. The light source module provided by the present invention adds a phosphor whose emission spectrum is completely covered by the melanopsin light-sensitive curve, so that the melanopsin light-sensing efficiency ratio Kmel of the entire light source module reaches more than 0.52. At the same time, warm white light color is achieved by adding yellow-green phosphor and red phosphor, and high color rendering property is ensured. This emitted light with a high Kmel value can improve concentration under the same illuminance. While providing a warm white light warm atmosphere, it is especially suitable for people to concentrate on learning and working.

An optical filter may reduce the frequency and / or severity of photophobic responses or for modulating circadian cycles by controlling light exposure to cells in the human eye in certain wavelengths, such as 480 nm and 590 nm, and a visual spectral response of the human eye. The optical filter may disrupt the isomerization of melanopsin in the human eye reducing the availability of the active isoform, whereas the attenuation of light weighted across the action potential spectrum of the active isoform attenuates the phototransduction cascade leading to photophobic responses. Embodiments of an optical filter are described. In one embodiment an optical filter may be configured to transmit less than a first amount of light in certain wavelengths, and to transmit more than a second amount of light weighted across the visual spectral response. Methods of use and methods of manufacturing optical filters are also described.

Provided herein are polynucleotide cassettes, vectors, and recombinant adeno- associated viruses for the expression of a melanopsin and for optogenetic expression of a transgene in a mammalian cell.