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
  • C07K14/72—Receptors; Cell surface antigens; Cell surface determinants for hormones
  • C07K14/723—G protein coupled receptor, e.g. TSHR-thyrotropin-receptor, LH/hCG receptor, FSH receptor

Definitions

• the invention relates to the area of G-protein coupled receptors. Opsin-related particularly, it relates to the area of human opsin-related G protein-coupled receptors and their regulation.
• GPCR G-protein coupled receptors
• GPCRs include receptors for such diverse agents as dopamine, calcitonin, adrenergic hormones, endothelin, cAMP, adenosine, acetylcholine, serotonin, histamine, thrombin, kinin, follicle stimulating hormone, opsins, endothelial differentiation gene-1, rhodopsins, odorants, cytomegalovirus, G-proteins themselves, effector proteins such as phospholipase C, adenyl cyclase, and phosphodiesterase, and actuator proteins such as protein kinase A and protein kinase C.
• GPCRs possess seven conserved membrane-spanning domains connecting at least eight divergent hydrophilic loops. GPCRs (also known as 7TM receptors) have been characterized as including these seven conserved hydrophobic stretches of about 20 to 30 amino acids, connecting at least eight divergent hydrophilic loops. Most GPCRs have single conserved cysteine residues in each of the first two extracellular loops, which form disulfide bonds that are believed to stabilize functional protein structure. The seven transmembrane regions are designated as TM1, TM2, TM3, TM4, TM5, TM6, and TM7. TM3 has been implicated in signal transduction.
• Phosphorylation and lipidation (palmitylation or famesylation) of cysteine residues can influence signal transduction of some GPCRs.
• Most GPCRs contain potential phosphorylation sites within the third cytoplasmic loop and/or the carboxy terminus.
• GPCRs such as the -adrenergic receptor, phosphorylation by protein kinase A and/or specific receptor kinases mediates receptor desensitization.
• the ligand binding sites of GPCRs are believed to comprise hydrophilic sockets formed by several GPCR transmembrane domains.
• the hydrophilic sockets are surrounded by hydrophobic residues of the GPCRs.
• the hydrophilic side of each GPCR transmembrane helix is postulated to face inward and form a polar ligand binding site.
• TM3 has been implicated in several GPCRs as having a ligand binding site, such as the TM3 aspartate residue.
• TM5 serines, a TM6 asparagine, and TM6 or TM7 phenylalanines or tyrosines also are implicated in ligand binding.
• GPCRs are coupled inside the cell by heterotrimeric G-proteins to various intracellular enzymes, ion channels, and transporters (see Johnson et al., Endoc. Rev.
• G-protein alpha-subunits preferentially stimulate particular effectors to modulate various biological functions in a cell.
• Phosphorylation of cytoplasmic residues of GPCRs is an important mechanism for the regulation of some GPCRs.
• the effect of hormone binding is the activation inside the cell of the enzyme, adenylate cyclase. Enzyme activation by hormones is dependent on the presence of the nucleotide GTP. GTP also influences hormone binding.
• a G-protein connects the hormone receptor to adenylate cyclase. G-protein exchanges GTP for bound GDP when activated by a hormone receptor.
• the GTP-carrying form then binds to activated adenylate cyclase. Hydrolysis of GTP to GDP, catalyzed by the G-protein itself, returns the G-protein to its basal, inactive form.
• the G-protein serves a dual role, as an intermediate that relays the signal from receptor to effector, and as a clock that controls the duration of the signal.
• GPCRs receptors Over the past 15 years, nearly 350 therapeutic agents targeting GPCRs receptors have been successfully introduced onto the market. This indicates that these receptors have an established, proven history as therapeutic targets. Clearly, there is an ongoing need for identification and characterization of further GPCRs which can play a role in preventing, ameliorating, or correcting dysfunctions or diseases including, but not limited to, infections such as bacterial, fungal, protozoan, and viral infections, particularly those caused by HIV viruses, pain, cancers, anorexia, bulimia, asthma,
• Parkinson's diseases acute heart failure, hypotension, hypertension, urinary retention, osteoporosis, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, ulcers, asthma, allergies, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and psychotic and neurological disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, manic depression, delirium, dementia, several mental retardation, and dyskinesias, such as Huntington's disease and Tourett's syndrome.
• the visual pigments are the light-absorbing proteins in the retina. They have been studied for over 100 years as the centerpiece in the basic process of visual sensory transduction. Each individual pigment consists of a different seven-transmembrane- domain protein, called an opsin, that is bound to a chromophore, 11-cis-retinal (also known as 11-cis-retinaldehyde), via a Schiff base covalent bond. See U.S. Patent 6,008,338.
• the 11-cis isomer is the chromophore of the majority of naturally occurring opsins. Exposure of opsin-bound retinal to light initiates the cis-trans isomerization and resultant dissociation of retinal from the apoprotein.
• amino acid sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2;
• Yet another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which decrease the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a test compound is contacted with an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of:
• amino acid sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2;
• a test compound which binds to the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is thereby identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of opsin-related- GPCR.
• Another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which decrease the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a test compound is contacted with a polynucleotide encoding a opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, wherein the poly- nucleotide comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
• nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1;
• a test compound which binds to the polynucleotide is identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• the agent can work by decreasing the amount of the opsin-related-GPCR through interacting with the opsin-related-GPCR mRNA.
• Another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which regulate the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a test compound is contacted with a opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of:
• amino acid sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2;
• a opsin-related-GPCR activity of the polypeptide is detected.
• a test compound which increases opsin-related-GPCR activity of the polypeptide relative to opsin- related-GPCR activity in the absence of the test compound is thereby identified as a potential agent for increasing the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a test compound which decreases opsin-related-GPCR activity of the polypeptide relative to opsin- related-GPCR activity in the absence of the test compound is thereby identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• Even another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which decrease the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a test compound is contacted with a opsin-related-GPCR product of a polynucleotide which comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
• nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 ;
• Binding of the test compound to the opsin-related-GPCR product is detected.
• a test compound which binds to the opsin-related-GPCR product is thereby identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• Still another embodiment of the invention is a method of reducing the activity of opsin-related-GPCR.
• a cell is contacted with a reagent which specifically binds to a polynucleotide encoding a opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or the product encoded by the polynucleotide, wherein the polynucleotide comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
• nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 ; and the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1.
• Opsin-related-GPCR activity in the cell is thereby decreased.
• the invention thus provides a human opsin-related G protein-coupled receptor wliich can be used to identify test compounds which may act as agonists or antagonists at the receptor site.
• Human opsin-related G protein-coupled receptor and fragments thereof also are useful in raising specific antibodies which can block the receptor and effectively prevent ligand binding.
• Fig. 1 shows the DNA-sequence encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Fig. 2 shows the amino acid sequence deduced from the DNA-sequence of Fig.1.
• the invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide encoding a opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide and being selected from the group consisting of:
• amino acid sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2; and the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2.
• opsin-related G protein-coupled receptor opsin-related-GPCR
• human opsing-related-GPCR an opsin-related G protein-coupled receptor
• GPCR can be used in therapeutic methods, particularly to treat disorders of the visual system.
• Human opsin-related-GPCR also can be used to screen for opsin- related-GPCR agonists and antagonists.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides according to the invention comprise an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2, a portion of that sequence, or a biologically active variant thereof, as defined below.
• An opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide of the invention therefore can be a portion of an opsin-related-GPCR protein, a full-length opsin-related-GPCR protein, or a fusion protein comprising all or a portion of an opsin-related-GPCR protein.
• An amino acid sequence of human opsin-related GPCR is shown in SEQ ID NO. 2.
• Transmembrane helices are present from amino acids 47 to 65 and 79 to 97.
• An opsin region is present from amino acids 87 to 106.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide variants which are biologically active, i.e., retain the ability to bind retinaldehyde or a retinaldehyde analog, such as cyclic AMP formation, mobilization of intracellular calcium, or phosphoinositide metabolism, also are opsin- related-GPCR polypeptides.
• opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide variants Preferably, naturally or non-naturally occurring opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide variants have amino acid sequences which are at least about 50, preferably about 75, 90, 96, or 98% identical to an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2 or a fragment thereof. Percent identity between a putative opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide variant and an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 2 is determined using the Blast2 alignment program.
• Variations in percent identity can be due, for example, to amino acid substitutions, insertions, or deletions.
• Amino acid substitutions are defined as one for one amino acid replacements. They are conservative in nature when the substituted amino acid has similar structural and/or chemical properties. Examples of conservative replacements are substitution of a leucine with an isoleucine or valine, an aspartate with a glutamate, or a threonine with a serine.
• Amino acid insertions or deletions are changes to or within an amino acid sequence. They typically fall in the range of about 1 to 5 amino acids. Guidance in determining which amino acid residues can be substituted, inserted, or deleted without abolishing biological or immunological activity of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be found using computer programs well known in the art, such as DNASTAR software.
• Whether an amino acid change results in a biologically active opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can readily be determined by assaying for binding to a ligand or by conducting a functional assay, as described for example, in the specific Examples, below.
• Fusion proteins can comprise at least 5, 6, 8, 10, 25, or 50 or opsin-related contiguous amino acids of an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2. Fusion proteins are useful for generating antibodies against opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide amino acid sequences and for use in various assay systems. For example, fusion proteins can be used to identify proteins which interact with portions of an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide. Protein affinity chromatography or library-based assays for protein-protein interactions, such as the yeast two-hybrid or phage display systems, can be used for this purpose. Such methods are well known in the art and also can be used as drug screens.
• An opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide fusion protein comprises two polypeptide segments fused together by means of a peptide bond.
• the first polypeptide segment comprises at least 5, 6, 8, 10, 25, or 50 or opsin-related contiguous amino acids of SEQ ID NO. 2 or from a biologically active variant, such as those described above.
• the first polypeptide segment also can comprise full-length opsin-related-GPCR protein.
• the second polypeptide segment can be a full-length protein or a protein fragment.
• Proteins commonly used in fusion protein construction include ⁇ -galactosidase, ⁇ - glucuronidase, green fluorescent protein (GFP), autofluorescent proteins, including blue fluorescent protein (BFP), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), luciferase, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT).
• epitope tags are used in fusion protein constructions, including histidine (His) tags, FLAG tags, influenza hemagglutinin (HA) tags, Myc tags, VSV-G tags, and thioredoxin (Trx) tags.
• fusion constructions can include maltose binding protein (MBP), S-tag, Lex a DNA binding domain (DBD) fusions, GAL4 DNA binding domain fusions, and herpes simplex virus (HSV) BP16 protein fusions.
• MBP maltose binding protein
• S-tag S-tag
• GAL4 DNA binding domain fusions GAL4 DNA binding domain fusions
• HSV herpes simplex virus
• a fusion protein also can be engineered to contain a cleavage site located between the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide-encoding sequence and the heterologous protein sequence, so that the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be cleaved and purified away from the heterologous moiety.
• a fusion protein can be synthesized chemically, as is known in the art.
• a fusion protein is produced by covalently linking two polypeptide segments or by standard procedures in the art of molecular biology.
• Recombinant DNA methods can be used to prepare fusion proteins, for example, by making a DNA construct which comprises coding sequences selected from the complement of SEQ ID NO. 1 in proper reading frame with nucleotides encoding the second polypeptide segment and expressing the DNA construct in a host cell, as is known in the art.
• kits for constructing fusion proteins are available from companies such as Promega Corporation (Madison, WI), Stratagene (La Jolla, CA), CLONTECH (Mountain View, CA), Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA), MBL International Corporation (MIC; Watertown, MA), and Quantum Biotechnologies (Montreal, Canada; 1-888-DNA-KITS).
• Species homologs of human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be obtained using opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide polynucleotides (described below) to make suitable probes or primers for screening cDNA expression libraries from other species, such as mice, monkeys, or yeast, identifying cDNAs which encode homologs of opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide, and expressing the cDNAs as is known in the art.
• An opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be single- or double-stranded and comprises a coding sequence or the complement of a coding sequence for an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide.
• the reverse complement of a coding sequence for human opsin-related-GPCR is shown in SEQ ID NO. 1.
• nucleotide sequences encoding human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides as well as homologous nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50, preferably about 75, 90, 96, or 98% identical to the complement of the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 also are opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides. Percent sequence identity between the sequences of two polynucleotides is determined using computer programs such as ALIGN which employ the FASTA algorithm, using an affine gap search with a gap open penalty of -12 and a gap extension penalty of -2.
• opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides which encode biologically active opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides also are Opsin-related- GPCR polynucleotides.
• Variants and homologs of the opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides described above also are opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides.
• homologous opsin-related- GPCR polynucleotide sequences can be identified by hybridization of candidate polynucleotides to known opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides under stringent conditions, as is known in the art.
• homologous sequences can be identified which contain at most about 25-30% basepair mismatches.
• wash conditions-2X SSC 0.3 M NaCl, 0.03 M sodium citrate, pH 7.0
• 0.1% SDS 0.1% SDS, room temperature twice, 30 minutes each
• 2X SSC 0.1% SDS, 50°C once, 30 minutes
• 2X SSC room temperature twice, 10 minutes each
• homologous nucleic acid strands contain 15-
• Species homologs of the opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides disclosed herein also can be identified by making suitable probes or primers and screening cDNA expression libraries from other species, such as mice, monkeys, or yeast.
• Human variants of opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides can be identified, for example, by screening human cDNA expression libraries. It is well known that the T m of a double-stranded DNA decreases by 1-1.5°C with every 1% decrease in homology (Bonner et al, J. Mol. Biol. 81, 123 (1973).
• Variants of human opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides or opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides of other species can therefore be identified by hybridizing a putative homologous opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide with a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1 or the complement thereof to form a test hybrid.
• the melting temperature of the test hybrid is compared with the melting temperature of a hybrid comprising trans- formylase polynucleotides having perfectly complementary nucleotide sequences, and the number or percent of basepair mismatches within the test hybrid is calculated.
• Nucleotide sequences which hybridize to transformylase polynucleotides or their complements following stringent hybridization and/or wash conditions also are opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides.
• Stringent wash conditions are well known and understood in the art and are disclosed, for example, in Sambrook et al, MOLECULAR CLONING: A LABORATORY MANUAL, 2d ed., 1989, at pages 9.50-9.51.
• T m of a hybrid between an opsin- related-GPCR polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 or the complement thereof and a polynucleotide sequence which is at least about 50, preferably about 75, 90, 96, or 98% identical to one of those nucleotide sequences can be calculated, for example, using the equation of Bolton and McCarthy, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48, 1390 (1962):
• Stringent wash conditions include, for example, 4X SSC at 65°C, or 50% formamide, 4X SSC at 42°C, or 0.5X SSC, 0.1% SDS at 65°C.
• Highly stringent wash conditions include, for example, 0.2X SSC at 65 °C.
• a naturally occurring opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be isolated free of other cellular components such as membrane components, proteins, and lipids.
• Polynucleotides can be made by a cell and isolated using standard nucleic acid purification techniques, or synthesized using an amplification technique, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or by using an automatic synthesizer. Methods for isolating polynucleotides are routine and are known in the art. Any such technique for obtaining a polynucleotide can be used to obtain isolated opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides.
• restriction enzymes and probes can be used to isolate polynucleotide fragments which comprises opsin-related-GPCR nucleotide sequences.
• Isolated polynucleotides are in preparations which are free or at least 70, 80, or 90% free of other molecules.
• Opsin-related oncogene-related-GPCR cDNA molecules can be made with standard molecular biology techniques, using opsin-related-GPCR mRNA as a template.
• Opsin-related-GPCR cDNA molecules can thereafter be replicated using molecular biology techniques known in the art and disclosed in manuals such as Sambrook et al. (1989).
• An amplification technique such as PCR, can be used to obtain additional copies of polynucleotides of the invention, using either human genomic DNA or cDNA as a template.
• opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide having, for example, an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2 or a biologically active variant thereof.
• PCR-based methods can be used to extend the nucleic acid sequences encoding the disclosed portions of human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide to detect upstream sequences such as promoters and regulatory elements.
• restriction-site PCR uses universal primers to retrieve unknown sequence adjacent to a known locus (Sarkar, PCR Methods Applic. 2, 318-322, 1993). Genomic DNA is first amplified in the presence of a primer to a linker sequence and a primer specific to the known region. The amplified sequences are then subjected to a second round of PCR with the same linker primer and another specific primer internal to the first one. Products of each round of PCR are transcribed with an appropriate RNA polymerase and sequenced using reverse transcriptase.
• Inverse PCR also can be used to amplify or extend sequences using divergent primers based on a known region (Triglia et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 16, 8186, 1988).
• Primers can be designed using commercially available software, such as OLIGO 4.06 Primer Analysis software (National Biosciences Inc., Madison, Minn.), to be 22-30 nucleotides in length, to have a GC content of 50% or more, and to anneal to the target sequence at temperatures about 68-72 °C.
• the method uses several restriction enzymes to generate a suitable fragment in the known region of a gene. The fragment is then circularized by intramolecular ligation and used as a PCR template.
• capture PCR involves PCR amplifica- tion of DNA fragments adjacent to a known sequence in human and yeast artificial chromosome DNA (Lagerstrom et al, PCR Methods Applic. 1, 111-119, 1991).
• multiple restriction enzyme digestions and ligations also can be used to place an engineered double-stranded sequence into an unknown fragment of the DNA molecule before performing PCR.
• Randomly-primed libraries are preferable, in that they will contain more sequences which contain the 5' regions of genes. Use of a randomly primed library may be especially preferable for situations in which an oligo d(T) library does not yield a full-length cDNA. Genomic libraries can be useful for extension of sequence into 5' non-transcribed regulatory regions.
• capillary electrophoresis systems can be used to analyze the size or confirm the nucleotide sequence of PCR or sequencing products.
• capillary sequencing can employ flowable polymers for electrophoretic separation, four different fluorescent dyes (one for each nucleotide) which are laser activated, and detection of the emitted wavelengths by a charge coupled device camera.
• Output/light intensity can be converted to electrical signal using appropriate software (e.g. GENOTYPER and Sequence NAVIGATOR, Perkin Elmer), and the entire process from loading of samples to computer analysis and electronic data display can be computer controlled.
• Capillary electrophoresis is especially preferable for the sequencing of small pieces of DNA which might be present in limited amounts in a particular sample.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be obtained, for example, by purification from human cells, by expression of opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotides, or by direct chemical synthesis.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be purified from any human cell which expresses the receptor, including host cells which have been transfected with opsin- related-GPCR polynucleotides. Fetal lung, testis, and B cells are particularly useful sources of opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides.
• a purified opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is separated from other compounds which normally associate with the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide in the cell, such as certain proteins, carbohydrates, or lipids, using methods well-known in the art. Such methods include, but are not limited to, size exclusion chromatography, ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography, and preparative gel electrophoresis.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be conveniently isolated as a complex with its associated G protein, as described in the specific examples, below.
• a preparation of purified opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides is at least 80% pure; preferably, the preparations are 90%, 95%, or 99% pure. Purity of the preparations can be assessed by any means known in the art, such as SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
• an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be inserted into an expression vector which contains the necessary elements for the transcription and translation of the inserted coding sequence.
• Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct expression vectors containing sequences encoding opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides and appropriate transcriptional and translational control elements. These methods include in vitro recombinant DNA techniques, synthetic techniques, and in vivo genetic recombination. Such techniques are described, for example, in Sambrook et al. (1989) and in Ausubel et al, CURRENT PROTOCOLS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY., 1989.
• a variety of expression vector/host systems can be utilized to contain and express sequences encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• microorganisms such as bacteria transformed with recombinant bacteriophage, plasmid, or cosmid DNA expression vectors; yeast transformed with yeast expression vectors, insect cell systems infected with virus expression vectors (e.g., baculovirus), plant cell systems transformed with virus expression vectors (e.g., cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus, TMV) or with bacterial expression vectors (e.g., Ti or pBR322 plasmids), or animal cell systems.
• microorganisms such as bacteria transformed with recombinant bacteriophage, plasmid, or cosmid DNA expression vectors
• yeast transformed with yeast expression vectors insect cell systems infected with virus expression vectors (e.g., baculovirus), plant cell systems transformed with virus expression vectors (e.g., cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus
• control elements or regulatory sequences are those non-translated regions of the vector — enhancers, promoters, 5' and 3' untranslated regions — which interact with host cellular proteins to carry out transcription and translation. Such elements can vary in their strength and specificity. Depending on the vector system and host utilized, any number of suitable transcription and translation elements, including constitutive and inducible promoters, can be used. For example, when cloning in bacterial systems, inducible promoters such as the hybrid lacZ promoter of the BLUESCRIPT phagemid (Stratagene, LaJolla, Calif.) or pSPORTl plasmid (Life Technologies) and the like can be used. The baculovirus polyhedrin promoter can be used in insect cells. Promoters or enhancers derived from the genomes of plant cells
• vectors e.g., heat shock, RUBISCO, and storage protein genes
• plant viruses e.g., viral promoters or leader sequences
• promoters from mammalian genes or from mammalian viruses are preferable. If it is necessary to generate a cell line that contains multiple copies of a nucleotide sequence encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, vectors based on
• SV40 or EBV can be used with an appropriate selectable marker.
• a number of expression vectors can be selected depending upon the use intended for the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide. For example, when a large quantity of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is needed for the induction of antibodies, vectors which direct high level expression of fusion proteins that are readily purified can be used. Such vectors include, but are not limited to, multifunctional E. coli cloning and expression vectors such as BLUESCRIPT
• a sequence encoding the opsin-related- GPCR polypeptide can be ligated into the vector in frame with sequences for the amino-terminal Met and the subsequent 7 residues of ⁇ -galactosidase so that a hybrid protein is produced.
• pIN vectors Van Heeke & Schuster, J Biol. Chem. 264, 5503-5509, 1989
• pGEX vectors Promega, Madison, Wis.
• GST glutathione S-transferase
• fusion proteins are soluble and can easily be purified from lysed cells by adsorption to glutathione-agarose beads followed by elution in the presence of free glutathione.
• Proteins made in such systems can be designed to include heparin, thrombin, or factor Xa protease cleavage sites so that the cloned polypeptide of interest can be released from the GST moiety at will.
• yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a number of vectors containing constitutive or inducible promoters such as alpha factor, alcohol oxidase, and PGH can be used.
• constitutive or inducible promoters such as alpha factor, alcohol oxidase, and PGH.
• sequences encoding opsin- related-GPCR polypeptides can be driven by any of a number of promoters.
• viral promoters such as the 35S and 19S promoters of CaMV can be used alone or in combination with the omega leader sequence from TMV (Takamatsu,
• plant promoters such as the small subunit of RUBISCO or heat shock promoters can be used (Coruzzi et al., EMBO J. 3, 1671- 1680, 1984; Broglie et al, Science 224, 838-843, 1984; Winter et al, Results Probl.
• constructs can be introduced into plant cells by direct DNA transformation or by pathogen-mediated transfection. Such techniques are described in a number of generally available reviews (e.g., Hobbs or Murray, in
• An insect system also can be used to express an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) is used as a vector to express foreign genes in Spodoptera frugiperda cells or in Trichoplusia larvae.
• Sequences encoding opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be cloned into a non-essential region of the virus, such as the polyhedrin gene, and placed under control of the polyhedrin promoter.
• Successful insertion of opsin- related-GPCR polypeptides will render the polyhedrin gene inactive and produce recombinant virus lacking coat protein.
• the recombinant viruses can then be used to infect S. frugiperda cells or Trichoplusia larvae in which opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be expressed (Engelhard et al, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 91, 3224-
• a number of viral-based expression systems can be used to express opsin-related-
• GPCR polypeptides in mammalian host cells are used as an expression vector.
• sequences encoding opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be ligated into an adenovirus transcription/translation complex comprising the late promoter and tripartite leader sequence. Insertion in a non-essential El or E3 region of the viral genome can be used to obtain a viable virus which is capable of expressing an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide in infected host cells (Logan & Shenk, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 81, 3655-3659, 1984).
• transcription enhancers such as the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) enhancer, can be used to increase expression in mammalian host cells.
• RSV Rous sarcoma virus
• HACs Human artificial chromosomes
• 6M to 10M are constructed and delivered to cells via conventional delivery methods (e.g., liposomes, polycationic amino polymers, or vesicles).
• Specific initiation signals also can be used to achieve more efficient translation of sequences encoding opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides. Such signals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences. In cases where sequences encoding an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide, its initiation codon, and upstream sequences are inserted into the appropriate expression vector, no additional transcriptional or translational control signals may be needed. However, in cases where only coding sequence, or a fragment thereof, is inserted, exogenous franslational control signals (including the ATG initiation codon) should be provided. The initiation codon should be in the correct reading frame to ensure translation of the entire insert. Exogenous franslational elements and initiation codons can be of various origins, both natural and synthetic. The efficiency of expression can be enhanced by the inclusion of enhancers which are appropriate for the particular cell system which is used (see Scharfet - ⁇ /., Re5w/t5 Rro ⁇ /. Cell Differ. 20, 125-162, 1994).
• a host cell strain can be chosen for its ability to modulate the expression of the inserted sequences or to process the expressed opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide in the desired fashion.
• modifications of the polypeptide include, but are not limited to, acetylation, carboxylation, glycosylation, phosphorylation, lipidation, and acylation.
• Post-translational processing which cleaves a "prepro" form of the polypeptide also can be used to facilitate correct insertion, folding and/or function.
• Different host cells which have specific cellular machinery and characteristic mechanisms for post-translational activities (e.g., CHO, HeLa, MDCK, HEK293, and WI38), are available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110-2209) and can be chosen to ensure the correct modification and processing of the foreign protein.
• ATCC American Type Culture Collection
• Stable expression is preferred for long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins.
• cell lines which stably express opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be transformed using expression vectors which can contain viral origins of replication and/or endogenous expression elements and a selectable marker gene on the same or on a separate vector. Following the introduction of the vector, cells can be allowed to grow for 1-2 days in an enriched medium before they are switched to a selective medium.
• the purpose of the selectable marker is to confer resistance to selection, and its presence allows growth and recovery of cells which successfully express the introduced opsin-related-GPCR sequences.
• Resistant clones of stably transformed cells can be proliferated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to the cell type. See, for example, ANIMAL CELL CULTURE, R.I. Freshney, ed., 1986.
• herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler et al, Cell 11, 223-32, 1977) and adenine phosphoribosylrransferase (Lowy et al, Cell 22, 817-23, 1980) genes which can be employed in ti or aprf cells, respectively.
• antimetabolite, antibiotic, or herbicide resistance can be used as the basis for selection.
• dhfr confers resistance to methotrexate (Wigler et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• npt confers resistance to the aminoglycosides, neomycin and G-418 (Colbere-Garapin et al, J. Mol. Biol. 150, 1- 14, 1981), and als and pat confer resistance to chlorsulfuron and phosphinotricin acetyltransferase, respectively (Murray, 1992, supra). Additional selectable genes have been described. For example, trpB allows cells to utilize indole in place of tryptophan, or hisD, which allows cells to utilize histinol in place of histidine (Hartman & Mulligan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85, 8047-51, 1988).
• Visible markers such as anthocyanins, ⁇ -glucuronidase and its substrate GUS, and luciferase and its substrate luciferin, can be used to identify transformants and to quantify the amount of transient or stable protein expression attributable to a specific vector system (Rhodes et al, Methods Mol. Biol. 55, 121-131, 1995).
• marker gene expression suggests that the opsin-related- GPCR polynucleotide is also present, its presence and expression may need to be confirmed. For example, if a sequence encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is inserted within a marker gene sequence, transformed cells containing sequences which encode an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be identified by the absence of marker gene function. Alternatively, a marker gene can be placed in tandem with a sequence encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide under the control of a single promoter. Expression of the marker gene in response to induction or selection usually indicates expression of the opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide.
• host cells which contain an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide and which express an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be identified by a variety of procedures known to those of skill in the art. These procedures include, but are not limited to, DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridizations and protein bioassay or immunoassay techniques which include membrane, solution, or chip-based tech- nologies for the detection and/or quantification of nucleic acid or protein.
• the presence of a polynucleotide sequence encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization or amplification using probes or fragments or fragments of polynucleotides encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Nucleic acid amplification-based assays involve the use of oligonucleotides selected from sequences encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide to detect transformants which contain an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide.
• a variety of protocols for detecting and measuring the expression of an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide, using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specific for the polypeptide, are known in the art. Examples include enzyme-linked immuno- sorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).
• ELISA enzyme-linked immuno- sorbent assay
• RIA radioimmunoassay
• FACS fluorescence activated cell sorting
• a two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay using monoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering epitopes on an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be used, or a competitive binding assay can be employed. These and other assays are described in Hampton et al, SEROLOGICAL METHODS: A LABORATORY MANUAL, APS Press, St. Paul, Minn., 1990) and Maddox et al, J. Exp. Med
• Means for producing labeled hybridization or PCR probes for detecting sequences related to polynucleotides encoding opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides include oligolabeling, nick translation, end-labeling, or PCR amplification using a labeled nucleotide.
• sequences encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be cloned into a vector for the production of an mRNA probe.
• RNA probes are known in the art, are commercially available, and can be used to synthesize RNA probes in vitro by addition of labeled nucleotides and an appropriate RNA polymerase such as T7, T3, or SP6. These procedures can be conducted using a variety of commercially available kits (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Promega, and US Biochemical). Suitable reporter molecules or labels which can be used for ease of detection include radionuclides, enzymes, and fluorescent, chemiluminescent, or chromogenic agents, as well as substrates, co factors, inhibitors, magnetic particles, and the like.
• Host cells transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be cultured under conditions suitable for the expression and recovery of the protein from cell culture.
• the polypeptide produced by a transformed cell can be secreted or contained intracellularly depending on the sequence and/or the vector used.
• expression vectors containing polynucleotides which encode opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be designed to contain signal sequences which direct secretion of soluble opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides through a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane or which direct the membrane insertion of membrane-bound opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• purification facilitating domains include, but are not limited to, metal chelating peptides such as histidine-tryptophan modules that allow purification on immobilized metals, protein
• a domains that allow purification on immobilized immunoglobulin, and the domain utilized in the FLAGS extension/affinity purification system (Immunex Corp., Seattle, Wash.). Inclusion of cleavable linker sequences such as those specific for Factor Xa or enterokinase (Invifrogen, San Diego, CA) between the purification domain and the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide also can be used to facilitate purification.
• One such expression vector provides for expression of a fusion protein containing an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide and 6 histidine residues preceding a thioredoxin or an enterokinase cleavage site.
• the histidine residues facilitate purification by IMAC (immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, as described in Porath et al, Prot. Exp. Purifl 3, 263-281, 1992), while the enterokinase cleavage site provides a means for purifying the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide from the fusion protein.
• Vectors which contain fusion proteins are disclosed in Kroll et al, DNA Cell Biol. 72, 441-453, 1993.
• Sequences encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be synthesized, in whole or in part, using chemical methods well known in the art (see Caruthers et al, Nucl. Acids Res. Symp. Ser. 215-223, 1980; Horn et al Nucl. Acids Res. Symp. Ser. 225-232, 1980).
• an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide itself can be produced using chemical methods to synthesize its amino acid sequence, such as by direct peptide synthesis using solid-phase techniques (Merrifield, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 85, 2149-2154, 1963; Roberge et al, Science 269, 202-204, 1995).
• Protein synthesis can be performed using manual techniques or by automation. Automated synthesis can be achieved, for example, using Applied Biosystems 431 A Peptide Synthesizer (Perkin Elmer). Optionally, fragments of opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be separately synthesized and combined using chemical methods to produce a full- length molecule.
• the newly synthesized peptide can be substantially purified by preparative high performance liquid chromatography (e.g., Creighton, PROTEINS: STRUCTURES AND
• composition of a synthetic opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be confirmed by amino acid analysis or sequencing (e.g., the Edman degradation procedure; see Creighton, supra). Additionally, any portion of the amino acid sequence of the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be altered during direct synthesis and/or combined using chemical methods with sequences from other proteins to produce a variant polypeptide or a fusion protein.
• codons preferred by a particular prokaryotic or eukaryotic host can be selected to increase the rate of protein expression or to produce an RNA transcript having desirable properties, such as a half-life which is longer than that of a transcript generated from the naturally occurring sequence.
• nucleotide sequences disclosed herein can be engineered using methods generally known in the art to alter opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide-encoding sequences for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, alterations which modify the cloning, processing, and or expression of the polypeptide or mRNA product.
• DNA shuffling by random fragmentation and PCR reassembly of gene fragments and synthetic oligonucleotides can be used to engineer the nucleotide sequences.
• site-directed mutagenesis can be used to insert new restriction sites, alter glycosylation patterns, change codon preference, produce splice variants, introduce mutations, and so forth.
• Antibody as used herein includes intact immunoglobulin molecules, as well as fragments thereof, such as Fab, F(ab') 2 , and Fv, which are capable of binding an epitope of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Fab fragment antigen binding protein
• F(ab') 2 fragment antigen binding protein
• Fv fragment antigen binding protein
• An antibody which specifically binds to an epitope of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be used therapeutically, as well as in immunochemical assays, such as Western blots, ELISAs, radioimmunoassays, immunohistochemical assays, immunoprecipitations, or other immunochemical assays known in the art.
• immunochemical assays such as Western blots, ELISAs, radioimmunoassays, immunohistochemical assays, immunoprecipitations, or other immunochemical assays known in the art.
• Various immunoassays can be used to identify antibodies having the desired specificity. Numerous protocols for competitive binding or immunoradiometric assays are well known in the art. Such immunoassays typically involve the measurement of complex formation between an immunogen and an antibody which specifically binds to the immunogen.
• an antibody which specifically binds to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide provides a detection signal at least 5-, 10-, or 20-fold higher than a detection signal provided with other proteins when used in an immunochemical assay.
• antibodies which specifically bind to opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides do not detect other proteins in immunochemical assays and can immunoprecipitate an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide from solution.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides can be used to immunize a mammal, such as a mouse, rat, rabbit, guinea pig, monkey, or human, to produce polyclonal antibodies.
• an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be conjugated to a carrier protein, such as bovine serum albumin, thyroglobulin, and keyhole limpet hemocyanin.
• a carrier protein such as bovine serum albumin, thyroglobulin, and keyhole limpet hemocyanin.
• adjuvants include, but are not limited to, Freund's adjuvant, mineral gels (e.g., aluminum hydroxide), and surface active substances
• BCG Bacilli Calmette-Gueri
• Corynebacterium parvum are especially useful.
• Monoclonal antibodies which specifically bind to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be prepared using any technique which provides for the production of antibody molecules by continuous cell lines in culture. These techniques include, but are not limited to, the hybridoma technique, the human B-cell hybridoma technique, and the EBV-hybridoma technique (Kohler et al, Nature 256, 495-497, 1985; Kozbor et al, J. Immunol. Methods 81, 31-42, 1985; Cote et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 80, 2026-2030, 1983; Cole et al, Mol. Cell Biol. 62, 109-120, 1984).
• Monoclonal and other antibodies also can be "humanized” to prevent a patient from mounting an immune response against the antibody when it is used therapeutically.
• Such antibodies may be sufficiently similar in sequence to human antibodies to be used directly in therapy or may require alteration of a few key residues. Sequence differences between rodent antibodies and human sequences can be minimized by replacing residues which differ from those in the human sequences by site directed mutagenesis of individual residues or by grating of entire complementarity determining regions.
• humanized antibodies can be produced using recombinant methods, as described in GB2188638B.
• Antibodies which specifically bind to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can contain antigen binding sites which are either partially or fully humanized, as disclosed in U.S. 5,565,332.
• single chain antibodies can be adapted using methods known in the art to produce single chain antibodies which specifically bind to opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides.
• Antibodies with related specificity, but of distinct idiotypic composition can be generated by chain shuffling from random combinatorial immunoglobin libraries (Burton, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88, 11120-23, 1991).
• Single-chain antibodies also can be constructed using a DNA amplification method, such as PCR, using hybridoma cDNA as a template (Thirion et al, 1996, Eur. J. Cancer Prev. 5, 507-11).
• Single-chain antibodies can be mono- or bispecific, and can be bivalent or tetravalent. Construction of tetravalent, bispecific single-chain antibodies is taught, for example, in Coloma & Morrison, 1997, Nat. Biotechnol. 15, 159-63. Construction of bivalent, bispecific single-chain antibodies is taught in
• a nucleotide sequence encoding a single-chain antibody can be constructed using manual or automated nucleotide synthesis, cloned into an expression construct using standard recombinant DNA methods, and introduced into a cell to express the coding sequence, as described below.
• single-chain antibodies can be produced directly using, for example, filamentous phage technology (Verhaar et al, 1995, Int. J. Cancer 61, 497-501; Nicholls et al, 1993, J Immunol. Meth. 165, 81- 91).
• Antibodies which specifically bind to opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides also can be produced by inducing in vivo production in the lymphocyte population or by screening immunoglobulin libraries or panels of highly specific binding reagents as disclosed in the literature (Orlandi et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 86, 3833-3837, 1989; Winter et al, Nature 349, 293-299, 1991).
• chimeric antibodies can be constructed as disclosed in WO 93/03151.
• Binding proteins which are derived from immunoglobulins and which are multivalent and multispecific, such as the "diabodies" described in WO
• Antibodies according to the invention can be purified by methods well known in the art. For example, antibodies can be affinity purified by passage over a column to which an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is bound. The bound antibodies can then be eluted from the column using a buffer with a high salt concentration.
• Antisense ohgonucleotides are nucleotide sequences which are complementary to a specific DNA or RNA sequence. Once introduced into a cell, the complementary nucleotides combine with natural sequences produced by the cell to form complexes and block either transcription or translation.
• an antisense oligonucleotide is at least 11 nucleotides in length, but can be at least 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, or 50 or more nucleotides long. Longer sequences also can be used.
• Antisense oligonucleotide molecules can be provided in a DNA construct and introduced into a cell as described above to decrease the level of opsin-related-GPCR gene products in the cell.
• Antisense ohgonucleotides can be deoxyribonucleotides, ribonucleotides, or a combination of both.
• Ohgonucleotides can be synthesized manually or by an automated synthesizer, by covalently linking the 5' end of one nucleotide with the 3' end of another nucleotide with non-phosphodiester interaucleotide linkages such alkylphosphonates, phosphorothioates, phosphorodithioates, alkylphosphonothioates, alkylphosphonates, phosphoramidates, phosphate esters, carbamates, acetamidate, carboxymethyl esters, carbonates, and phosphate triesters. See Brown, Meth. Mol.
• Modifications of opsin-related-GPCR gene expression can be obtained by designing antisense ohgonucleotides which will form duplexes to the control, 5', or regulatory regions of the opsin-related-GPCR gene.
• Ohgonucleotides derived from the transcription initiation site e.g., between positions -10 and +10 from the start site, are preferred.
• inhibition can be achieved using "triple helix" base-pairing methodology. Triple helix pairing is useful because it causes inhibition of the ability of the double helix to open sufficiently for the binding of polymerases, transcription factors, or chaperons.
• An antisense oligonucleotide also can be designed to block translation of mRNA by preventing the transcript from binding to ribosomes.
• Antisense ohgonucleotides which comprise, for example, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or more stretches of contiguous nucleotides which are precisely complementary to an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide, each separated by a stretch of contiguous nucleotides which are not complementary to adjacent opsin-related- GPCR nucleotides, can provide sufficient targeting specificity for opsin-related- GPCR mRNA.
• each stretch of complementary contiguous nucleotides is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 or more nucleotides in length.
• Non-complementary intervening sequences are preferably 1, 2, 3, or 4 nucleotides in length.
• One skilled in the art can easily use the calculated melting point of an antisense-sense pair to determine the degree of mismatching which will be tolerated between a particular antisense oligonucleotide and a particular opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide sequence.
• Antisense ohgonucleotides can be modified without affecting their ability to hybridize to an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide. These modifications can be internal or at one or both ends of the antisense molecule.
• inter- nucleoside phosphate linkages can be modified by adding cholesteryl or diamine moieties with varying numbers of carbon residues between the amino groups and terminal ribose.
• Modified bases and/or sugars such as arabinose instead of ribose, or a 3', 5'-substituted oligonucleotide in which the 3' hydroxyl group or the 5' phosphate group are substituted, also can be employed in a modified antisense oligonucleotide.
• modified ohgonucleotides can be prepared by methods well known in the art. See, e.g., Agrawal et al, Trends Biotechnol. 10, 152-158, 1992; Uhlmann et al, Chem. Rev. 90, 543-584, 1990; Uhlmann et al, Tetrahedron. Lett. 215, 3539-3542,
• Ribozymes are RNA molecules with catalytic activity. See, e.g., Cech, Science 236,
• Ribozymes can be used to inhibit gene function by cleaving an RNA sequence, as is known in the art (e.g., Haseloff et al, U.S. Patent 5,641,673).
• the mechanism of ribozyme action involves sequence-specific hybridization of the ribozyme molecule to complementary target RNA, followed by endonucleolytic cleavage. Examples include engineered hammerhead motif ribozyme molecules that can specifically and efficiently catalyze endonucleolytic cleavage of specific nucleotide sequences.
• a coding sequence of an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be used to generate ribozymes which will specifically bind to mRNA transcribed from the opsin-related- GPCR polynucleotide.
• Methods of designing and constructing ribozymes which can cleave other RNA molecules in trans in a highly sequence specific manner have been developed and described in the art (see Haseloff et al. Nature 334, 585-591, 1988).
• the cleavage activity of ribozymes can be targeted to specific RNAs by engineering a discrete "hybridization" region into the ribozyme.
• the hybridization region contains a sequence complementary to the target RNA and thus specifically hybridizes with the target (see, for example, Gerlach et al, EP 321,201).
• Specific ribozyme cleavage sites within an opsin-related-GPCR RNA target can be identified by scanning the target molecule for ribozyme cleavage sites which include the following sequences: GUA, GUU, and GUC.
• RNA sequences of between 15 and 20 ribonucleotides corresponding to the region of the target RNA containing the cleavage site can be evaluated for secondary structural features which may render the target inoperable.
• Suitability of candidate opsin- related-GPCR RNA targets also can be evaluated by testing accessibility to hybridization with complementary ohgonucleotides using ribonuclease protection assays.
• the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 1 and its complement provide sources of suitable hybridization region sequences. Longer complementary sequences can be used to increase the affinity of the hybridization sequence for the target.
• the hybridizing and cleavage regions of the ribozyme can be integrally related such that upon hybridizing to the target RNA through the complementary regions, the catalytic region of the ribozyme can cleave the target.
• Ribozymes can be introduced into cells as part of a DNA construct. Mechanical methods, such as microinjection, liposome-mediated transfection, electroporation, or calcium phosphate precipitation, can be used to introduce a ribozyme-containing DNA construct into cells in which it is desired to decrease opsin-related-GPCR expression. Alternatively, if it is desired that the cells stably retain the DNA construct, the construct can be supplied on a plasmid and maintained as a separate element or integrated into the genome of the cells, as is known in the art.
• a ribozyme-encoding DNA construct can include transcriptional regulatory elements, such as a promoter element, an enhancer or UAS element, and a transcriptional terminator signal, for controlling transcription of ribozymes in the cells.
• ribozymes can be engineered so that ribozyme expression will occur in response to factors which induce expression of a target gene. Ribozymes also can be engineered to provide an additional level of regulation, so that destruction of mRNA occurs only when both a ribozyme and a target gene are induced in the cells. Screening Methods
• the invention provides assays for screening test compounds which bind to or modulate the activity of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or an opsin-related-
• a test compound preferably binds to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or polynucleotide. More preferably, a test compound decreases or increases a biological effect mediated via human opsin-related-GPCR by at least about 10, preferably about 50, more preferably about 75, 90, or 100% relative to the absence of the test compound.
• Test compounds can be pharmacologic agents already known in the art or can be compounds previously unknown to have any pharmacological activity.
• the compounds can be naturally occurring or designed in the laboratory. They can be isolated from microorganisms, animals, or plants, and can be produced re- combinanfly, or synthesized by chemical methods known in the art. If desired, test compounds can be obtained using any of the numerous combinatorial library methods known in the art, including but not limited to, biological libraries, spatially addressable parallel solid phase or solution phase libraries, synthetic library methods requiring deconvolution, the "one-bead one-compound” library method, and synthetic library methods using affinity chromatography selection.
• the biological library approach is limited to polypeptide libraries, while the other four approaches are applicable to polypeptide, non-peptide oligomer, or small molecule libraries of compounds. See Lam, Anticancer Drug Des. 12, 145, 1997.
• Test compounds can be screened for the ability to bind to opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides or polynucleotides or to affect opsin-related-GPCR activity or opsin- related-GPCR gene expression using high throughput screening.
• high throughput screening many discrete compounds can be tested in parallel so that large numbers of test compounds can be quickly screened.
• the most widely established techniques utilize 96-well microtiter plates. The wells of the microtiter plates typically require assay volumes that range from 50 to 500 ⁇ l.
• many instruments, materials, pipettors, robotics, plate washers, and plate readers are commercially available to fit the 96-well format.
• free format assays or assays that have no physical barrier between samples, can be used.
• an assay using pigment cells (melanocytes) in a simple homogeneous assay for combinatorial peptide libraries is described by Jayawickreme et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 19, 1614-18 (1994).
• the cells are placed under agarose in petri dishes, then beads that carry combinatorial compounds are placed on the surface of the agarose.
• the combinatorial compounds are partially released the compounds from the beads. Active compounds can be visualized as dark pigment areas because, as the compounds diffuse locally into the gel matrix, the active compounds cause the cells to change colors.
• Chelsky "Strategies for Screening Combinatorial Libraries: Novel and Traditional Approaches," reported at the First Annual Conference of The Society for Biomolecular Screening in Philadelphia, Pa. (Nov. 7-10, 1995).
• Chelsky placed a simple homogenous enzyme assay for carbonic anhydrase inside an agarose gel such that the enzyme in the gel would cause a color change throughout the gel.
• beads carrying combinatorial compounds via a photolinker were placed inside the gel and the compounds were partially released by UV-light. Compounds that inhibited the enzyme were observed as local zones of inhibition having less color change.
• test samples are placed in a porous matrix.
• One or more assay components are then placed within, on top of, or at the bottom of a matrix such as a gel, a plastic sheet, a filter, or other form of easily manipulated solid support.
• a matrix such as a gel, a plastic sheet, a filter, or other form of easily manipulated solid support.
• the test compound is preferably a small molecule which binds to and occupies the active site of the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, thereby making the ligand binding site inaccessible to substrate such that normal biological activity is prevented.
• small molecules include, but are not limited to, small peptides or peptide-like molecules.
• Potential ligands which bind to a polypeptide of the invention include, but are not limited to, the natural ligands of known opsin- related-GPCRs and analogues or derivatives thereof.
• Natural ligands of GPCRs include adrenomedullin, amylin, calcitonin gene related protein (CGRP), calcitonin, anandamide, serotonin, histamine, adrenalin, noradrenalin, platelet activating factor, thrombin, C5a, bradykinin, and chemokines.
• Retinaldehyde and retinaldehyde analogs are of particular interest as ligands which may bind to human opsin-related GPCR.
• either the test compound or the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can comprise a detectable label, such as a fluorescent, radioisotopic, chemilumines- cent, or enzymatic label, such as horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, or luciferase.
• a detectable label such as a fluorescent, radioisotopic, chemilumines- cent, or enzymatic label, such as horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, or luciferase.
• Detection of a test compound which is bound to the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can then be accomplished, for example, by direct counting of radioemmission, by scintillation counting, or by determining conversion of an appropriate substrate to a detectable product.
• binding of a test compound to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be determined without labeling either of the interactants.
• a microphysiometer can be used to detect binding of a test compound with an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide.
• a microphysiometer e.g., CytosensorTM
• a microphysiometer is an analytical instrument that measures the rate at which a cell acidifies its environment using a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). Changes in this acidification rate can be used as an indicator of the interaction between a test compound and an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide (McConnell et al, Science 257, 1906-1912, 1992).
• Determining the ability of a test compound to bind to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide also can be accomplished using a technology such as real-time Bimolecular Interaction Analysis (BIA) (Sjolander & Urbaniczky, Anal. Chem. 63,
• BIA is a technology for studying biospecific interactions in real time, without labeling any of the interactants (e.g., BIAcoreTM). Changes in the optical phenomenon surface plasmon resonance (SPR) can be used as an indication of real-time reactions between biological molecules.
• SPR surface plasmon resonance
• an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be used as a "bait protein" in a two-hybrid assay or three-hybrid assay (see, e.g., U.S.
• Patent 5,283,317 Zervos et al, Cell 72, 223-232, 1993; Madura et al, J. Biol. Chem. 268, 12046-12054, 1993; Bartel et al, Biotechniques 14, 920-924, 1993; Iwabuchi et al, Oncogene 8, 1693-1696, 1993; and Brent W094/10300), to identify other proteins which bind to or interact with the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide and modulate its activity.
• the two-hybrid system is based on the modular nature of most transcription factors, which consist of separable DNA-binding and activation domains.
• the assay utilizes two different DNA constructs.
• polynucleotide encoding an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be fused to a polynucleotide encoding the DNA binding domain of a known transcription factor (e.g., GAL-4).
• a DNA sequence that encodes an unidentified protein (“prey" or "sample” can be fused to a polynucleotide that codes for the activation domain of the known transcription factor.
• the DNA-binding and activation domains of the transcription factor are brought into close proximity. This proximity allows transcription of a reporter gene (e.g., LacZ), which is operably linked to a transcriptional regulatory site responsive to the transcription factor.
• a reporter gene e.g., LacZ
• Expression of the reporter gene can be detected, and cell colonies containing the functional transcription factor can be isolated and used to obtain the DNA sequence encoding the protein which interacts with the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• either the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide (or polynucleotide) or the test compound can be bound to a solid support.
• Suitable solid supports include, but are not limited to, glass or plastic slides, tissue culture plates, microtiter wells, tubes, silicon chips, or particles such as beads (including, but not limited to, latex, polystyrene, or glass beads).
• any method known in the art can be used to attach the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide (or polynucleotide) or test compound to a solid support, including use of covalent and non-covalent linkages, passive absorption, or pairs of binding moieties attached respectively to the polypeptide (or polynucleotide) or test compound and the solid support.
• Test compounds are preferably bound to the solid support in an array, so that the location of individual test compounds can be tracked. Binding of a test compound to an opsin-related- GPCR polypeptide (or polynucleotide) can be accomplished in any vessel suitable for containing the reactants. Examples of such vessels include microtiter plates, test tubes, and microcentrifuge tubes.
• the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is a fusion protein comprising a domain that allows the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide to be bound to a solid support.
• glutathione-S-transferase fusion proteins can be adsorbed onto glutathione sepharose beads (Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, Mo.) or glutathione derivatized microtiter plates, which are then combined with the test compound or the test compound and the non-adsorbed opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide; the mixture is then incubated under conditions conducive to complex formation (e.g., at physiological conditions for salt and pH). Following incubation, the beads or microtiter plate wells are washed to remove any unbound components.
• Binding of the interactants can be determined either directly or indirectly, as described above.
• the complexes can be dissociated from the solid support before binding is determined.
• an opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide (or polynucleotide) or a test compound can be immobilized utilizing conjugation of biotin and streptavidin.
• Biotinylated opsin- related-GPCR polypeptides (or polynucleotides) or test compounds can be prepared from biotin-NHS(N-hydroxysuccinimide) using techniques well known in the art
• antibodies which specifically bind to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, polynucleotide, or a test compound, but which do not interfere with a desired binding site, such as the active site of the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, can be derivatized to the wells of the plate. Unbound target or protein can be trapped in the wells by antibody conjugation.
• Methods for detecting such complexes include immunodetection of complexes using antibodies which specifically bind to the opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or test compound, enzyme-linked assays which rely on detecting an activity of the opsin- related-GPCR polypeptide, and SDS gel electrophoresis under non-reducing conditions.
• Screening for test compounds which bind to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or polynucleotide also can be carried out in an intact cell. Any cell which comprises an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or polynucleotide can be used in a cell-based assay system. An opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be naturally occurring in the cell or can be introduced using techniques such as those described above. Binding of the test compound to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide or polynucleotide is determined as described above.
• Test compounds can be tested for the ability to increase or decrease a biological effect of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide. Such biological effects can be determined using the functional assays described in the specific examples, below. Functional assays can be carried out after contacting either a purified opsin-related- GPCR polypeptide, a cell membrane preparation, or an intact cell with a test compound.
• a test compound which decreases a functional activity of an opsin- related-GPCR by at least about 10, preferably about 50, more preferably about 75, 90, or 100% is identified as a potential agent for decreasing opsin-related-GPCR activity.
• a test compound which increases opsin-related-GPCR activity by at least about 10, preferably about 50, more preferably about 75, 90, or 100% is identified as a potential agent for increasing opsin-related-GPCR activity.
• Such a screening procedure involves the use of melanophores which are transfected to express an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• a screening technique is described in WO 92/01810 published Feb. 6, 1992.
• an assay may be employed for screening for a compound which inhibits activation of the receptor polypeptide by contacting the melanophore cells which comprise the receptor with both the receptor ligand and a test compound to be screened. Inhibition of the signal generated by the ligand indicates that a test compound is a potential antagonist for the receptor, i.e., inhibits activation of the receptor.
• the screen may be employed for identifying a test compound which activates the receptor by contacting such cells with compounds to be screened and detennining whether each test compound generates a signal, i.e., activates the receptor.
• test compounds may be contacted with a cell which expresses a human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide and a second messenger response, e.g., signal transduction or pH changes, can be measured to determine whether the test compound activates or inhibits the receptor.
• a human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide for example, transfected CHO cells
• a second messenger response e.g., signal transduction or pH changes
• Another such screening technique involves introducing RNA encoding a human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide into Xenopus oocytes to transiently express the receptor.
• the transfected oocytes can then be contacted with the receptor ligand and a test compound to be screened, followed by detection of inhibition or activation of a calcium signal in the case of screening for test compounds which are thought to inhibit activation of the receptor.
• Another screening technique involves expressing a human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide in cells in which the receptor is linked to a phospholipase C or D.
• Such cells include endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, embryonic kidney cells, etc.
• the screening may be accomplished as described above by quantifying the degree of activation of the receptor from changes in the phospholipase activity.
• test compounds which increase or decrease opsin-related-
• GPCR gene expression are identified.
• An opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide is contacted with a test compound, and the expression of an RNA or polypeptide product of the opsin- related-GPCR polynucleotide is determined.
• the level of expression of appropriate mRNA or polypeptide in the presence of the test compound is compared to the level of expression of mRNA or polypeptide in the absence of the test compound.
• the test compound can then be identified as a modulator of expression based on this comparison. For example, when expression of mRNA or polypeptide is greater in the presence of the test compound than in its absence, the test compound is identified as a stimulator or enhancer of the mRNA or polypeptide expression. Alternatively, when expression of the mRNA or polypeptide is less in the presence of the test compound than in its absence, the test compound is identified as an inhibitor of the mRNA or polypeptide expression.
• the level of opsin-related-GPCR mRNA or polypeptide expression in the cells can be determined by methods well known in the art for detecting mRNA or polypeptide.
• polypeptide products of an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be determined, for example, using a variety of techniques known in the art, including immunochemical methods such as radioimmunoassay, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry.
• polypeptide synthesis can be determined in vivo, in a cell culture, or in an in vitro translation system by detecting incorporation of labeled amino acids into an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Such screening can be carried out either in a cell-free assay system or in an intact cell.
• Any cell which expresses an opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be used in a cell-based assay system.
• the opsin-related-GPCR polynucleotide can be naturally occurring in the cell or can be introduced using techniques such as those described above.
• Either a primary culture or an established cell line, such as CHO or human embryonic kidney 293 cells, can be used.
• compositions of the invention can comprise, for example, an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, opsin- related-GPCR polynucleotide, antibodies which specifically bind to an opsin-related-
• compositions can be administered alone or in combination with at least one other agent, such as stabilizing compound, which can be administered in any sterile, biocompatible pharmaceutical carrier, including, but not limited to, saline, buffered saline, dextrose, and water.
• agent such as stabilizing compound
• the compositions can be administered to a patient alone, or in combination with other agents, drugs or hormones.
• compositions of the invention can be administered by any number of routes including, but not limited to, oral, intravenous, intramuscular, infra-arterial, intramedullary, intrathecal, intraventricular, transdermal, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intranasal, parenteral, topical, sublingual, or rectal means.
• Pharmaceutical compositions for oral administration can be formulated using pharmaceutically acceptable carriers well known in the art in dosages suitable for oral administration. Such carriers enable the pharmaceutical compositions to be formulated as tablets, pills, dragees, capsules, liquids, gels, syrups, slurries, suspensions, and the like, for ingestion by the patient.
• compositions for oral use can be obtained through combination of active compounds with solid excipient, optionally grinding a resulting mixture, and processing the mixture of granules, after adding suitable auxiliaries, if desired, to obtain tablets or dragee cores.
• Suitable excipients are carbohydrate or protein fillers, such as sugars, including lactose, sucrose, mannitol, or sorbitol; starch from corn, wheat, rice, potato, or other plants; cellulose, such as methyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl-cellulose, or sodium carboxymethylcellulose; gums including arabic and tragacanth; and proteins such as gelatin and collagen.
• disintegrating or solubilizing agents can be added, such as the cross-linked polyvinyl pyrrolidone, agar, alginic acid, or a salt thereof, such as sodium alginate.
• Dragee cores can be used in conjunction with suitable coatings, such as concentrated sugar solutions, which also can contain gum arabic, talc, polyvinylpyrrolidone, carbopol gel, polyethylene glycol, and/or titanium dioxide, lacquer solutions, and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures.
• suitable coatings such as concentrated sugar solutions, which also can contain gum arabic, talc, polyvinylpyrrolidone, carbopol gel, polyethylene glycol, and/or titanium dioxide, lacquer solutions, and suitable organic solvents or solvent mixtures.
• Dyestuffs or pigments can be added to the tablets or dragee coatings for product identification or to characterize the quantity of active compound, i.e., dosage.
• Push-fit capsules made of gelatin, as well as soft, sealed capsules made of gelatin and a coating, such as glycerol or sorbitol.
• Push-fit capsules can contain active ingredients mixed with a filler or binders, such as lactose or starches, lubricants, such as talc or magnesium stearate, and, optionally, stabilizers.
• the active compounds can be dissolved or suspended in suitable liquids, such as fatty oils, liquid, or liquid polyethylene glycol with or without stabilizers.
• compositions suitable for parenteral administration can be formulated in aqueous solutions, preferably in physiologically compatible buffers such as Hanks' solution, Ringer's solution, or physiologically buffered saline.
• Aqueous injection suspensions can contain substances which increase the viscosity of the suspension, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, sorbitol, or dextran.
• suspensions of the active compounds can be prepared as appropriate oily injection suspensions.
• Suitable lipophilic solvents or vehicles include fatty oils such as sesame oil, or synthetic fatty acid esters, such as ethyl oleate or triglycerides, or liposomes.
• Non-lipid polycationic amino polymers also can be used for delivery.
• the suspension also can contain suitable stabilizers or agents which increase the solubility of the compounds to allow for the preparation of highly concentrated solutions.
• penetrants appropriate to the particular barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation. Such penetrants are generally known in the art.
• compositions of the present invention can be manufactured in a manner that is known in the art, e.g., by means of conventional mixing, dissolving, granulating, dragee-making, levigating, emulsifying, encapsulating, entrapping, or lyophilizing processes.
• the pharmaceutical composition can be provided as a salt and can be formed with many acids, including but not limited to, hydrochloric, sulfuric, acetic, lactic, tartaric, malic, succinic, etc. Salts tend to be more soluble in aqueous or other protonic solvents than are the corresponding free base forms.
• the preferred preparation can be a lyophilized powder which can contain any or all of the following: 1-50 mM histidine, 0.1%-2% sucrose, and 2-7% mannitol, at a pH range of 4.5 to 5.5, that is combined with buffer prior to use. Further details on techniques for formulation and administration can be found in the latest edition of REMINGTON'S PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES (Maack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa.). After pharmaceutical compositions have been prepared, they can be placed in an appropriate container and labeled for treatment of an indicated condition. Such labeling would include amount, frequency, and method of administration.
• GPCRs are ubiquitous in the mammalian host and are responsible for many biological functions, including many pathologies. Accordingly, it is desirable to find compounds and drugs which stimulate a GPCR on the one hand and which can inhibit the function of a GPCR on the other hand.
• compounds which activate a GPCR may be employed for therapeutic purposes, such as the treatment of asthma, Parkinson's disease, acute heart failure, urinary retention, and osteoporosis.
• compounds which activate GPCRs are useful in treating various cardiovascular ailments such as caused by the lack of pulmonary blood flow or hypertension.
• these compounds may also be used in treating various physiological disorders relating to abnormal control of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis and in diseases associated with abnormal angiotensin-induced aldosterone secretion.
• compounds which inhibit activation of a GPCR can be used for a variety of therapeutic purposes, for example, for the treatment of hypotension and/or hypertension, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, ulcers, asthma, allergies, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and psychotic and neurological disorders including schizophrenia, manic excitement, depression, delirium, dementia or severe mental retardation, dyskinesias, such as Huntington's disease or Tourett's syndrome, among others.
• Compounds which inhibit GPCRs also are useful in reversing endogenous anorexia, in the control of bulimia, and in treating various cardiovascular ailments such as caused by excessive pulmonary blood flow or hypotension.
• Opsin-related GPCR may also be useful for treating diseases of the visual system, including, but not limited to, tapetoretinal degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, vitelhruptive degeneration, retinal drusen, fundus flavimaculatus, fundus albipunctatus, primary pigmentary degeneration, lamina vitrea, angoid streaks, macular degeneration, senile disciform degeneration, retinoschisis, and the like.
• diseases of the visual system including, but not limited to, tapetoretinal degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, vitelhruptive degeneration, retinal drusen, fundus flavimaculatus, fundus albipunctatus, primary pigmentary degeneration, lamina vitrea, angoid streaks, macular degeneration, senile disciform degeneration, retinoschisis, and the like.
• This invention further pertains to the use of novel agents identified by the screening assays described above. Accordingly, it is within the scope of this invention to use a test compound identified as described herein in an appropriate animal model.
• an agent identified as described herein e.g., a modulating agent, an antisense nucleic acid molecule, a specific antibody, ribozyme, or an opsin-related- GPCR polypeptide binding molecule
• an agent identified as described herein can be used in an animal model to determine the efficacy, toxicity, or side effects of treatment with such an agent.
• an agent identified as described herein can be used in an animal model to determine the mechanism of action of such an agent.
• this invention pertains to uses of novel agents identified by the above-described screening assays for treatments as described herein.
• a reagent which affects opsin-related-GPCR activity can be administered to a human cell, either in vitro or in vivo, to reduce opsin-related-GPCR activity.
• the reagent preferably binds to an expression product of a human opsin-related-GPCR gene. If the expression product is a protein, the reagent is preferably an antibody.
• an antibody can be added to a preparation of stem cells which have been removed from the body. The cells can then be replaced in the same or another human body, with or without clonal propagation, as is known in the art.
• the reagent is delivered using a liposome.
• the liposome is stable in the animal into which it has been administered for at least about
• a liposome comprises a lipid composition that is capable of targeting a reagent, particularly a polynucleotide, to a particular site in an animal, such as a human.
• the lipid composition of the liposome is capable of targeting to a specific organ of an animal, such as the lung, liver, spleen, heart brain, lymph nodes, and skin.
• a liposome useful in the present invention comprises a lipid composition that is capable of fusing with the plasma membrane of the targeted cell to deliver its contents to the cell.
• the transfection efficiency of a liposome is about 0.5 ⁇ g of DNA per 16 nmole of liposome delivered to about 10 6 cells, more preferably about 1.0 ⁇ g of DNA per 16 nmole of liposome delivered to about 10 cells, and even more preferably about 2.0 ⁇ g of DNA per 16 ntnol of liposome delivered to about 10 6 cells.
• a liposome is between about 100 and 500 nm, more preferably between about 150 and 450 nm, and even more preferably between about 200 and 400 nm in diameter.
• Suitable liposomes for use in the present invention include those liposomes standardly used in, for example, gene delivery methods known to those of skill in the art. More preferred liposomes include liposomes having a polycationic lipid composition and/or liposomes having a cholesterol backbone conjugated to polyethylene glycol.
• a liposome comprises a compound capable of targeting the liposome to a tumor cell, such as a tumor cell ligand exposed on the outer surface of the liposome.
• a liposome with a reagent such as an antisense oligonucleotide or ribozyme can be achieved using methods which are standard in the art (see, for example, U.S. Patent 5,705,151).
• a reagent such as an antisense oligonucleotide or ribozyme
• antibodies can be delivered to specific tissues in vivo using receptor-mediated targeted delivery.
• Receptor-mediated DNA delivery techniques are taught in, for example, Findeis et al. Trends in Biotechnol. 11, 202-05 (1993); Chiou et al, GENE THERAPEUTICS: METHODS AND APPLICATIONS OF DIRECT GENE TRANSFER (J.A. Wolff, ed.) (1994); Wu & Wu, J. Biol. Chem. 263, 621-24 (1988); Wu et al, J. Biol. Chem. 269, 542-46 (1994); Zenke et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 3655-59 (1990); Wu et al, J. Biol. Chem. 266, 338-42 (1991).
• a therapeutically effective dose refers to that amount of active ingredient which increases or decreases opsin-related-GPCR activity relative to the opsin- related-GPCR activity which occurs in the absence of the therapeutically effective dose.
• the therapeutically effective dose can be estimated initially either in cell culture assays or in animal models, usually mice, rabbits, dogs, or pigs.
• the animal model also can be used to determine the appropriate concentration range and route of administration. Such information can then be used to determine useful doses and routes for administration in humans.
• Therapeutic efficacy and toxicity e.g., ED 5 Q (the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population) and LD 50 (the dose lethal to 50% of the population), can be determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in cell cultures or experimental animals.
• the dose ratio of toxic to therapeutic effects is the therapeutic index, and it can be expressed as the ratio, LD 50 /ED 5 o.
• compositions which exhibit large therapeutic indices are preferred.
• the data obtained from cell culture assays and animal studies is used in formulating a range of dosage for human use.
• the dosage contained in such compositions is preferably within a range of circulating concentrations that include the ED 50 with little or no toxicity.
• the dosage varies within this range depending upon the dosage form employed, sensitivity of the patient, and the route of administration.
• the exact dosage will be determined by the practitioner, in light of factors related to the subject that requires treatment. Dosage and administration are adjusted to provide sufficient levels of the active ingredient or to maintain the desired effect. Factors which can be taken into account include the severity of the disease state, general health of the subject, age, weight, and gender of the subject, diet, time and frequency of administration, drug combination(s), reaction sensitivities, and tolerance/response to therapy. Long-acting pharmaceutical compositions can be administered every 3 to 4 days, every week, or once every two weeks depending on the half-life and clearance rate of the particular formulation.
• Normal dosage amounts can vary from 0.1 to 100,000 micrograms, up to a total dose of about 1 g, depending upon the route of administration.
• Guidance as to particular dosages and methods of delivery is provided in the literature and generally available to practitioners in the art. Those skilled in the art will employ different formulations for nucleotides than for proteins or their inhibitors. Similarly, delivery of polynucleotides or polypeptides will be specific to particular cells, conditions, locations, etc.
• polynucleotides encoding the antibody can be constructed and introduced into a cell either ex vivo or in vivo using well- established techniques including, but not limited to, transferrin-polycation-mediated DNA transfer, transfection with naked or encapsulated nucleic acids, liposome- mediated cellular fusion, intracellular transportation of DNA-coated latex beads, protoplast fusion, viral infection, electroporation, "gene gun,” and DEAE- or calcium phosphate-mediated transfection.
• Effective in vivo dosages of an antibody are in the range of about 5 ⁇ g to about 50 ⁇ g/kg, about 50 ⁇ g to about 5 mg/kg, about 100 ⁇ g to about 500 ⁇ g/kg of patient body weight, and about 200 to about 250 ⁇ g/kg of patient body weight.
• effective in vivo dosages are in the range of about 100 ng to about 200 ng, 500 ng to about 50 mg, about 1 ⁇ g to about 2 mg, about 5 ⁇ g to about 500 ⁇ g, and about 20 ⁇ g to about 100 ⁇ g ofDNA.
• the reagent is preferably an antisense oligonucleotide or a ribozyme.
• Polynucleotides which express antisense ohgonucleotides or ribozymes can be introduced into cells by a variety of methods, as described above.
• a reagent reduces expression of an opsin-related-GPCR gene or the activity of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide by at least about 10, preferably about
• the effectiveness of the mechanism chosen to decrease the level of expression of an opsin-related-GPCR gene or the activity of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide can be assessed using methods well known in the art, such as hybridization of nucleotide probes to opsin-related-GPCR-specific mRNA, quantitative RT-PCR, immunologic detection of an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide, or measurement of opsin-related- GPCR activity.
• any of the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention can be administered in combination with other appropriate therapeutic agents. Selection of the appropriate agents for use in combination therapy can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art, according to conventional pharmaceutical principles.
• the combination of therapeutic agents can act synergistically to effect the treatment or prevention of the various disorders described above. Using this approach, one may be able to achieve therapeutic efficacy with lower dosages of each agent, thus reducing the potential for adverse side effects.
• Any of the therapeutic methods described above can be applied to any subject in need of such therapy, including, for example, mammals such as dogs, cats, cows, horses, rabbits, monkeys, and most preferably, humans.
• GPCRs also can be used in diagnostic assays for detecting diseases and abnormalities or susceptibility to diseases and abnormalities related to the presence of mutations in the nucleic acid sequences which encode a GPCR.
• diseases are related to cell transformation, such as tumors and cancers, and various cardiovascular disorders, including hypertension and hypotension, as well as diseases arising from abnormal blood flow, abnormal angiotensin-induced aldosterone secretion, and other abnormal control of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis.
• Differences can be determined between the cDNA or genomic sequence encoding a GPCR in individuals afflicted with a disease and in normal individuals. If a mutation is observed in some or all of the afflicted individuals but not in normal individuals, then the mutation is likely to be the causative agent of the disease.
• Sequence differences between a reference gene and a gene having mutations can be revealed by the direct DNA sequencing method.
• cloned DNA segments can be employed as probes to detect specific DNA segments.
• the sensitivity of this method is greatly enhanced when combined with PCR.
• a sequencing primer can be used with a double-stranded PCR product or a single-stranded template molecule generated by a modified PCR.
• the sequence determination is performed by conventional procedures using radiolabeled nucleotides or by automatic sequencing procedures using fluorescent tags.
• DNA sequence differences can be carried out by detection of alteration in electrophoretic mobility of DNA fragments in gels with or without denaturing agents. Small sequence deletions and insertions can be visualized, for example, by high resolution gel electrophoresis. DNA fragments of different sequences can be distinguished on denaturing formamide gradient gels in which the mobilities of different DNA fragments are retarded in the gel at different positions according to their specific melting or partial melting temperatures (see, e.g., Myers et al, Science 230, 1242, 1985). Sequence changes at specific locations can also be revealed by nuclease protection assays, such as RNase and S 1 protection or the chemical cleavage method (e.g., Cotton et al, Proc. Natl.
• the detection of a specific DNA sequence can be performed by methods such as hybridization, RNase protection, chemical cleavage, direct DNA sequencing or the use of restriction enzymes and Southern blotting of genomic DNA.
• direct methods such as gel-electrophoresis and DNA sequencing, mutations can also be detected by in situ analysis.
• Altered levels of a GPCR also can be detected in various tissues.
• Assays used to detect levels of the receptor polypeptides in a body sample, such as blood or a tissue biopsy, derived from a host are well known to those of skill in the art and include radioimmunoassays, competitive binding assays, Western blot analysis, and ELISA assays.
• the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO. 1 is inserted into the expression vector pCEV4 and the expression vector pCEV4-opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide obtained is transfected into human embryonic kidney 293 cells.
• the cells are scraped from a culture flask into 5 ml of Tris HCl, 5 mM EDTA, pH 7.5, and lysed by sonication. Cell lysates are centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 5 minutes at 4 °C. The supernatant is centrifuged at 30,000 x g for 20 minutes at 4 °C.
• the pellet is suspended in binding buffer containing 50 mM Tris HCl, 5 mM MgSO 4 , 1 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, pH 7.5, supplemented with 0.1 % BSA, 2 ⁇ g/ml aprotinin, 0.5 mg/ml leupeptin, and 10 ⁇ g/ml phosphoramidon.
• Optimal membrane suspension dilutions defined as the protein concentration required to bind less than 10 % of an added radioligand, i.e. 125 I-labeled opsin, are added to 96-well polypropylene microtiter plates containing ligand, non-labeled peptides, and binding buffer to a final volume of 250 ⁇ l.
• membrane preparations are incubated in the presence of increasing concentrations (0.1 nM to 4 nM) of 125 I ligand.
• Binding reaction mixtures are incubated for one hour at 30°C. The reaction is stopped by filtration through GF/B filters treated with 0.5% polyethyleneimine, using a cell harvester. Radioactivity is measured by scintillation counting, and data are analyzed by a computerized non-linear regression program. Non-specific binding is defined as the amount of radioactivity remaining after incubation of membrane protein in the presence of 100 nM of unlabeled peptide. Protein concentration is measured by the Bradford method using Bio-Rad Reagent, with bovine serum albumin as a standard. The opsin-related-GPCR activity of the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO. 2 is demonstrated. EXAMPLE 2
• Human embryonic kidney 293 cells transfected with a polynucleotide which expresses human opsin-related-GPCR are scraped from a culture flask into 5 ml of Tris HCl, 5 mM EDTA, pH 7.5, and lysed by sonication. Cell lysates are centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 5 minutes at 4 °C. The supernatant is centrifuged at 30,000 x g for 20 minutes at 4 °C. The pellet is suspended in binding buffer containing 50 mM Tris HCl, 5 mM MgSO 4 , 1 mM EDTA, 100 mM NaCl, pH 7.5, supplemented with 0.1 %
• Optimal membrane suspension dilutions defined as the protein concentration required to bind less than 10% of the added radioligand, i.e. opsin, are added to 96- well polypropylene microtiter plates containing 125 I-labeled ligand or test compound, non-labeled peptides, and binding buffer to a final volume of 250 ⁇ l.
• Binding reaction mixtures are incubated for one hour at 30°C.
• the reaction is stopped by filtration through GF/B filters treated with 0.5% polyethyleneimine, using a cell harvester. Radioactivity is measured by scintillation counting, and data are analyzed by a computerized non-linear regression program.
• Non-specific binding is defined as the amount of radioactivity remaining after incubation of membrane protein in the presence of 100 nM of unlabeled peptide.
• test compound which increases the radioactivity of membrane protein by at least 15% relative to radioactivity of membrane protein which was not incubated with a test compound is identified as a compound which binds to a human opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide.
• Receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP formation can be assayed in host cells which express human opsin-related-GPCR.
• Cells are plated in 96-well plates and incubated in Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (PBS) supplemented with 10 mM HEPES, 5 mM theophylline, 2 ⁇ g/ml aprotinin, 0.5 mg/ml leupeptin, and 10 ⁇ g/ml phos- phoramidon for 20 minutes at 37 °C in 5% CO 2 .
• a test compound is added and incubated for an additional 10 minutes at 37 °C.
• the medium is aspirated, and the reaction is stopped by the addition of 100 mM HCl.
• the plates are stored at 4 °C for 15 minutes.
• cAMP content in the stopping solution is measured by radioimmuno- assay.
• Radioactivity is quantified using a gamma counter equipped with data reduction software.
• a test compound which decreases radioactivity of the contents of a well relative to radioactivity of the contents of a well in the absence of the test compound is identified as a potential inhibitor of cAMP formation.
• a test compound which increases radioactivity of the contents of a well relative to radioactivity of the contents of a well in the absence of the test compound is identified as a potential enhancer of cAMP formation.
• Intracellular free calcium concentration can be measured by microspecfrofluorometry using the fluorescent indicator dye Fura-2/AM (Bush et al, J. Neurochem. 57, 562- 1A, 1991).
• Stably transfected cells are seeded onto a 35 mm culture dish containing a glass coverslip insert. Cells are washed with HBS , incubated with a test compound, and loaded with 100 ⁇ l of Fura-2/AM (10 ⁇ M) for 20-40 minutes. After washing with HBS to remove the Fura-2/AM solution, cells are equilibrated in HBS for 10-20 minutes. Cells are then visualized under the 40X objective of a Leitz Fluovert FS microscope.
• Fluorescence emission is determined at 510 nM, with excitation wavelengths alternating between 340 nM and 380 nM.
• Raw fluorescence data are converted to calcium concentrations using standard calcium concentration curves and software analysis techniques.
• a test compound which increases the fluorescence by at least 15% relative to fluorescence in the absence of a test compound is identified as a compound which mobilizes intracellular calcium.
• Cells which stably express human opsin-related-GPCR cDNA are plated in 96-well plates and grown to confluence. The day before the assay, the growth medium is changed to 100 ⁇ l of medium containing 1%> serum and 0.5 ⁇ Ci 3 H-myinositol. The plates are incubated overnight in a CO 2 incubator (5% CO 2 at 37 °C). Immediately before the assay, the medium is removed and replaced by 200 ⁇ l of PBS containing lO mM LiCl, and the cells are equilibrated with the new medium for 20 minutes. During this interval, cells also are equilibrated with antagonist, added as a 10 ⁇ l aliquot of a 20-fold concentrated solution in PBS.
• the 3 H-inositol phosphate accumulation from inositol phospholipid metabolism is started by adding 10 ⁇ l of a solution containing a test compound. To the first well
• test compound 10 ⁇ l are added to measure basal accumulation. Eleven different concentrations of test compound are assayed in the following 11 wells of each plate row. All assays are performed in duplicate by repeating the same additions in two consecutive plate rows.
• the plates are incubated in a CO incubator for one hour.
• the reaction is terminated by adding 15 ⁇ l of 50% v/v trichloroacetic acid (TCA), followed by a 40 minute incubation at 4 °C.
• TCA 50% v/v trichloroacetic acid
• the content of the wells is transferred to a Multiscreen HV filter plate (Millipore) containing Dowex AG1-X8 (200-400 mesh, formate form).
• the filter plates are prepared by adding
• the 3 H-IPs are eluted into empty 96-well plates with 200 ⁇ l of 1.2 M ammonium formate/0.1 formic acid.
• the content of the wells is added to 3 ml of scintillation cocktail, and radioactivity is determined by liquid scintillation counting.
• Binding assays are carried out in a binding buffer containing 50 mM HEPES, pH 7.4, 0.5% BSA, and 5 mM MgCl 2 .
• the standard assay for radioligand binding to membrane fragments comprising opsin-related- GPCR polypeptides is carried out as follows in 96 well microtiter plates (e.g., Dynatech Immulon II Removawell plates). Radioligand is diluted in binding buffer+ PMSF/Baci to the desired cpm per 50 ⁇ l, then 50 ⁇ l aliquots are added to the wells. For non-specific binding samples, 5 ⁇ l of 40 ⁇ M cold ligand also is added per well.
• Binding is initiated by adding 150 ⁇ l per well of membrane diluted to the desired concentration (10-30 ⁇ g membrane protein/well) in binding buffer+ PMSF/Baci. Plates are then covered with Linbro mylar plate sealers (Flow Labs) and placed on a Dynatech Microshaker II. Binding is allowed to proceed at room temperature for 1-2 hours and is stopped by centrifuging the plate for 15 minutes at 2,000 x g. The supematants are decanted, and the membrane pellets are washed once by addition of
• membrane pellets are resuspended in 200 ⁇ l per microtiter plate well of ice-cold binding buffer without BSA. Then 5 ⁇ l per well of 4 mM N-5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyloxysuccinimide (ANB- NOS, Pierce) in DMSO is added and mixed. The samples are held on ice and UV- irradiated for 10 minutes with a Mineralight R-52G lamp (UVP Inc., San Gabriel, Calif.) at a distance of 5-10 cm.
• ANB- NOS N-5-azido-2-nitrobenzoyloxysuccinimide
• Membrane solubihzation is carried out in buffer containing 25 mM Tris , pH 8, 10% glycerol (w/v) and 0.2 mM CaCl 2 (solubihzation buffer).
• the highly soluble detergents including Triton X-100, deoxycholate, deoxycholate:lysolecithin, CHAPS, and zwittergent are made up in solubihzation buffer at 10% concentrations and stored as frozen aliquots. Lysolecithin is made up fresh because of insolubility upon freeze- thawing and digitonin is made fresh at lower concentrations due to its more limited solubility.
• washed pellets after the binding step are resuspended free of visible particles by pipetting and vortexing in solubihzation buffer at 100,000 x g for 30 minutes.
• the supematants are removed and held on ice and the pellets are discarded.
• the intact R:L complex can be assayed by four different methods. All are carried out on ice or in a cold room at 4-10 °C).
• Binding of biotinyl-receptor to GH 4 Cl membranes is carried out as described above. Incubations are for 1 hour at room temperature. In the standard purification protocol,
• the binding incubations contain 10 nM B ⁇ o-S29. I ligand is added as a tracer at levels of 5,000-100,000 cpm per mg of membrane protein. Control incubations contain 10 ⁇ M cold ligand to saturate the receptor with non-biotinylated ligand.
• Solubihzation of receptor: ligand complex also is carried out as described above, with 0.15% deoxycholate:lysolecithin in solubihzation buffer containing 0.2 mM MgCl 2 , to obtain 100,000 x g supematants containing solubilized R:L complex.
• Immobilized streptavidin (streptavidin cross-linked to 6% beaded agarose, Pierce Chemical Co.; "SA-agarose”) is washed in solubihzation buffer and added to the solubilized membranes as 1/30 of the final volume. This mixture is incubated with constant stirring by end-over-end rotation for 4-5 hours at 4-10 °C. Then the mixture is applied to a column and the non-bound material is washed through. Binding of radioligand to SA-agarose is determined by comparing cpm in the 100,000 x g supernatant with that in the column effluent after adsorption to SA-agarose.
• the column is washed with 12-15 column volumes of solubihzation buffer+0.15% deoxycholate:lysolecithin +1/500 (vol/vol) 100 x 4pase.
• the streptavidin column is eluted with solubihzation buffer+O.l mM EDTA+0.1 mM EGTA+0.1 mM GTP-gamma-S (Sigma)+0.15% (wt/vol) deoxycholate:lysolecithin +1/1000 (vol/vol) 100.times.4pase.
• solubihzation buffer +O.l mM EDTA+0.1 mM EGTA+0.1 mM GTP-gamma-S (Sigma)+0.15% (wt/vol) deoxycholate:lysolecithin +1/1000 (vol/vol) 100.times.4pase.
• one column volume of elution buffer is passed through the column and flow is stopped for 20-30 minutes. Then 3-4 more column volumes of e
• Eluates from the streptavidin column are incubated overnight (12-15 hours) with immobilized wheat germ agglutinin (WGA agarose, Vector Labs) to adsorb the receptor via interaction of covalently bound carbohydrate with the WGA lectin.
• the ratio (vol vol) of WGA-agarose to streptavidin column eluate is generally 1:400. A range from 1:1000 to 1:200 also can be used.
• the resin is pelleted by centrifugation, the supernatant is removed and saved, and the resin is washed 3 times (about 2 minutes each) in buffer containing 50 mM HEPES, pH 8, 5 mM MgCl 2 , and 0.15% deoxycholate:lysolecithin.
• the resin is extracted three times by repeated mixing (vortex mixer on low speed) over a 15-30 minute period on ice, with 3 resin columns each time, of 10 mM N-N'-N"-triacetylchitotriose in the same HEPES buffer used to wash the resin. After each elution step, the resin is centrifuged down and the supernatant is carefully removed, free of WGA-agarose pellets. The three, pooled eluates contain the final, purified receptor.
• the material non-bound to WGA contain G protein subunits specifically eluted from the streptavidin column, as well as non-specific contaminants. All these fractions are stored frozen at -90°C.
• Purified opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides comprising a glutathione-S-transferase protein and absorbed onto glutathione-derivatized wells of 96-well microtiter plates are contacted with test compounds from a small molecule library at pH 7.0 in a physiological buffer solution.
• Opsin-related-GPCR polypeptides comprise an amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 2.
• the test compounds comprise a fluorescent tag. The samples are incubated for 5 minutes to one hour. Control samples are incubated in the absence of a test compound.
• the buffer solution containing the test compounds is washed from the wells.
• Binding of a test compound to an opsin-related-GPCR polypeptide is detected by fluorescence measurements of the contents of the wells.
• a test compound which increases the fluorescence in a well by at least 15% relative to fluorescence of a well in which a test compound was not incubated is identified as a compound which binds to an opsin-related- GPCR polypeptide.
• test compound is administered to a culture of human gastric cells and incubated at 37 °C for 10 to 45 minutes.
• a culture of the same type of cells incubated for the same time without the test compound provides a negative control.
• RNA is isolated from the two cultures as described in Chirgwin et al, Biochem. 18, 5294-99, 1979).
• Northern blots are prepared using 20 to 30 ⁇ g total RNA and hybridized with a 32 P -labeled opsin-related-GPCR-specific probe at 65°C in Express- hyb (CLONTECH).
• the probe comprises at least 11 contiguous nucleotides selected from the complement of SEQ ID NO. 1.
• a test compound which decreases the opsin-related-GPCR-specific signal relative to the signal obtained in the absence of the test compound is identified as an inhibitor of opsin-related-GPCR gene expression.
• Synthesis of antisense opsin-related-GPCR ohgonucleotides comprising at least 11 contiguous nucleotides selected from the complement of SEQ ID NO. 1 is performed on a Pharmacia Gene Assembler series synthesizer using the phosphoramidite procedure (Uhlmann et al, Chem. Rev. 90, 534-83, 1990). Following assembly and deprotection, ohgonucleotides are ethanol-precipitated twice, dried, and suspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) at the desired concentration. Purity of these ohgonucleotides is tested by capillary gel electrophoreses and ion exchange HPLC. Endotoxin levels in the oligonucleotide preparation are determined using the Limulus Amebocyte Assay (Bang, Biol. Bull. (Woods Hole, Mass.) 105, 361-362, 1953).
• the antisense ohgonucleotides are administered to a patient with retinal degeneration.
• the severity of the patient's retinal degeneration is lessened.
• Expression profiling is based on a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, also called kinetic analysis, first described in Higuchi et al., 1992 and Higuchi et al., 1993.
• PCR polymerase chain reaction
• the principle is that at any given cycle within the exponential phase of PCR, the amount of product is proportional to the initial number of template copies.
• mRNA messenger RNA
• cDNA DNA copy
• quantitative RT-PCR quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
• RNA from different human tissues was used as a template to synthsize first-strand cDNA using the
• First-strand cDNA synthesis was carried out according to the manufacturer's protocol using oligo (dT) to hybridize to the 3' poly A tails of mRNA and prime the synthesis reaction. 10 ng of the first-strand cDNA was then used as template in a polymerase chain reaction.
• the polymerase chain reaction was performed in a LightCycler (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN, USA), in the presence of the DNA-binding fluorescent dye S YBR Green I which binds to the minor groove of the DNA double helix, produced only when double-stranded DNA is successfully synthesized in the reaction (Morrison et al., 1998).
• SYBR Green I Upon bind- ing to double-stranded DNA, SYBR Green I emits light that can be quantitatively measured by the LightCycler machine.
• the polymerase chain reaction was carried out using oligonucleotide primers OPS-LI (CTGTGGTTACGGTGTGCAGCCTGA) and OPS-R1 (TGCTGGATTCCTGATTGCCTGGAT) and measurements of the intensity of emitted light were taken following each cycle of the reaction when the reaction had reached a temperature of 84 degrees C. Intensities of emitted light were converted into copy numbers of the gene transcript per nanogram of template cDNA by comparison with simultaneously reacted standards of known concentration.
• G3PDH glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatase
• HPRT hypoxanthine guanine phophoribosyl transferase
• beta-actin beta-actin
• PBGD porphobilinogen deaminase
• beta-2- microglobulin The level of housekeeping gene expression is considered to be relatively constant for all tissues (Adams et al., 1993, Adams et al., 1995, Liew et al.,
• RNA Master Blot User Manual Apendix C (1997, Clontech Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA, USA).
• expression levels of the five housekeeping genes in all tissue samples were measured in three independent reactions per gene using the LightCycler and a constant amount (25 .mu.g) of starting RNA.
• the calculated copy numbers for each gene were recorded and converted into a percentage of the sum of the copy numbers of the gene in all tissue samples. Then for each tissue sample, the sum of the percentage values for each gene was calculated, and a normalization factor was calculated by dividing the sum percentage value for each tissue by the sum percentage value of one of the tissues arbitrarily selected as a standard. To normalize an experimentally obtained value for the expression of a particular gene in a tissue sample, the obtained value was multiplied by the normalization factor for the tissue tested.
• RNAs used for the cDNA synthesis along with their supplier and catalog numbers are shown in table 1.
• Opsin-related-GPCR shows high expression in the testis and prostate, and low expression in the lung. It has been shown that lysophosphatidic acid (a ligand for several GPCRs) and seram can induce proliferation and mitogenic signaling of prostate cancer cells and that importantly, the seram mediated growth of these cells is dependent on G,p ⁇ subunits, suggesting an important regulatory role for G proteins in the growth of prostate cancer cells. Therefore, opsin-related-GPCR may function as a regulatory receptor on prostate cells, responsible for relaying growth or activation signals from soluble molecules in the extracellular environment.

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