Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Filing Period

Jul 1, 2012 to Jun 30, 2013

Signed

Feb 13, 2014

Return Version

2012v2.0

Gross Receipts

$61,917,849

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Cardiovascular Biology Research Program - One way the immune system keeps a body healthy is through immune surveillance. Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, constantly exit the bloodstream and "check in" at the lymph nodes to learn about possible pathogens or abnormal cell growth. The function prepares the immune system to fight infections and dispose of pre-cancerous cells. For years, scientists have wondered how lymphocytes exit the bloodstream at a large volume without causing bleeding. In 2013, a team of OMRF researchers found that platelets, which normally stop blood loss by clumping and forming plugs in blood vessel holes after injuries, activate a screening process. This process allows lymphocytes to exit into lymph nodes without letting red blood cells leave the blood vessel. Detailed in the journal Nature, these findings could alter the ways doctors use platelets to treat traumatic injuries and serious infections.

Activity 3

Immunobiology and Cancer Research Program - When people age, so do their cells. This process takes a particular toll on stem cells, which play a key role in fighting infections. "As stem cells grow older, their ability to make lymphocytes is diminished," says OMRF's Dr. Paul Kincade. "That compromises the body's ability to fight infections and could explain why older patients have so much more trouble fighting common illnesses." In collaboration with researchers at the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, Kincade helped stimulate the stem cells of laboratory mice to make more of a protein known as Satb1. The result: The animals' stem cells regained much of their ability to create lymphocytes. Published in 2013 in the journal Immunity, the findings might help replenish stem cells as people grow older and aid in reducing age-related illness from infections. "At least in mice," says Kincade, "this looks like a fountain of youth for the immune system."

Filer

EIN

73-0580274