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:
Dec. 06, 2011
Filed:
Jul. 15, 2008
Irwin D. Bernstein, Seattle, WA (US);
Barbara Varnum-finney, Seattle, WA (US);
Irwin D. Bernstein, Seattle, WA (US);
Barbara Varnum-Finney, Seattle, WA (US);
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides methods for immortalizing precursor cells that are non-terminally differentiated cells such as stem cells, said methods comprising culturing the precursor cells in the presence of a Notch agonist and one or more growth factors that support the proliferation but not differentiation of the non-terminally differentiated cells. The present invention further provides methods to induce the differentiation of immortalized cells, comprising growing the cells in the presence of a Notch agonist and at least one growth factor which supports the differentiation of the cell into a more specialized cell type. The immortalized and/or differentiated cells of the invention can be used to repopulate cell populations that have been diminished, for example as a result of infection or exposure to certain drugs. The invention further provides a cell culture comprising a population of non-terminally differentiated cells immortalized by the methods of the present invention and kits comprising reagents that promote the immortalization of precursor cells. The invention further provides methods for screening for Notch modulators and for identifying genes involved in processes of cellular differentiation.