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
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K38/00—Medicinal preparations containing peptides

Definitions

• OATP2-related 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; and 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 OATP2-related protein.
• a test compound is contacted with a test compound.
• OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polypeptide is thereby identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of OATP2-related protein.
• Another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which decrease the activity of OATP2-related protein.
• a test compound is contacted with a polynucleotide encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide, 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;
• a test compound which binds to the polynucleotide is identified as a potential agent for decreasing the activity of OATP2-related protein.
• the agent can work by decreasing the amount of the OATP2-related through interacting with the OATP2-related mRNA.
• Another embodiment of the invention is a method of screening for agents which regulate the activity of OATP2-related protein.
• a test compound is contacted with a OATP2-related 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;
• nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50% identical to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1;
• Fig. 1 shows the DNA-sequence encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide.
• Fig. 2 shows the amino acid sequence deduced from the DNA-sequence of Fig.1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• the invention relates to an isolated polynucleotide encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide and being selected from the group consisting of:
• a polynucleotide encoding a OATP2-related 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; and the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2.
• OATP2-related protein particularly a human OATP2-related protein
• Human OATP2-related genes also can be used to screen for OATP2-related agonists and antagonists.
• OATP2-related polypeptides according to the invention comprise the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2, a portion of that sequence, or a biologically active variant thereof, as defined below.
• a OATP2-related polypeptide therefore can be a portion of a OATP2-related protein, a full-length OATP2-related protein, or a fusion protein comprising all or a portion of a OATP2-related protein.
• OATP2-related polypeptide variants preferably are biologically active, i.e., can transport a substrate across the sinusoidal membrane into a hepatocyte.
• naturally or non-naturally occurring OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polypeptide variant and the 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 a OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polypeptide can readily be determined by carrying out a functional assay, as described for example, in the specific examples, below.
• Fusion proteins are useful for generating antibodies against OATP2-related 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 a OATP2-related 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.
• 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, VS V- G tags, and thioredoxin (Trx) tags.
• His histidine
• FLAG tags FLAG tags
• influenza hemagglutinin (HA) tags influenza hemagglutinin (HA) tags
• Myc tags Myc tags
• VS V- G tags thioredoxin
• Trx thioredoxin
• Other fusion constructions can include maltose binding protein (MBP), S-tag, Lex a DNA binding domain (DBD) fusions, GAL4
• a fusion protein also can be engineered to contain a cleavage site located between the OATP2-related polypeptide-encoding sequence and the heterologous protein sequence, so that the OATP2-related 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 a coding sequence selected from SEQ ID NO:l 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.
• Many 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;
• Species homologs of human OATP2-related polypeptide can be obtained using OATP2-related 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 OATP2- related polypeptide, and expressing the cDNAs as is known in the art.
• a OATP2-related polynucleotide can be single- or double-stranded and comprises a coding sequence or the complement of a coding sequence for a OATP2-related polypeptide.
• a coding sequence for a human OATP2-related polypeptide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 1.
• nucleotide sequences encoding human OATP2-related polypeptides as well as homologous nucleotide sequences which are at least about 50, preferably about 75, 90, 96, or 98% identical to the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:l also are OATP2-related 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.
• Complementary DNA (cDNA) molecules, species homologs, and variants of OATP2-related polynucleotides which encode biologically active OATP2-related polypeptides also are OATP2-related polynucleotides.
• homologous sequences can be identified which contain at most about 25-30% basepair mismatches. More preferably, homologous nucleic acid strands contain 15-25% basepair mismatches, even more preferably 5-
• OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polynucleotides or OATP2- related polynucleotides of other species can therefore be identified by hybridizing a putative homologous OATP2-related polynucleotide with a polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:l 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 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 OATP2-related polynucleotides or their complements following stringent hybridization and/or wash conditions also are OATP2-related polynucleotides.
• Stringent wash conditions are well known and understood in the art and are disclosed, for example, in Sambrook et al., MOLECULAR
• T m of a hybrid between a OATP2- related polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:l 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):
• OATP2-related olynucleotides A naturally occurring OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polynucleotides.
• OATP2-related 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 disclosed herein 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• OATP2-related polypeptides can be obtained, for example, by purification from human cells, by expression of OATP2-related polynucleotides, or by direct chemical synthesis.
• OATP2-related polypeptides can be purified from any human cell which expresses the receptor, including host cells, which have been transfected with OATP2-related polynucleotides.
• a purified OATP2-related polypeptide is separated from other compounds which normally associate with the OATP2-related 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.
• a preparation of purified OATP2-related 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.
• the baculovirus polyhedrin promoter can be used in insect cells. Promoters or enhancers derived from the genomes of plant cells (e.g., heat shock, RUBISCO, and storage protein genes) or from plant viruses (e.g., viral promoters or leader sequences) can be cloned into the vector. In mammalian cell systems, 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 a OATP2-related polypeptide, vectors based on S V40 or EBV can be used with an appropriate selectable marker.
• An insect system also can be used to express a OATP2-related polypeptide.
• OATP2-related polypeptide for example, in one such system Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus
• a host cell strain can be chosen for its ability to modulate the expression of the inserted sequences or to process the expressed OATP2-related 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.
• Stable expression is preferred for long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins.
• cell lines which stably express OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related sequences. Resistant clones of stably transformed cells can be proliferated using tissue culture techniques appropriate to the cell type.
• Any number of selection systems can be used to recover transformed cell lines. These include, but are not limited to, the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler et al, Cell 11, 223-32, 1977) and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (Lowy et al, Cell 22, 817-23, 1980) genes which can be employed in tk ⁇ or aprf cells, respectively. Also, 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. 77, 3567-70, 1980)
• npt confers resistance to the aminoglycosides, neomycin and G-418 (Colbere-Garapin et al, J. Mol. Biol. 150, 1- 14, 1981)
• als and pat confer resistance to chlorsulfuron and phosphinotricin acetyltransferase, respectively (Murray, 1992, supra). Additional selectable genes have been described.
• 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 OATP2-related polynucleotide is also present, its presence and expression may need to be confirmed. For example, if a sequence encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide is inserted within a marker gene sequence, transformed cells containing sequences which encode a OATP2-related polypeptide can be identified by the absence of marker gene function.
• a marker gene can be placed in tandem with a sequence encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide under the control of a single promoter. Expression of the marker gene in response to induction or selection usually indicates expression of the OATP2-related polynucleotide.
• host cells which contain a OATP2-related polynucleotide and which express a OATP2-related 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 technologies for the detection and/or quantification of nucleic acid or protein.
• the presence of a polynucleotide sequence encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization or amplification using probes or fragments or fragments of polynucleotides encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide.
• Nucleic acid amplification-based assays involve the use of oligonucleotides selected from sequences encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide to detect transformants which contain a OATP2-related polynucleotide.
• a variety of protocols for detecting and measuring the expression of a OATP2- related polypeptide, using either polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies specific for the polypeptide, are known in the art. Examples include enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).
• ELISA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
• RIA radioimmunoassay
• FACS fluorescence activated cell sorting
• a two-site, monoclonal-based immunoassay using monoclonal antibodies reactive to two non-interfering epitopes on a OATP2-related 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. 158, 1211-1216, 1983
• 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, cofactors, inhibitors, magnetic particles, and the like.
• Host cells transformed with nucleotide sequences encoding a OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related polypeptides can be designed to contain signal sequences which direct secretion of soluble OATP2-related polypeptides through a prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell membrane or which direct the membrane insertion of membrane-bound OATP2-related 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.).
• metal chelating peptides such as histidine- tryptophan modules that allow purification on immobilized metals
• protein A domains that allow purification on immobilized immunoglobulin
• 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 (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA) between the purification domain and the OATP2-related polypeptide also can be used to facilitate purification.
• One such expression vector provides for expression of a fusion protein containing a OATP2-related polypeptide and 6 histidine residues preceding a thioredoxin or an enterokinase cleavage site.
• the histidine residues facilitate purification by BVIAC (immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, as described in Porath et al, Prot. Exp. Purif. 3, 263-281, 1992), while the enterokinase cleavage site provides a means for purifying the OATP2-related polypeptide from the fusion protein.
• Vectors which contain fusion proteins are disclosed in Kroll et al, DNA Cell Biol. 12, 441-453, 1993.
• OATP2-related 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).
• a OATP2-related 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.
• composition of a synthetic OATP2-related 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 OATP2-related 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.
• Monoclonal antibodies which specifically bind to a OATP2-related 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).
• single chain antibodies can be adapted using methods known in the art to produce single chain antibodies which specifically bind to OATP2-related 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 Mallender & Voss, 1994, J Biol. Chem. 269, 199-206.
• 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 OATP2-related 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).
• 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 a OATP2-related polypeptide is bound. The bound antibodies can then be eluted from the column using a buffer with a high salt concentration.
• Antisense Oligonucleotides can be purified by methods well known in the art. For example, antibodies can be affinity purified by passage over a column to which a OATP2-related polypeptide is bound. The bound antibodies can then be eluted from the column using a buffer with a high salt concentration.
• 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.
• Therapeutic advances using triplex DNA have been described in the literature (e.g., Gee et al, in Huber & Carr, MOLECULAR AND IMMUNOLOGIC APPROACHES, Futura Publishing Co., Mt. Basco, N.Y., 1994).
• An antisense oligonucleotide also can be designed to block translation of mRNA by preventing the transcript from binding to ribosomes.
• Ribo ⁇ ymes are RNA molecules with catalytic activity. See, e.g., Cech, Science 236, 1532-1539; 1987; Cech, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 59, 543-568; 1990, Cech, Curr. Opin. Struct. Biol. 2, 605-609; 1992, Couture & Stinchcomb, Trends Genet. 12, 510-515, 1996. 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).
• 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.
• 293 cells can be used.
• 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.
• Human OATP2-related protein may have a role in transporting metabolic products, drugs, and other substrates across the sinusoidal membrane into a hepatocyte.
• levels of O ATP2-related polypeptides can be manipulated to increase or decrease this function to provide therapeutic benefits.
• OATP2-related polypeptides can be administered to a patient in whom enhanced clearance of a toxin via hepatocellular uptake is desired.
• OATP2-related protein function can be blocked, if desired, to suppress this function.
• a reagent which affects OATP2-related activity can be administered to a human cell, either in vitro or in vivo, to reduce OATP2-related activity.
• the reagent preferably binds to an expression product of a human OATP2-related 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 30 minutes, more preferably for at least about 1 hour, and even more preferably for at least about 24 hours.
• 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.
• 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 particular cell type, such as a cell-specific ligand exposed on the outer surface of the liposome. Complexing 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).
• polynucleotide is combined with about 8 nmol of liposomes, more preferably from about 0.5 ⁇ g to about 5 ⁇ g of polynucleotides are combined with about 8 nmol liposomes, and even more preferably about 1.0 ⁇ g of polynucleotides is combined with about 8 nmol liposomes.
• 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., ED50 (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 S Q/ED SO .
• 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 oligonucleotides or ribozymes can be introduced into cells by a variety of methods, as described above.
• OATP2-related genes 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 OATP2-related polypeptides.
• Differences can be determined between the cDNA or genomic sequence encoding a OATP2-related polypeptide 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.
• 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 OATP2-related polypeptide also can be detected in various tissues.
• Assays used to detect levels of the 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-OATP2-related polypeptide obtained is transfected into human embryonic kidney 293 cells.
• the cells and media are assayed for substrate, i.e. taurocholic acid, transport 24 h later.
• substrate i.e. taurocholic acid
• To measure transport medium is removed, and monolayers are assayed in triplicate by washing once in serum-free DMEM and adding the same medium containing 3H-labeled taurocholic acid alone or in the presence of various concentrations of unlabeled compounds. Monolayers are incubated at room temperature for 5-10 min.
• the cells are rapidly washed once with ice-cold DMEM containing 5% bovine serum albumin and three times with ice- cold DMEM.
• Cells are lysed in 0,2 N NaOH, a fraction of the lysate is used to determine radiolabel inco ⁇ oration by liquid scintillation counting, and another fraction is used to determine protein concentration in the lysate using the Bradford assay with bovine serum albumin as a standard.
• the OATP2-related protein activity of the polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 is shown.
• OATP2-related 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.
• OATP2-related 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 a OATP2-related 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 is not incubated is identified as a compound which binds to an ADO-ribosylation factor-related polypeptide.
• 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 P-labeled OATP2-related gene-specific probe at 65 C in Express-hyb (CLONTECH).
• the probe comprises at least 11 contiguous nucleotides selected from the complement of SEQ LD NO:l.
• a test compound which decreases the OATP2-related gene-specific signal relative to the signal obtained in the absence of the test compound is identified as an inhibitor of OATP2-related gene expression.
• An expression construct encoding a human OATP2-related protein is administered to a patient in whom enhanced drug clearance via hepatocellular uptake is desired.
• the rate of drug clearance in the patient is monitored and is increased relative to the rate of drug clearance in a patient who has not been treated with the human OATP2 expression construct.
• 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
• the expression levels of particular genes, which are transcribed from the chromosomes as messenger RNA (mRNA) are measured by first making a DNA copy (cDNA) of the mRNA, and then performing quantitative PCR on the cDNA, a method called quantitative reverse franscription-polymerase chain reaction (quantitative RT-PCR).
• RNA from different human tissues was used as a template to synthsize first-strand cDNA using the SUPERSCRIPTTM First-Strand Synthesis System for RT-PCR (Life Technologies, Rockville , MD, USA).
• First-strand cDNA synthesis was carried out according to the manufacturer's protocol using oligo (dT) to hybridize to the 3' poly
• the polymerase chain reaction was performed in a LightCycler (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN, USA), in the presence of the DNA-binding fluorescent dye SYBR 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). Upon binding 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 LBRI089p-L5 (AAATCAGTTGCCGGCCTAACCTTG) and LBRI089p-R3
• G3PDH glyceraldehyde-3-phosphatase
• HPRT hypoxanthine guanine phophoribosyl transferase
• beta-actin beta-actin
• PBGD porphobilinogen deaminase
• 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., 1994) and therefore can be used as a gauge to approximate relative numbers of cells per .mu.g of total RNA used in the cDNA synthesis step. Except for the use of a slightly different set of housekeeping genes and the use of the LightCycler system to measure expression levels, the normalization procedure was essentially the same as that described in the RNA Master Blot User Manual, Apendix C (1997, Clontech Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA, USA). In brief, 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, derived from comparison with simultaneously reacted standards of known concentrations, 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.
• OATP2-related protein is almost exclusively confined to the adult liver, with expression over 600 times that found in any other tissue. This is consistent with its hypothesized role as an organic anion transporter involved in the Na + - independent uptake of bile salts and non-bile salt organic anions and resembles the expression pattern of several other members of the organic anion transporter family such as Oatpl, Oatp2, OATP-C, and rlst-1.

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