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:
Jun. 20, 2017
Filed:
Oct. 17, 2016
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL (US);
Paul J. Hergenrother, Champaign, IL (US);
Karson S. Putt, Champaign, IL (US);
Rahul Palchaudhuri, Cambridge, MA (US);
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL (US);
Abstract
Apoptosis is generally believed to be a process that requires several hours, in contrast to non-programmed forms of cell death that can occur in minutes. Our findings challenge the time-consuming nature of apoptosis. We describe herein the discovery and characterization of a small molecule, named Raptinal, which initiates intrinsic pathway caspase-dependent apoptosis within minutes, in multiple different cell lines. Comparison to a mechanistically diverse panel of apoptotic stimuli reveals Raptinal-induced apoptosis proceeds with unparalleled speed. The rapid phenotype enabled identification of the critical roles of mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel function, mitochondrial membrane potential/coupled respiration, and mitochondrial complex I, III and IV function for apoptosis induction. Use of Raptinal in whole organisms demonstrates its utility to study apoptosis in vivo for a variety of applications. Overall, rapid inducers of apoptosis are powerful tools that will be used in a variety of settings to generate further insight into the apoptotic machinery.