Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
  • C07K14/435—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans
  • C07K14/705—Receptors; Cell surface antigens; Cell surface determinants

Definitions

• the present invention relates to human proteins having hydrophobic domains, DNAs coding for these proteins, and expression vectors of these DNAs as well as eucaryotic cells expressing these DNAs.
• the proteins of the present invention can be employed as pharmaceuticals or as antigens for preparing antibodies against these proteins.
• the human cDNAs of the present invention can be utilized as probes for the gene diagnosis and gene sources for the gene therapy.
• the cDNAs can be utilized as gene sources for large-scale production of the proteins encoded by these cDNAs.
• Cells, wherein these membrane protein genes are introduced to express secretory proteins and membrane proteins in large amounts can be utilized for detection of the corresponding receptors and ligands, screening of novel low-molecular pharmaceuticals, and so on.
• membrane proteins play important roles, as signal receptors, ion channels, transporters, etc. in the material transportation and the information transmission which are mediated by the cell membrane.
• Examples thereof include receptors for a variety of cytokines, ion channels for the sodium ion, the potassium ion, the chloride ion, etc., transporters for saccharides and amino acids, and so on, where the genes of many of them have been cloned already. It has been clarified that abnormalities of these membrane proteins are associated with a number of hitherto-cryptogenic diseases. Therefore, discovery of a new membrane protein is anticipated to lead to elucidation of the causes of many diseases, so that isolation of a new gene coding for the membrane protein has been desired.
• a general method is the so-called expression cloning which comprises transfection of a cDNA library in eucaryotic cells to express cDNAs and then screening of the cells expressing the target active protein by secretion or on the surface of membrane.
• this method is applicable only to cloning of a gene of a protein with a known function.
• secretory proteins and membrane proteins possess at least one hydrophobic domain inside the proteins, wherein, after synthesis thereof in the ribosome, this domain works as a secretory signal or remains in the phospholipid membrane to be trapped in the membrane. Accordingly, the evidence of this cDNA for encoding the secretory proteins and the membrane protein is provided by determination of the whole base sequence of a full-length cDNA followed by detection of highly hydrophobic domains in the amino acid sequence of the protein encoded by this cDNA.
• the object of the present invention is to provide novel human proteins having hydrophobic domains, DNAs coding for these proteins, and expression vectors of these DNAs as well as transformation eucaryotic cells that are capable of expressing these DNAs.
• the present inventors have been successful in cloning of cDNAs coding for proteins having hydrophobic domains from the human full-length cDNA bank, thereby completing the present invention.
• the present invention provides human proteins having hydrophobic domains, namely proteins containing any of the amino acid sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 1 to 10.
• the present invention provides DNAs coding for the above-mentioned proteins, exemplified by cDNAs containing any of the base sequences represented by Sequence Nos.
• Fig. 1 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP00631.
• Fig. 2 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilieity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP02403.
• Fig. 3 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP02420.
• Fig. 4 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilieity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10349.
• Fig. 5 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10508.
• Fig. 6 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10524.
• Fig. 7 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10529.
• Fig. 8 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10537.
• Fig. 9 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10549.
• Fig. 10 A figure depicting the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile of the protein encoded by clone HP10551.
• the proteins of the present invention can be obtained, for example, by a method for isolation from human organs, cell lines, etc., a method for preparation of peptides by the chemical synthesis, or a method for production with the recombinant DNA technology using the DNAs coding for the hydrophobic domains of the present invention, wherein the method for obtainment by the recombinant DNA technology is employed preferably.
• in vitro expression of the proteins can be achieved by preparation of an RNA by in vitro transcription from a vector having one of cDNAs of the present invention, followed by in vitro translation using this RNA as a template.
• recombination of the translation region into a suitable expression vector by the method known in the art leads to expression of a large amount of the encoded protein by using prokaryotic cells such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, etc., and eucaryotic cells such as yeasts, insect cells, mammalian cells, etc.
• prokaryotic cells such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, etc.
• eucaryotic cells such as yeasts, insect cells, mammalian cells, etc.
• the protein of the present invention can be produced in vitro, when the translation region of this cDNA is subjected to recombination to a vector having an RNA polymerase promoter, followed by addition to an in vitro translation system such as a rabbit riticulocyte lysate or a wheat germ extract, containing an RNA polymerase corresponding to the promoter.
• RNA polymerase inhibitors are exemplified by T7, T3, SP6, and the like.
• RNA polymerase inhibitors are exemplified by pKAl, pCDM8, pT3/T7 18, pT7/3 19, pBluescript II, and so on.
• a membrane protein of the present invention can be expressed as the form incorporated in the microsome membrane, when a canine pancreas microsome or the like is added into the reaction system.
• a recombinant expression vector bearing the translation region in the cDNA of the present invention is constructed in an expression vector having an origin, a promoter, a ribosome-binding site, a cDNA-cloning site, a terminator etc., which can be replicated in the microorganism, and, after transformation of the host cells with this expression vector, the thus-obtained transfor ant is incubated, whereby the protein encoded by said cDNA can be produced on a large scale in the microorganism.
• a protein fragment containing an optional region can be obtained by carrying out the expression with inserting an initiation codon and a termination codon in front of and behind an optional translation region.
• a fusion protein with another protein can be expressed. Only a protein portion coding for this cDNA can be obtained by cleavage of this fusion protein with a suitable protease.
• the expression vector for Escherichia coli is exemplified by the pUC system, pBluescript II, the pET expression system, the pGEX expression system, and so on.
• the protein of the present invention can be obtained by secretory production or produced as a membrane protein on the cell-membrane surface, when the translation region of this cDNA is subjected to recombination to an expression vector for eucaryotic cells that has a promoter, a splicing region, a poly(A) insertion site, etc., followed by introduction into the eucaryotic cells.
• the expression vector is exemplified by pKAl, pED6dpc2, pCDM8 , pSVK3, pMSG, pSVL, pBK-CMV, pBK-RSV, EBV vector, pRS, pYES2, and so on.
• eucaryotic cells to be used in general include mammalian culture cells such as simian kidney cells COS7, Chinese hamster ovary cells CHO, etc., budding yeasts, fission yeasts, silkworm cells, Xenopus laevis egg cells, and so on, but any eucaryotic cells may be used, provided that they are capable of expressing the present proteins .
• the expression vector can be introduced in the eucaryotic cells by methods known in the art such as the electroporation method, the potassium phosphate method, the liposome method, the DEAE-dextran method, and so on.
• the objective protein can be isolated from the culture and purified by a combination of separation procedures known in the art.
• separation procedures include treatment with a denaturing agent such as urea or a surface-active agent, sonication, enzymatic digestion, salting-out or solvent precipitation, dialysis, centrifugation, ultrafiltration, gel filtration, SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing, ion- exchange chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, affinity chromatography, reverse phase chromatography, and so on.
• the proteins of the present invention include peptide fragments (more than 5 amino acid residues) containing any partial amino acid sequence in the amino acid sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 1. to 10. These peptide fragments can be utilized as antigens for preparation of antibodies.
• those having the signal sequence are secreted in the form of maturation proteins on the surface of the cells, after the signal sequences are removed. Therefore, these maturation proteins shall come within the scope of the present invention.
• the N-terminal amino acid sequences of the maturation proteins can be easily identified by using the method for the cleavage-site determination in a signal sequence [Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No. 1996-187100].
• membrane proteins undergo the processing on the cell surface to be converted to the secretory forms .
• Such proteins or peptides in the secretory forms shall come within the scope of the present invention.
• sugar chain-binding sites are present in the amino acid sequences
• expression in appropriate eucaryotic cells affords proteins wherein sugar chains are added. Accordingly, such proteins or peptides wherein sugar chains are added shall come within the scope of the present invention.
• the DNAs of the present invention include all DNAs coding for the above-mentioned proteins. These DNAs can be obtained by using a method by chemical synthesis, a method by cDNA cloning, and so on.
• the cDNAs of the present invention can be cloned, for example, from cDNA libraries of the human cell origin. These cDNA are synthesized by using as templates poly(A) + RNAs extracted from human cells.
• the human cells may be cells delivered from the human body, for example, by the operation or may be the culture cells.
• the cDNAs can be synthesized by using any method selected from the Okayama- Berg method [Okayama, H. and Berg, P., Mol. Cell. Biol. 2: 161-170 (1982)], the Gubler-Hoffman method [Gubler, U. and Hoffman, J. Gene 25: 263-269 (1983)], and so on, but it is preferred to use the capping method [Kato, S.
• cDNA libraries can be utilized. Cloning of the cDNAs of the present invention from the cDNA libraries can be carried out by synthesis of an oligonucleotide on the basis of an optional portion in the cDNA base sequences of the present invention, followed by screening using this oligonucleotide as the probe according to the colony or plaque hybridization by a method known in the art.
• the cDNA fragments of the present invention can be prepared by synthesis of an oligonucleotide to be hybridized at both termini of the objective cDNA fragment, followed by the usage of this oligonucleotide as the primer for the RT-PCR method from an mRNA isolated from human cells.
• the cDNAs of the present invention are characterized by containing either of the base sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 11 to 20 or the base sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39.
• Table 1 summarizes the clone number (HP number), the cells affording the cDNA, the total base number of the cDNA, and the number of the amino acid residues of the encoded protein, for each of the cDNAs,
• the same clones as the cDNAs of the present invention can be easily obtained by screening of the cDNA libraries constructed from the human cell lines and human tissues utilized in the present invention by the use of an oligonucleotide probe synthesized on the basis of the cDNA base sequence described in any of Sequence Nos. 11 to 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39.
• any cDNA that is subjected to insertion or deletion of one or plural nucleotides and/or substitution with other nucleotides in Sequence Nos. 11 to 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39 shall come within the scope of the present invention.
• any protein that is formed by these modifications comprising insertion or deletion of one or plural amino acids and/or substitution with other amino acids shall come within the scope of the present invention, as far as the protein possesses the activity of any protein having the amino acid sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 1 to 10.
• the cDNAs of the present invention include cDNA fragments (more than 10 bp) containing any partial base sequence in the base sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 11 to 20 or in the base sequences represented by Sequence Nos. 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39. Also, DNA fragments consisting of a sense chain and an anti-sense chain shall come within this scope. These DNA fragments can be utilized as the probes for the gene diagnosis.
• polynucleotides and proteins of the present invention may exhibit one or more of the uses or biological activities (including those associated with assays cited herein) identified below.
• Uses or activities described for proteins of the present invention may be provided by administration or use of such proteins or by administration or use of polynucleotides encoding such proteins (such as, for example, in gene therapies or vectors suitable for introduction of DNA) .
• the polynucleotides provided by the present invention can be used by the research community for various purposes.
• the polynucleotides can be used to express recombinant protein for analysis, characterization or therapeutic use; as markers for tissues in which the corresponding protein is preferentially expressed (either constitutively or at a particular stage of tissue differentiation or development or in disease states); as molecular weight markers on Southern gels; as chromosome markers or tags (when labeled) to identify chromosomes or to map related gene positions; to compare with endogenous DNA sequences in patients to identify potential genetic disorders; as probes to hybridize and thus discover novel, related DNA sequences; as a source of information to derive PCR primers for genetic fingerprinting; as a probe to "subtract-out" known sequences in the process of discovering other novel polynucleotides; for selecting and making oligomers for attachment to a "gene chip” or other support, including for examination of expression patterns; to raise anti-protein antibodiesusing DNA immunization techniques;
• the polynucleotide encodes a protein which binds or potentially binds to another protein (such as, for example, in a receptor-ligand interaction), the polynucleotide can also be used in interaction trap assays (such as, for example, that described in Gyuris et al., Cell 75:791-803 (1993)) to identify polynucleotides encoding the other protein with which binding occurs or to identify inhibitors of the binding interaction.
• interaction trap assays such as, for example, that described in Gyuris et al., Cell 75:791-803 (1993)
• the proteins provided by the present invention can similarly be used in assay to determine biological activity, including in a panel of multiple proteins for high-throughput screening; to raise antibodies or to elicit another immune response; as a reagent (including the labeled reagent) in assays designed to quantitatively determine levels of the protein (or its receptor) in biological fluids; as markers for tissues in which the corresponding protein is preferentially expressed (either constitutively or at a particular stage of tissue differentiation or development or in a disease state); and, of course, to isolate correlative receptors or ligands.
• the protein binds or potentially binds to another protein (such as, for example, in a receptor-ligand interaction)
• the protein can be used to identify the other protein with which binding occurs or to identify inhibitors of the binding interaction. Proteins involved in these binding interactions can also be used to screen for peptide or small molecule inhibitors or agonists of the binding interaction.
• the protein or polynucleotide of the invention can be added to the feed of a particular organism or can be administered as a separate solid or liquid preparation, such as in the form of powder, pills, solutions, suspensions or capsules.
• the protein or polynucleotide of the invention can be added to the medium in or on which the microorganism is cultured.
• a protein of the present invention may exhibit cytokine, cell proliferation (either inducing or inhibiting) or cell differentiation (either inducing or inhibiting) activity or may induce production of other cytokines in certain cell populations.
• cytokine cell proliferation (either inducing or inhibiting) or cell differentiation (either inducing or inhibiting) activity or may induce production of other cytokines in certain cell populations.
• Many protein factors discovered to date, including all known cytokines have exhibited activity in one or more factor dependent cell proliferation assays, and hence the assays serve as a convenient confirmation of cytokine activity.
• the activity of a protein of the present invention is evidenced by any one of a number of routine factor dependent cell proliferation assays for cell lines including, without limitation, 32D, DA2, DA1G, T10, B9, B9/11, BaF3, MC9/G, M+ (preB M+) , 2E8, RB5, DAI, 123, T1165, HT2, CTLL2, TF-1, Mo7e and CMK.
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Assays for T-cell or thymocyte proliferation include without limitation those described in: Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed by J. E. Coligan, A.M. Kruisbeek, D.H. Margulies, E.M. Shevach, W Strober, Pub. Greene Publishing Associates and Wiley-Interscience (Chapter 3, In Vitro assays for Mouse Lymphocyte Function 3.1-3.19; Chapter 7, Immunologic studies in Humans); Takai et al., J. Immunol. 137:3494-3500, 1986; Bertagnolli et al., J. Immunol.
• Assays for cytokine production and/or proliferation of spleen cells, lymph node cells or thymocytes include, without limitation, those described in: Polyclonal T cell stimulation, Kruisbeek, A.M. and Shevach, E.M. In Current Protocols in Immunology. J.E.e.a. Coligan eds. Vol 1 pp. 3.12.1-3.12.14, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto. 1994; and Measurement of mouse and human Interferon ⁇ , Schreiber, R.D. In Current Protocols in Immunology. J.E.e.a. Coligan eds. Vol 1 pp. 6.8.1-6.8.8, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto. 1994.
• Assays for proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic and lymphopoietic cells include, without limitation, those described in: Measurement of Human and Murine Interleukin 2 and Interleukin 4, Bottomly, K., Davis, L.S. and Lipsky, P.E. In Current Protocols in Immunology. J.E.e.a. Coligan eds. Vol 1 pp. 6.3.1-6.3.12, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto. 1991; deVries et al., J. Exp. Med. 173:1205-1211, 1991; Moreau et al., Nature 336:690- 692, 1988; Greenberger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
• Assays for T-cell clone responses to antigens include, without limitation, those described in: Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed by J. E. Coligan, A.M. Kruisbeek, D.H. Margulies, E.M. Shevach, W Strober, Pub. Greene Publishing Associates and Wiley-Interscience (Chapter 3, In Vitro assays for Mouse Lymphocyte Function; Chapter 6, Cytokines and their cellular receptors; Chapter 7, Immunologic studies in Humans); Weinberger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• a protein of the present invention may also exhibit immune stimulating or immune suppressing activity, including without limitation the activities for which assays are described herein.
• a protein may be useful in the treatment of various immune deficiencies and disorders (including severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)), e.g., in regulating (up or down) growth and proliferation of T and/or B lymphocytes, as well as effecting the cytolytic activity of NK cells and other cell populations.
• SCID severe combined immunodeficiency
• These immune deficiencies may be genetic or be caused by viral (e.g., HIV) as well as bacterial orfungal infections, or may result from autoimmune disorders.
• infectious diseases causes by viral, bacterial, fungal or other infection may be treatable using a protein of the present invention, including infections by HIV, hepatitis viruses, herpesviruses, mycobacteria , Leishmania spp., malaria spp. and various fungal infections such as candidiasis.
• a protein of the present invention may also be useful where a boost to the immune system generally may be desirable, i.e., in the treatment of cancer.
• Autoimmune disorders which may be treated using a protein of the present invention include, for example, connective tissue disease, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune pulmonary inflammation, Guillain-Barre syndrome, autoimmune thyroiditis, insulin dependent diabetes mellitis, myasthenia gravis, graft-versus-host disease and autoimmune inflammatory eye disease.
• a protein of the present invention may also to be useful in the treatment of allergic reactions and conditions, such as asthma (particularly allergic asthma) or other respiratory problems.
• Other conditions, in which immune suppression is desired may also be treatable using a protein of the present invention .
• Down regulation may be in the form of inhibiting or blocking an immune response already in progress or may involve preventing the induction of an immune response.
• the functions of activated T cells may be inhibited by suppressing T cell responses or by inducing specific tolerance in T cells, or both.
• Immunosuppression of T cell responses is generally an active, non-antigen- specific, process which requires continuous exposure of the T cells to the suppressive agent. Tolerance, which involves inducing non-responsiveness or anergy in T cells, is distinguishable from immunosuppression in that it is generally antigen-specific and persists after exposure to the tolerizing agent has ceased.
• tolerance can be demonstrated by the lack of a T cell response upon reexposure to specific antigen in the absence of the tolerizing agent.
• Down regulating or preventing one or more antigen functions including without limitation B lymphocyte antigen functions (such as , for example, B7)), e.g., preventing high level lymphokine synthesis by activated T cells, will be useful in situations of tissue, skin and organ transplantation and in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) .
• B lymphocyte antigen functions such as , for example, B7
• GVHD graft-versus-host disease
• blockage of T cell function should result in reduced tissue destruction in tissue transplantation.
• rejection of the transplant is initiated through its recognition as foreign by T cells, followed by an immune reaction that destroys the transplant.
• a molecule which inhibits or blocks interaction of a B7 lymphocyte antigen with its natural ligand(s) on immune cells can lead to the binding of the molecule to the natural ligand(s) on the immune cells without transmitting the corresponding costimulatory signal.
• a B7 lymphocyte antigen e.g., B7-1, B7-3 or blocking antibody
• Blocking B lymphocyte antigen function in this matter prevents cytokine synthesis by immune cells, such as T cells, and thus acts as an immunosuppressant.
• the lack of costimulation may also be sufficient to anergize the T cells, thereby inducing tolerance in a subject.
• Induction of long-term tolerance by B lymphocyte antigen-blocking reagents may avoid the necessity of repeated administration of these blocking reagents.
• the efficacy of particular blocking reagents in preventing organ transplant rejection or GVHD can be assessed using animal models that are predictive of efficacy in humans.
• appropriate systems which can be used include allogeneic cardiac grafts in rats and xenogeneic pancreatic islet cell grafts in mice, both of which have been used to examine the immunosuppressive effects of CTLA4Ig fusion proteins in vivo as described in Lenschow et al., Science 257:789-792 (1992) and Turka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA, 89:11102-11105 (1992).
• murine models of GVHD see Paul ed., Fundamental Immunology, Raven Press, New York, 1989, pp. 846-847) can be used to determine the effect of blocking B lymphocyte antigen function in vivo on the development of that disease.
• Blocking antigen function may also be therapeutically useful for treating autoimmune diseases.
• Many autoimmune disorders are the result of inappropriate activation of T cells that are reactive against self tissue and which promote the production of cytokines and autoantibodies involved in the pathology of the diseases.
• Preventing the activation of autoreactive T cells may reduce or eliminate disease symptoms.
• Administration of reagents which block costimulation of T cells by disrupting receptor: ligand interactions of B lymphocyte antigens can be used to inhibit T cell activation and prevent production of autoantibodies or T cell-derived cytokines which may be involved in the disease process. Additionally, blocking reagents may induce antigen-specific tolerance of autoreactive T cells which could lead to long-term relief from the disease.
• the efficacy of blocking reagents in preventing or alleviating autoimmune disorders can be determined using a number of well-characterized animal models of human autoimmune diseases. Examples include murine experimental autoimmune encephalitis, systemic lupus erythmatosis in MRL/lpr/lpr mice or NZB hybrid mice, murine autoimmune collagen arthritis, diabetes mellitus in NOD mice and BB rats, and murine experimental myasthenia gravis (see Paul ed., Fundamental Immunology, Raven Press, New York, 1989, pp. 840-856).
• Upregulation of an antigen function (preferably a B lymphocyte antigen function), as a means of up regulating immune responses, may also be useful in therapy. Upregulation of immune responses may be in the form of enhancing an existing immune response or eliciting an initial immune response. For example, enhancing an immune response through stimulating B lymphocyte antigen function may be useful in cases of viral infection. In addition, systemic viral diseases such as influenza, the commoncold, and encephalitis might be alleviated by the administration of stimulatory forms of B lymphocyte antigens systemically.
• anti-viral immune responses may be enhanced in an infected patient by removing T cells from the patient, costimulating the T cells in vitro with viral antigen-pulsed APCs either expressing a peptide of the present invention or together with a stimulatory form of a soluble peptide of the, present invention and reintroducing the in vitro activated T cells into the patient.
• Another method of enhancing anti-viral immune responses would be to isolate infected cells from a patient, transfect them with a nucleic acid encoding a protein of the present invention as described herein such that the cells express all or a portion of the protein on their surface, and reintroduce the transfected cells into the patient.
• the infected cells would now be capable of delivering a costimulatory signal to, and thereby activate, T cells in vivo.
• up regulation or enhancement of antigen function may be useful in the induction of tumor immunity.
• Tumor cells e.g., sarcoma, melanoma, ly phoma, leukemia, neuroblastoma, carcinoma
• transfected with a nucleic acid encoding at least one peptide of the present invention can be administered to a subject to overcome tumor-specific tolerance in the subject. If desired, the tumor cell can be transfected to express a combination of peptides.
• tumor cells obtained from a patient can be transfected ex vivo with an expression vector directing the expression of a peptide having B7-2-like activity alone, or in conjunction with a peptide having B7-l-like activity and/or B7-3-like activity.
• the transfected tumor cells are returned to the patient to result in expression of the peptides on the surface of the transfected cell.
• gene therapy techniques can be used to target a tumor cell for transfection in vivo.
• the presence of the peptide of the present invention having the activity of a B lymphocyte antigen(s) on the surface of the tumor cell provides the necessary costimulation signal to T cells to induce a T cell mediated immune response against the transfected tumor cells.
• tumor cells which lack MHC class I or MHC class II molecules, or which fail to reexpress sufficient amounts of MHC class I or MHC class II molecules, can be transfected with nucleic acid encoding all or a portion of (e.g., a cytoplasmic-domain truncated portion) of an MHC class I ⁇ chain protein and ⁇ 2 microglobulin protein or an MHC class Il ⁇ chain protein and an MHC class Il ⁇ chain protein to thereby express MHC class I or MHC class II proteins on the cell surface.
• nucleic acid encoding all or a portion of (e.g., a cytoplasmic-domain truncated portion) of an MHC class I ⁇ chain protein and ⁇ 2 microglobulin protein or an MHC class Il ⁇ chain protein and an MHC class Il ⁇ chain protein to thereby express MHC class I or MHC class II proteins on the cell surface.
• a gene encoding an antisense construct which blocks expression of an MHC class II associated protein, such as the invariant chain can also be cotransfected with a DNA encoding a peptide having the activity of a B lymphocyte antigen to promote presentation of tumor associated antigens and induce tumor specific immunity.
• a T cell mediated immune response in a human subject may be sufficient to overcome tumor-specific tolerance in the subject.
• Suitable assays for thymocyte or splenocyte cytotoxicity include, without limitation, those described in: Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed by J. E. Coligan, A.M. Kruisbeek, D.H. Margulies, E.M. Shevach, W Strober, Pub. Greene Publishing Associates and Wiley-Interscience (Chapter 3, In Vitro assays for Mouse Lymphocyte Function 3.1-3.19; Chapter 7, Immunologic studies in Humans); Herrmann et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78:2488-2492, 1981; Herrmann et al., J. Immunol.
• T-cell-dependent immunoglobulin responses and isotype switching (which will identify, among others, proteins that modulate T-cell dependent antibody responses and that affect Thl/Th2 profiles) include, without limitation, those described in: Maliszewski, J. Immunol. 144:3028-3033, 1990; and Assays for B cell function: In vitro antibody production, Mond, J.J. and Brunswick, M. In Current Protocols in Immunology. J.E.e.a. Coligan eds. Vol 1 pp. 3.8.1-3.8.16, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto. 1994.
• MLR Mixed lymphocyte reaction
• Dendritic cell-dependent assays (which will identify, among others, proteins expressed by dendritic cells that activate naive T-cells) include, without limitation, those described in: Guery et al., J. Immunol.
• lymphocyte survival/apoptosis (which will identify, among others, proteins that prevent apoptosis after superantigen induction and proteins that regulate lymphocyte homeostasis) include, without limitation, those described in: Darzynkiewicz et al., Cytometry 13:795-808, 1992; Gorczyca et al., Leukemia 7:659-670, 1993; Gorczyca et al., Cancer Research 53:1945-1951, 1993; Itoh et al., Cell 66:233-243, 1991; Zacharchuk, Journal of Immunology 145:4037-4045, 1990; Zamai et al., Cytometry 14:891-897, 1993; Gorczyca et al., International Journal of Oncology 1:639-648, 1992.
• Assays for proteins that influence early steps of T- cell commitment and development include, without limitation, those described in: Antica et al., Blood 84:111-117, 1994; Fine et al., Cellular Immunology 155:111-122, 1994; Galy et al., Blood 85:2770-2778, 1995; Toki et al., Proc. Nat. Acad Sci. USA 88:7548-7551, 1991.
• Hematopoiesis Regulating Activity A protein of the present invention may be useful in regulation of hematopoiesis and, consequently, in the treatment of myeloid or lymphoid cell deficiencies.
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Assays for embryonic stem cell differentiation include, without limitation, those described in: Johansson et al. Cellular Biology 15:141-151, 1995; Keller et al., Molecular and Cellular Biology 13:473-486, 1993; McClanahan et al., Blood 81:2903-2915, 1993.
• Assays for stem cell survival and differentiation include, without limitation, those described in: Methylcellulose colony forming assays, Freshney, M.G. In Culture of Hematopoietic Cells. R.I. Freshney, et al. eds. Vol pp. 265-268, Wiley-Liss, Inc., New York, NY. 1994; Hirayama et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:5907-5911, 1992; Primitive hematopoietic colony forming cells with high proliferative potential, McNiece, I.K. and Briddell, R.A.
• a protein of the present invention also may have utility in compositions used for bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament and/or nerve tissue growth or regeneration, as well as for wound healing and tissue repair and replacement, and in the treatment of burns, incisions and ulcers.
• a protein of the present invention which induces cartilage and/or bone growth in circumstances where bone is not normally formed, has application in the healing of bone fractures and cartilage damage or defects in humans and other animals.
• Such a preparation employing a protein of the invention may have prophylactic use in closed as well as open fracture reduction and also in the improved fixation of artificial joints. De novo bone formation induced by an osteogenic agent contributes to the repair of congenital, trauma induced, or oncologic resection induced craniofacial defects, and also is useful in cosmetic plastic surgery.
• a protein of this invention may also be used in the treatment of periodontal disease, and in other tooth repair processes. Such agents may provide an environment to attract bone-forming cells, stimulate growth of bone- forming cells or induce differentiation of progenitors of bone-forming cells.
• a protein of the invention may also be useful in the treatment of osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, such as through stimulation of bone and/or cartilage repair or by blocking inflammation or processes of tissue destruction (collagenase activity, osteoclast activity, etc.) mediated by inflammatory processes.
• tissue regeneration activity that may be attributable to the protein of the present invention is tendon/ligament formation.
• a protein of the present invention which induces tendon/ligament-like tissue or other tissue formation in circumstances where such tissue is not normally formed, has application in the healing of tendon or ligament tears, deformities and other tendon or ligament defects in humans and other animals.
• Such a preparation employing a tendon/ligament-like tissue inducing protein may have prophylactic use in preventing damage to tendon or ligament tissue, as well as use in the improved fixation of tendon or ligament to bone or other tissues, and in repairing defects to tendon or ligament tissue.
• compositions of the present invention contributes to the repair of congenital, trauma induced, or other tendon or ligament defects of other origin, and is also useful in cosmetic plastic surgery for attachment or repair of tendons or ligaments.
• the compositions of the present invention may provide an environment to attract tendon or ligament-forming cells, stimulate growth of tendon- or ligament-forming cells, induce differentiation of progenitors of tendon- or ligament- forming cells, or induce growth of tendon/ligament cells or progenitors ex vivo for return in vivo to effect tissue repair.
• the compositions of the invention may also be useful in the treatment of tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other tendon or ligament defects.
• the compositions may also include an appropriate matrix and/or sequestering agent as a carrier as is well known in the art.
• the protein of the present invention may also be useful for proliferation of neural cells and for regeneration of nerve and brain tissue, i.e. for the treatment of central and peripheral nervous system diseases and neuropathies, as well as mechanical and traumatic disorders, which involve degeneration, death or trauma to neural cells or nerve tissue. More specifically, a protein may be used in the treatment of diseases of the peripheral nervous system, such as peripheral nerve injuries, peripheral neuropathy and localized neuropathies, and central nervous system diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Shy-Drager syndrome. Further conditions which may be treated in accordance with the present invention include mechanical and traumatic disorders, such as spinal cord disorders, head trauma and cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke. Peripheral neuropathies resulting from chemotherapy or other medical therapies may also be treatable using a protein of the invention.
• Proteins of the invention may also be useful to promote better or faster closure of non-healing wounds, including without limitation pressure ulcers, ulcers associated with vascular insufficiency, surgical and traumatic wounds, and the like.
• a protein of the present invention may also exhibit activity for generation or regeneration of other tissues, such as organs (including, for example, pancreas, liver, intestine, kidney, skin, endothelium), muscle (smooth, skeletal or cardiac) and vascular (including vascular endothelium) tissue, or for promoting the growth of cells comprising such tissues. Part of the desired effects may be by inhibition or modulation of fibrotic scarring to allow normal tissue to regenerate.
• a protein of the invention may also exhibit angiogenic activity.
• a protein of the present invention may also be useful for gut protection or regeneration and treatment of lung or liver fibrosis, reperfusion injury in various tissues, and conditions resulting from systemic cytokine damage.
• a protein of the present invention may also be useful for promoting or inhibiting differentiation of tissues described above from precursor tissues or cells; or for inhibiting the growth of tissues described above.
• tissue generation activity include, without limitation, those described in: International Patent Publication No. WO95/16035 (bone, cartilage, tendon); International Patent Publication No. WO95/05846 (nerve, neuronal); International Patent Publication No. WO91/07491 (skin, endothelium ).
• Assays for wound healing activity include, without limitation, those described in: Winter, Epidermal Wound Healing, pps. 71-112 (Maibach, HI and Rovee, DT, eds.), Year Book Medical Publishers, Inc., Chicago, as modified by Eaglstein and Mertz, J. Invest. Dermatol 71:382-84 (1978) .
• a protein of the present invention may also exhibit activin- or inhibin-related activities. Inhibins are characterized by their ability to inhibit the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), while activins and are characterized by their ability to stimulate the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) .
• FSH follicle stimulating hormone
• a protein of the present invention alone or in heterodimers with a member of the inhibin ⁇ family, may be useful as a contraceptive based on the ability of inhibins to decrease fertility in female mammals and decrease spermatogenesis in male mammals . Administration of sufficient amounts of other inhibins can induce infertility in these mammals.
• the protein of the invention may be useful as a fertility inducing therapeutic, based upon the ability of activin molecules in stimulating FSH release from cells of the anterior pituitary. See, for example, United States Patent 4,798,885.
• a protein of the invention may also be useful for advancement of the onset of fertility in sexually immature mammals, so as to increase the lifetime reproductive performance of domestic animals such as cows, sheep and pigs.
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Assays for activin/inhibin activity include, without limitation, those described in: Vale et al., Endocrinology 91:562-572, 1972; Ling et al., Nature 321:779-782, 1986; Vale et al., Nature 321:776-779, 1986; Mason et al., Nature 318:659-663, 1985; Forage et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:3091-3095, 1986.
• a protein of the present invention may have chemotactic or chemokinetic activity (e.g., act as a chemokine) for mammalian cells, including, for example, monocytes, fibroblasts, neutrophils, T-cells, mast cells, eosinophils, epithelial and/or endothelial cells.
• Chemotactic and chemokinetic proteins can be used to mobilize or attract a desired cell population to a desired site of action. Chemotactic or chemokinetic proteins provide particular advantages in treatment of wounds and other trauma to tissues, as well as in treatment of localized infections.
• a protein or peptide has chemotactic activity for a particular cell population if it can stimulate, directly or indirectly, the directed orientation or movement of such cell population.
• the protein or peptide has the ability to directly stimulate directed movement of cells. Whether a particular protein has chemotactic activity for a population of cells can be readily determined by employing such protein or peptide in any known assay for cell chemotaxis.
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Assays for chemotactic activity (which will identify proteins that induce or prevent chemotaxis)consist of assays that measure the ability of a protein to induce the migration of cells across a membrane as well as the ability of a protein to induce the adhesion of one cell population to another cell population.
• Suitable assays for movement and adhesion include, without limitation, those described in: Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed by J.E. Coligan, A.M. Kruisbeek, D.H. Margulies, E.M. Shevach, W.Strober, Pub. Greene Publishing Associates and Wiley- Interscience (Chapter 6.12, Measurement of alpha and beta Chemokines 6.12.1-6.12.28; Taub et al. J. Clin. Invest.
• a protein of the invention may also exhibit hemostatic or thrombolytic activity. As a result, such a protein is expected to be useful in treatment of various coagulation disorders (includinghereditary disorders, such as hemophilias) or to enhance coagulation and other hemostatic events in treating wounds resulting from trauma, surgery or other causes.
• a protein of the invention may also be useful for dissolving or inhibiting formation of thromboses and for treatment and prevention of conditions resulting therefrom (such as, for example, infarction of cardiac and central nervous system vessels (e.g., stroke).
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Assay for hemostatic and thrombolytic activity include, without limitation, those described in: Linet et al., J. Clin. Pharmacol. 26:131-140, 1986; Burdick et al., Thrombosis Res. 45:413-419, 1987; Humphrey et al., Fibrinolysis 5:71-79 (1991); Schaub, Prostaglandins 35:467-474, 1988. Receptor/Ligand Activity
• a protein of the present invention may also demonstrate activity as receptors, receptor ligands or inhibitors or agonists of receptor/ligand interactions.
• receptors and ligands include, without limitation, cytokine receptors and their ligands, receptor kinases and their ligands, receptor phosphatases and their ligands, receptors involved in cell-cell interactions and their ligands (including without limitation, cellular adhesion molecules (such as selectins, integrins and their ligands) and receptor/ligand pairs involved in antigen presentation, antigen recognition and development of cellular and humoral immune responses) .
• Receptors and ligands are also useful for screening of potential peptide or small molecule inhibitors of the relevant receptor/ligand interaction.
• a protein of the present invention may themselves be useful as inhibitors of receptor/ligand interactions.
• the activity of a protein of the invention may, among other means, be measured by the following methods:
• Suitable assays for receptor-ligand activity include without limitation those described in:Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed by J.E. Coligan, A.M. Kruisbeek, D.H. Margulies, E.M. Shevach, W.Strober, Pub. Greene Publishing Associates and Wiley-Interscience (Chapter 7.28, Measurement of Cellular Adhesion under static conditions 7.28.1-7.28.22), Takai et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:6864-6868, 1987; Bierer et al., J. Exp. Med. 168:1145-1156, 1988; Rosenstein et al., J. Exp. Med. 169:149-160 1989; Stoltenborg et al., J. Immunol. Methods 175:59-68, 1994; Stitt et al., Cell 80:661-670, 1995.
• Anti-Inflammatory Activity Proteins of the present invention may also exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.
• the anti-inflammatory activity may be achieved by providing a stimulus to cells involved in the inflammatory response, by inhibiting or promoting cell-cell interactions (such as, for example, cell adhesion), by inhibiting or promoting chemotaxis of cells involved in the inflammatory process, inhibiting or promoting cell extravasation, or by stimulating or suppressing production of other factors which more directly inhibit or promote an inflammatory response.
• Proteins exhibiting such activities can be used to treat inflammatory conditions including chronic or acute conditions), including without limitation inflammation associated with infection (such as septic shock, sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)), ischemia- reperfusion injury, endotoxin lethality, arthritis, complement-mediated hyperacute rejection, nephritis, cytokine or chemokine-induced lung injury, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease or resulting from over production of ytokines such as TNF or IL-1. Proteins of the invention may also be useful to treat anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity to an antigenic substance or material.
• infection such as septic shock, sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)
• ischemia- reperfusion injury such as septic shock, sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)
• ischemia- reperfusion injury endotoxin lethality
• arthritis complement-mediated hyperacute rejection
• a protein of the invention may exhibit other anti-tumor activities.
• a protein may inhibit tumor growth directly or indirectly (such as, for example, via ADCC) .
• a protein may exhibit its tumor inhibitory activity by acting on tumor tissue or tumor precursor tissue, by inhibiting formation of tissues necessary to support tumor growth (such as, for example, by inhibiting angiogenesis), by causing production of other factors, agents or cell types which inhibit tumor growth, or by suppressing, eliminating or inhibiting factors, agents or cell types which promote tumor growth Other Activities
• a protein of the invention may also exhibit one or more of the following additional activities or effects: inhibiting the growth, infection or function of, or killing, infectious agents, including, without limitation, bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites; effecting (suppressing or enhancing) bodily characteristics, including, without limitation, height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin, fat to lean ratio or other tissue pigmentation, or organ or body part size or shape (such as, for example, breast augmentation or diminution, change in bone form or shape); effecting biorhythms or caricadic cycles or rhythms; effecting the fertility of male or female subjects; effecting the metabolism, catabolism, anabolism, processing, utilization, storage or elimination of dietary fat, lipid, protein, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, cofactors or other nutritional factors or component( s) ; effecting behavioral characteristics, including, without limitation, appetite, libido, stress, cognition (including cognitive disorders), depression (including depressive disorders) and violent behaviors; providing analgesic effects or other pain reducing effects;
• the present invention is embodied in more detail by the following - examples, but this embodiment is not intended to restrict the present invention.
• the basic operations and the enzyme reactions with regard to the DNA recombination are carried out according to the literature ["Molecular Cloning. A Laboratory Manual", Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1989]. Unless otherwise stated, restrictive enzymes and a variety of modification enzymes to be used were those available from TAKARA SHUZO. The manufacturer's instructions were used for the buffer compositions as well as for the reaction conditions, in each of the enzyme reactions.
• the cDNA synthesis was carried out according to the literature [Kato, S. et al., Gene 150: 243-250 (1994)].
• the plasmid vector bearing the cDNA of the present invention was used for in vitro transcription/translation with a T deliberatelyT rabbit reticulocyte lysate kit (Promega) .
• a T deliberatelyT rabbit reticulocyte lysate kit Promega
• [ 35 S]methionine was added to label the expression product with a radioisotope .
• Each of the reactions was carried out according to the protocols attached to the kit.
• Two micrograms of the plasmid was reacted at 30°C for 90 minutes in a total 25 ⁇ l volume of the reaction solution containing 12.5 ⁇ l of T N T rabbit reticulocyte lysate, 0.5 ⁇ l of a buffer solution (attached to kit), 2 ⁇ l of an amino acid mixture (methionine-free) , 2 ⁇ l of [ 3S S]methionine (Amersham) (0.37 MBq/ ⁇ l), 0.5 ⁇ l of T7RNA polymerase, and 20 U of RNasin. Also, an experiment in the presence of a membrane system was carried out by adding to this reaction system 2.5 ⁇ l of a canine pancreas microsome fraction (Promega).
• Escherichia coli bearing the expression vector of the protein of the present invention was incubated at 37°C for 2 hours in 2 ml of the 2xYT culture medium containing 100 ⁇ g/ml of ampicillin, the helper phage M13K07 (50 ⁇ 1) was added, and the incubation was continued at 37°C overnight. A supernatant separated by centrifugation underwent precipitation with polyethylene glycol to obtain single- stranded phage particles. These particles were suspended in 100 ⁇ l of 1 mM Tris-0.1 mM EDTA, pH 8 (TE) .
• DMEM Dulbecco's modified Eagle's culture medium
• the culture medium was removed the cell surface was washed with a phosphate buffer solution and then washed again with DMEM containing 50 mM Tris-hydrochloric acid (pH 7.5) (TDMEM) .
• the ORF codes for a protein consisting of 194 amino acid residues and there existed one putative transmembrane domain at the C-terminus.
• Figure 2 depicts the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile, obtained by the Kyte-Doolittle method, of the present protein.
• In vitro translation resulted in formation of a translation product of 22 kDa that was almost identical with the molecular weight of 21,959 predicted from the ORF.
• an expression product of about 21 kDa was observed in the membrane fraction.
• the ORF codes for a protein consisting of 139 amino acid residues and there existed three putative transmembrane domains.
• Figure 3 depicts the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity profile, obtained by the Kyte- Doolittle method, of the present protein. In vitro translation resulted in formation of a translation product of 17 kDa that was almost identical with the molecular weight of 16,082 predicted from the ORF. When expressed in C07 cells, an expression product of about 16 kDa was observed in the membrane fraction.
• the search of the protein data base using the amino acid sequence of the present protein has revealed the presence of sequences that were analogous to a yeast hypothetical protein of 15.9 kDa (SWISS-PROT Accession No. P53173).
• Table 4 shows the comparison of the amino acid sequence between the human protein of the present invention (HP) and the yeast hypothetical protein of 15.9 kDa (SC).
• HP human protein of the present invention
• SC yeast hypothetical protein of 15.9 kDa
• the marks of -, *, and . represent a gap, an amino acid residue identical with the protein of the present invention, and an amino acid residue analogous to the protein of the present invention, respectively.
• the both proteins possessed a homology of 43.2% in the entire region.
• the search of the GenBank using the base sequences of the present cDNA has revealed the registration of sequences that possessed a homology of 90% or more (for example, Accession No. N67509) in EST, but, since they are partial sequences, it can not be judged whether or not any of these sequences codes for the same protein as the protein of the present invention.
• the present invention provides human proteins having hydrophobic domains, DNAs coding for these proteins, and expression vectors of these DNAs as well as eucaryotic cells expressing these DNAs. All of the proteins of the present invention are secreted or exist in the cell membrane, so that they are considered to be proteins controlling the proliferation and the differentiation of the cells. Accordingly, the proteins of the present invention can be employed as pharmaceuticals such as carcinostatic agents relating to the control of the proliferation and the differentiation of the cells or as antigens for preparing antibodies against these proteins.
• the DNAs of the present invention can be utilized as probes for the gene diagnosis and gene sources for the gene therapy. Furthermore, the DNAs can be utilized for large-scale expression of these proteins. Cells, wherein these genes are introduced to express these proteins, can be utilized for detection of the corresponding receptors and ligands, screening of novel low-molecular pharmaceuticals, and so on.
• the present invention also provides genes corresponding to the polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein.
• “Corresponding genes” are the regions of the genome that are transcribed to produce the mRNAs from which cDNA polynucleotide sequences are derived and may include contiguous regions of the genome necessary for the regulated expression of such genes. Corresponding genes may therefore include but are not limited to coding sequences, 5' and 3' untranslated regions, alternatively spliced exons, introns, promoters, enhancers, and silencer or suppressor elements. The corresponding genes can be isolated in accordance with known methods using the sequence information disclosed herein.
• Such methods include the preparation of probes or primers from the disclosed sequence information for identification and/or amplification of genes in appropriate genomic libraries or other sources of genomic materials.
• An "isolated gene” is a gene that has been separated from the adjacent coding sequences, if any, present in the genome of the organism from which the gene was isolated.
• Organisms that have enhanced, reduced, or modified expression of the gene(s) corresponding to the polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein are provided.
• the desired change in gene expression can be achieved through the use of antisense polynucleotides or ribozymes that bind and/or cleave the mRNA transcribed from the gene (Albert and Morris, 1994, Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 15(7): 250-254; Lavarosky et al., 1997, Biochem. Mol. Med. 62(1): 11-22; and Hampel, 1998, Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. 58: 1-39; all of which are incorporated by reference herein) .
• Transgenic animals that have multiple copies of the gene(s) corresponding to the polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein, preferably produced by transformation of cells with genetic constructs that are stably maintained within the transformed cells and their progeny, are provided.
• organisms are provided in which the gene(s) corresponding to the polynucleotide sequences disclosed herein have been partially or completely inactivated, through insertion of extraneous sequences into the corresponding gene(s) or through deletion of all or part of the corresponding gene(s).
• Partial or complete gene inactivation can be accomplished through insertion, preferably followed by imprecise excision, of transposable elements (Plasterk, 1992, Bioessays 14(9): 629-633; Zwaal et al., 1993, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90(16): 7431- 7435; Clark et al., 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91(2): 719-722; all of which are incorporated by reference herein), or through homologous recombination, preferably detected by positive/negative genetic selection strategies (Mansour et al., 1988, Nature 336: 348-352; U.S. Patent Nos.
• intracellular and transmembrane domains of the protein are deleted such that the protein is fully secreted from the cell in which it is expressed.
• the intracellular and transmembrane domains of proteins of the invention can be identified in accordance with known techniques for determination of such domains from sequence information.
• Proteins and protein fragments of the present invention include proteins with amino acid sequence lengths that are at least 25% (more preferably at least 50%, and most preferably at least 75%) of the length of a disclosed protein and have at least 60% sequence identity (more preferably, at least 75% identity; most preferably at least 90% or 95% identity) with that disclosed protein, where sequence identity is determined by comparing the amino acid sequences of the proteins when aligned so as to maximize overlap and identity while minimizing sequence gaps.
• proteins and protein fragments that contain a segment preferably comprising 8 or more (more preferably 20 or more, most preferably 30 or more) contiguous amino acids that shares at least 75% sequence identity (more preferably, at least 85% identity; most preferably at least 95% identity) with any such segment of any of the disclosed proteins.
• Species homologs of the disclosed polynucleotides and proteins are also provided by the present invention.
• a "species homologue" is a protein or polynucleotide with a different species of origin from that of a given protein or polynucleotide, but with significant sequence similarity to the given protein or polynucleotide, as determined by those of skill in the art.
• Species homologs may be isolated and identified by making suitable probes or primers from the sequences provided herein and screening a suitable nucleic acid source from the desired species.
• the invention also encompasses allelic variants of the disclosed polynucleotides or proteins; that is, naturally-occurring alternative forms of the isolated polynucleotide which also encode proteins which are identical, homologous, or related to that encoded by the polynucleotides .
• the invention also includes polynucleotides with sequences complementary to those of the polynucleotides disclosed herein.
• the present invention also includes polynucleotides capable of hybridizing under reduced stringency conditions, more preferably stringent conditions, and most preferably highly stringent conditions, to polynucleotides described herein.
• stringency conditions are shown in the table below: highly stringent conditions are those that are at least as stringent as, for example, conditions A-F; stringent conditions are at least as stringent as, for example, conditions G-L; and reduced stringency conditions are at least as stringent as, for example, conditions M-R.
• the hybrid length is that anticipated for the hybridized region(s) of the hybridizing polynucleotides.
• the hybrid length is assumed to be that of the hybridizing polynucleotide.
• the hybrid length can be determined by aligning the sequences of the polynucleotides and identifying the region or regions of optimal sequence complementarity.
• SSPE 0.15M NaCl, lOmM NaH 2 PO 4
• 1.25mM EDTA, pH7.4 can be substituted for SSC (lxSSC is 0.15M NaCl and 15mM sodium citrate) in the hybridization and wash buffers; washes are performed for 15 minutes after hybridization is complete.
• each such hybridizing polynucleotide has a length that is at least 25% (more preferably at least 50%, and most preferably at least 75%) of the length of the polynucleotide of the present invention to which it hybridizes, and has at least 60% sequence identity (more preferably, at least 75% identity; most preferably at least 90% or 95% identity) with the polynucleotide of the present invention to which it hybridizes, where sequence identity is determined by comparing the sequences of the hybridizing polynucleotides when aligned so as to maximize overlap and identity while minimizing sequence gaps.

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