ISU, Professor Receive Patent For Adjuvant That Boosts Immune System

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — While conducting
research on cancer, Swapan Ghosh and a team of graduate and doctoral students
discovered a phytol-derived adjuvant. That adjuvant formula just became U.S.
Patent No. 8,088,395.

“I’m so excited,” said Ghosh, Indiana State University professor of biology,
about the completion of the process that began in 2006. The
patent is in place for 24 years and the university will now begin marketing it
to pharmaceutical companies. “We believe that this adjuvant
will be useful in humans. We think this is possibly one of the best in boosting
the immune system.”

Vaccines, which are used to enhance an immune system, need an agent – an
adjuvant – to assist in deploying them. Alum has been widely used for years, but
has come under attack as a possible cause for neurological disorders.

“A few adjuvants have been discovered, but they have side effects. We were
trying to develop something that has fewer side effects, but boosts
the immune system,” Ghosh said. “Our compound is an excellent boost to the
immune system and we haven’t detected any side effects.”

The compound could be used to boost immunity in cancer patients, in veterinary
clinics, aid in fighting infectious agents and be used in
preparing laboratory agents and diagnostic kits, Ghosh said.

Chlorophyll creates the green color in green vegetables and one of its two
components is phytol.

“Phytol is one of the most widely occurring natural compounds,” Ghosh said.
“People have tried phytol as an adjuvant, but it can be toxic. We
used chemically modified phytol compounds.”

Chemistry professors Richard Kjonaas and Richard Fitch assisted in modifying the
compound. Students, from undergraduates to doctoral, have
also worked on the project gaining real-world research experience with their
education.

The adjuvant builds on a previous find by Ghosh and his team of students. That
find resulted in patent number 7,642,045 for a biomarker
that could aid in determining disease.

“This complements the previous one in which we could monitor the progress in the
activation of the immune system,” Ghosh said.

When they monitored dendritic cells, a type of white blood cell, that could be
activated by phytol adjuvants. Ghosh and the university have
another patent pending on the biomarkers for immune activation.

Research on the adjuvant has been published in the peer-reviewed journals BMC
Immunology (2011), Cellular Immunology (2011), The Open
Vaccine Journal (2010) and the Journal of Immune-Based Therapies and Vaccines
(2006).

Photo:

http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/Media-Services/Ghosh-and-Immunology/51908GoshImmune18/298020423_pViwB-S.jpg

Cutline: Swapan Ghosh, Indiana State University professor of biology.

Contact: Swapan Ghosh, Indiana State University, professor of biology,
at 812-237-2416 or swapan.ghosh@indstate.edu

Media Contacts:
Writer: Jennifer Sicking, Indiana State University, associate director of media
relations, at 812-237-7972 or jennifer.sicking@indstate.edu

SOURCE Indiana State University

Subject Codes: PC/t.120113153900904, PT/lang.en, IN/HEA, IN/MTC, IN/HED,
IN/EDU, RE/Indiana, PC/priority.r, PC/category.a,
PC/class.1277, PC/WAVO_….7., PC/APT_….7, PC/trade_7,
PC/wavo5_7, PC/Billing_620, PC/Billing_RWB,
PC/Billing_TNW, PC/1stAcc_933958, PC/bureau_DC,
PC/port_01, PC/port_31, PC/port_19, PC/port_91,
PC/id_DC35622