Immune Disease Institute, Inc.

Other

Children's Medical Center Corporation

Children's Hospital

The Cbr Institute for Biomedical Research, Inc.

Patrick Hogan

Anjana Rao

Sonia Sharma

Stefan Feske

Yousang Gwack

Jose Aramburu

The footwear can be convertible between a shoe configuration and a sandal configuration. A flexible front vamp portion can be elevated into an upwardly flexed and elevated position so it creates a cavity, in conjunction with the footwear upper portion, to receive the foot of the wearer to provide a shoe configuration. In particular, the toes of the wearer can reside in the cavity portion formed by the flexible front vamp portion. For conversion to a sandal configuration, the midsole can be removed from the outer sole and the front vamp portion can be downwardly flexed so that it collapses and then nests into the outer sole. The midsole can be replaced back into the outer sole, with the front vamp portion captured between the midsole and the outer sole, so the footwear can function as a sandal with the wearer's toes exposed.

Convertible footwear

Disclosed are methods of identifying an agent that modulates an NFAT regulator protein. One such method comprises contacting at least one test agent with a recombinant cell comprising at least one NFAT regulator protein or fragment or derivative thereof, assessing the effect of the test agent on an activity, interaction, expression, or binding to the NFAT regulator protein or fragment or derivative thereof, and identifying the test agent that has an effect on an activity, interaction, expression, or binding to the NFAT regulator protein or fragment or derivative thereof, whereby the identified test agent is characterized as an agent that modulates an NFAT regulator protein. Methods of identifying an agent that modulates intracellular calcium, methods to screen for an agent that modulates NFAT regulator function, methods to diagnose unexplained immunodeficiency in a subject, and methods for identifying an agent for treating or preventing a disease or disorder associated with a NFAT regulator protein or calcium signaling are also disclosed.

Regulators of NFAT

Embodiments of the inventions relate to modulating NFAT activity, modulating store-operated Caentry into a cell and treating and/or preventing hyperactivity or inappropriate immune response by inhibiting the expression or activities of septin 4 (SEPT 4) and septin 5 (SEPT 5) proteins involved in the calcineurin/NFAT axis and T-cell activation.

Regulators of NFAT and/or store-operated calcium entry

Embodiments of the inventions relate to modulating NFAT activity, modulating store-operated Caentry into a cell and treating and/or preventing hyperactivity or inappropriate immune response by inhibiting the expression or activities of proteins involved in the calcineurin/NFAT axis.

Embodiments of the inventions relates to modulating NFAT activity, modulating store-operated Caentry into a cell and treating and/or preventing hyperactivity or inappropriate immune response by inhibiting the expression or activities of proteins involved in the calcineurin/NFAT axis.

Isolated peptide fragments of the conserved regulatory domain of NFAT protein capable of inhibiting protein-protein interaction between calcineurin and NFAT, or a biologically active analog thereof are described. Isolated polynucleotides and gene therapy vectors encoding such peptide fragments are also described. In addition, methods for treating immune-related diseases or conditions and methods for high throughput screening of candidate agents are described. Pharmaceutical compositions are also provided.

Specific inhibitors of NFAT activation by calcineurin and their use in treating immune-related diseases

Isolated peptide fragments of the conserved regulatory domain of NFAT protein capable of inhibiting protein&#x2014;protein interaction between calcineurin and NFAT, or a biologically active analog thereof are described. Isolated polynucleotides and gene therapy vectors encoding such peptide fragments are also described. In addition, methods for treating immune-related diseases or conditions and methods for high throughput screening of candidate agents are described. Pharmaceutical compositions are also provided.

Growing community of inventors

Cambridge, MA, United States of America

Patrick Hogan