The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 27, 2010
Filed:
Jun. 13, 2007
Kazuhiro Kawamura, Akita, JP;
Aaron J. W. Hsueh, Stanford, CA (US);
Sabine M. Mulders, Oss, NL;
The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Palo Alto, CA (US);
N.V. Organon, Oss, NL;
Abstract
Compositions and methods are provided for enhancing the survival and promoting the maturation of mammalian oocytes, zygotes and preimplantation embryos. BDNF or BDNF agonists may be administered to an individual, or to cells in vitro, to enhance cellular maturation, embryo growth and fertilization. Accordingly, compositions comprising BDNF are herein presented for use in promoting in vivo oocyte maturation as well as for use as a component in culture media for promoting preimplantation maturation of zygotes and embryos, for instance, for use with in vitro fertilization procedures and for the production of stem cells. Additionally, compounds that interfere with the binding of BDNF to its receptor may be administered to an individual to prevent oocyte maturation, thereby acting as a contraceptive. The BNDF receptor, TrkB, and BDNF also find use in the screening and design of agonists and antagonists for use in the methods of the invention.