JP2002522017A - Human LCBKINASE1 - Google Patents

Abstract

  (57) [Summary] Disclosed are LCBKINASE1 polypeptides and LCBKINASE1 polynucleotides, and methods of producing the polypeptides by recombinant techniques. Also disclosed are LCBKINASE1 polypeptides and methods of using LCBKINASE1 polynucleotides in diagnostic assays.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to newly identified polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding said polypeptides, agonists and antagonists which may be effective in diagnosing or treating said polypeptides and polynucleotides. The invention relates to the use in identifying compounds and to methods for producing said polypeptides and polynucleotides.

[0002] currently in the background drug discovery process of the invention fundamentally very reduction has occurred. Because it extends to "functional genomics", high-throughput (high-efficiency) genomic or gene-based biology. This approach as a means to identify genes and gene products as therapeutic targets is rapidly replacing relatively early approaches based on "positional cloning." A phenotype, a biological function or a genetic disease, has been identified,
Subsequently, the etiological gene will be identified using the location of the genetic map as a clue.

[0003] Functional genetics is a high-throughput DNA sequencing technology and a variety of bioinformatics tools for identifying gene sequences of interest from many currently available molecular biology databases. Depends heavily. There still exists a need to identify and characterize yet-unknown genes and their related polypeptides / proteins as targets for drug discovery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] The present invention relates to LCBKINASE1, particularly LCBKINASE1 polypeptides and polynucleotides, recombinant materials, and methods for producing the same. Such polypeptides and polynucleotides include, but are not limited to, certain diseases, including, but not limited to, cancer, CNS disorders, neurological disorders, cardiovascular-related diseases, and developmental disorders (hereinafter the `` diseases of the present invention ''). Interesting). In a further aspect, the present invention provides methods for identifying agonists and antagonists (e.g., inhibitors) using the agents provided by the invention, and using the identified compounds.
LCBKINASE1 is concerned with treating symptoms associated with imbalance. In yet another embodiment, the invention is directed to a diagnostic assay for detecting a disease associated with inappropriate LCBKINASE1 activity or LCBKINASE1 levels.

[0005] In embodiments of the description one invention, the present invention relates to LCBKINASE1 polypeptide. Such polypeptides include: (a) an isolated polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, (b) at least 95% relative to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, 96%, 97
%, 98% or 99% identity; (c) an isolated polypeptide comprising the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; (d) a SEQ ID NO: At least 95%, 96%, 97%
%, 98% or 99% identity, (e) the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, (f) 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98 or 0
Isolated polypeptides having or comprising a polypeptide sequence having an identity index of .99, and (g) fragments and variants of each of the polypeptides of (a)-(f).

[0006] The polypeptides of the present invention are believed to be members of the kinase family of polypeptides. They are interesting because they phosphorylate intracellular molecules such as diacylglycerol derivatives and long chain bases and serine from fatty acids. These substrates and their phosphorylation products have an intracellular messenger role, and thus these kinases have important functions in regulating key signaling pathways in cells. In addition, some of them may be involved in biosynthetic pathways.

The biological properties of LCBKINASE1 will be referred to hereinafter as “biological activity of LCBKINASE1” or “LCBKINASE1”.
It is called INASE1 activity. Preferably, the polypeptide of the present invention exhibits at least one biological activity of LCBKINASE1.

[0008] The polypeptides of the present invention also include variants of said polypeptides, such as all allelic forms and splice variants. Such polypeptides differ from the reference sequence by insertions, deletions and substitutions. Insertions, deletions and substitutions may be conservative, non-conservative, or any combination thereof. Particularly preferred variants are several, e.g., 50-30, 30-20, 20-10, 10-
Mutants in which five, five to three, three to two, two to one, or one amino acid is inserted, substituted, or deleted in any combination.

A preferred fragment of the polypeptide of the invention is an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 30, 50 or 100 contiguous amino acids from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or Includes an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 30, 50 or 100 contiguous amino acids truncated or deleted from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. Preferred fragments are those biologically active fragments that mediate the biological activity of LCBKINASE1, and include those that have similar or improved activity, or have reduced undesirable activity. Preferred fragments are those having antigenicity or immunogenicity in animals, particularly humans.

[0010] Fragments of the polypeptides of the invention can be used to produce the corresponding full-length polypeptides by peptide synthesis, and therefore these variants are intermediates for producing the full-length polypeptides of the invention. Can be used as body. The polypeptides of the invention may be in the form of the "mature" protein or may be part of a larger protein, such as a precursor or a fusion protein. It is often advantageous to include additional amino acid sequences, such as secretory or leader sequences, prosequences, sequences useful for purification such as multiple histidine residues, or stable during recombinant production. There are additional arrangements to ensure the performance.

The polypeptides of the present invention can be isolated, for example, from natural sources, from genetically engineered host cells, including expression systems (see below), or by chemical synthesis, eg, by automated synthesis. It can be produced by any suitable method, such as by using a peptide synthesizer or by a combination of such methods. The means for producing such polypeptides are well understood in the art.

[0012] In a further aspect, the invention is directed to an LCBKINASE1 polynucleotide. Such polynucleotides include: (a) at least 95%, 96%,
An isolated polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequence having 97%, 98% or 99% identity; (b) an isolated polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1; (c) a sequence At least 95%, 96%, relative to the polynucleotide sequence of No. 1,
An isolated polynucleotide having 97%, 98% or 99% identity, (d) an isolated polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1, (e) at least a polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 95%, 96%, 97
An isolated polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequence that encodes a polypeptide sequence having 100%, 98% or 99% identity; (f) a polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2; (G) at least 95%, 96%, 97% relative to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2;
(H) an isolated polynucleotide that encodes a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, having a polynucleotide sequence that encodes a polypeptide sequence having%, 98% or 99% identity; (i) having or comprising a polynucleotide sequence having an identity index of 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98 or 0.99 as compared to the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;
(J) 0.95, 0.96, 0.97, 0.98 or 0 as compared to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2;
An isolated polynucleotide having or comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence having an identity index of .99, and polynucleotides that are fragments and variants of the polynucleotide or the full length of the polynucleotide. A polynucleotide that is complementary over the

A preferred fragment of a polynucleotide of the invention is an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 15, 30, 50, or 100 contiguous nucleotides derived from the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1. Nucleotides, or isolated polynucleotides comprising sequences wherein at least 30, 50, or 100 contiguous nucleotides have been truncated or deleted from the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

[0014] Preferred variants of the polynucleotide of the present invention include polymorphisms such as splice variants, allelic variants, and polynucleotides having one or more single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

[0015] The polynucleotides of the present invention also include polynucleotides that encode polypeptide variants. This polypeptide variant comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 and several, for example, 50 to 30, 30 to 20, 20 to 10, 10 to 5, 5 to 3, Three to two, two to one, or one amino acid residue has been substituted, deleted, or added in any combination.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a polynucleotide that is an RNA transcript of a DNA sequence of the present invention. Thus, (a) an RNA polynucleotide comprising an RNA transcript of a DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, (b) an RNA polynucleotide that is an RNA transcript of the DNA sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, (c) an RNA polynucleotide containing an RNA transcript of the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or (d) an RNA polynucleotide that is an RNA transcript of the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, and an RNA polynucleotide complementary thereto Is done.

[0017] The polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 is the cDNA sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2. Although the polynucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 may be identical to the sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 may still be present due to the redundancy (degeneracy) of the genetic code. And a sequence other than SEQ ID NO: 1. The polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2 is related to other proteins in the kinase family and is known as mouse sphingosine kinase (T
Kohama et al., J. Biol. Chem., 273: 23722-23728, 1998).

Preferred polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention are expected to have, inter alia, similar biological functions / properties as the polypeptides and polynucleotides homologous thereto. Further, preferred polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention have at least one LCBKINASE1 activity.

The present invention also relates to partial or other polynucleotides and polypeptides initially identified prior to the determination of the corresponding full length sequences of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2.

Thus, in a further aspect, the present invention provides: (a) at least 95% identity, more preferably at least 97-99% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 3 (B) having at least 95% identity, more preferably at least 97-99% identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 3; An isolated polynucleotide having the nucleotide sequence of (c) an isolated polynucleotide consisting of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 3, or (d) at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 4. Polypeptides having 95% identity, more preferably at least 97-99% identity, are Isolated polynucleotide comprising a sul nucleotide sequence, as well as SEQ ID NO: 3 of the polynucleotide.

Further, the present invention includes (a) an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity, preferably at least 97-99% identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 4. A polypeptide having an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity, preferably at least 97-99% identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 4, (c) (D) a polypeptide comprising the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4; and a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.

The nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 and the peptide sequence encoded thereby are derived from an Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) sequence. One skilled in the art will appreciate that there will necessarily be some nucleotide sequence reading errors in the EST sequence (Adams, MD et al., Nature 37).
7 (supp) 3, 1995). Accordingly, the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3 and the peptide sequence encoded thereby are subject to the same inherent limitations in sequence accuracy. In addition, the peptide sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO: 3 may be in the same region as the protein with the highest homology or structural similarity, or with high homology and / or
Alternatively, it contains regions of structural similarity (eg, conservative amino acid differences).

The polynucleotides of the present invention can be prepared using standard cloning and screening techniques using human adrenal cortex, brain, fetal brain, fetal liver, spleen, hippocampus, melanocytes, multiple sclerosis tissue, Derived from mRNA in cells such as sensory epithelium, embryo, hNT neurons, colon, heart, kidney, lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, stomach and uterus
can be obtained from a cDNA library (eg, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloni
ng: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Col
d Spring Harbor, NY (1989)). In addition, the polynucleotide of the present invention can be obtained from a natural source such as a genomic DNA library, and can also be synthesized using a commercially available known technique.

When a polynucleotide of the present invention is used for recombinant production of a polypeptide of the present invention, the polynucleotide may include the coding sequence for the mature polypeptide alone, or another coding sequence (eg, a leader or secretory sequence). Sequences, those encoding the pre-, pro- or prepro-protein sequences, or other fusion peptide moieties) in the same reading frame. For example, a marker sequence that facilitates purification of the fusion polypeptide can be encoded. In certain preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention, the marker sequence comprises p
Provided by the QE vector (Qiagen, Inc.) and Gentz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad.
Sci. USA (1989) 86: 821-824, a hexa-histidine peptide, or an HA tag. The polynucleotide may also include 5 'and 3' non-coding sequences, for example, transcribed but not translated sequences, splicing and polyadenylation signals, ribosome binding sites, and mRNA stabilizing sequences.

A polynucleotide identical or sufficiently identical to the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 is to be used as a hybridization probe for cDNA and genomic DNA, or as a primer for a nucleic acid amplification (eg, PCR) reaction. Can be. Using such probes and primers, full-length cDNAs and genomic clones encoding the polypeptides of the present invention can be isolated,
Other genes with high sequence similarity (typically at least 95% identity) to humans (paralogs of human origin and orthologs and paralogs from non-human species) CDNA and genomic clones can be isolated. Generally, preferred probes or primers comprise at least 15 nucleotides, preferably comprise at least 30 nucleotides, and may have at least 50, if not at least 100, nucleotides. Particularly preferred probes are those having a range of 30 to 50 nucleotides. Particularly preferred primers are those having a range of 20 to 25 nucleotides.

The polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of the present invention (including homologs derived from a species other than human) comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or a fragment thereof.
Using a labeled probe (preferably of at least 15 nucleotides) to screen the library under stringent hybridization conditions to isolate full length cDNA and genomic clones containing the polynucleotide sequence. Is obtained by a method comprising Such hybridization techniques are known to those skilled in the art. Preferred stringent hybridization conditions are 50% formamide, 5 × SSC (150 mM NaCl, 15 mM trisodium citrate), 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7.6), 5 × Denhardt solution, 10% dextran sulfate and 20 μg / ml Incubated overnight at 42 ° C. in a solution containing denatured and sheared salmon sperm DNA, and then washing the filters at about 65 ° C. in 0.1 × SSC. Thus, the present invention can be obtained by screening a library under stringent hybridization conditions using a labeled probe having the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or a fragment thereof (preferably having 15 nucleotides). Also encompasses isolated polynucleotides, preferably having at least 100 nucleotide sequences.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in many cases, the region encoding the polypeptide will be
The isolated cDNA sequence will be incomplete since it does not extend all the way to the 5 'end. It is due to reverse transcriptase, which originally has a low "processivity" (a measure of the enzyme's ability to remain attached to the template during the polymerization reaction), and the mRNA template during first strand cDNA synthesis. DNA copy cannot be completed.

There are several methods known and available to those skilled in the art for obtaining full-length cDNAs or elongating short-chain cDNAs, for example the cDNA end rapid amplification method (R
ACE) (eg, Frohman et al., Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 8).
5, 8998-9002, 1988). For example, MarathonTM technology (Clontech Labo
Recent improvements in the technique, as indicated by ratories Inc.) have greatly simplified the search for longer cDNAs. In the Marathon ™ technology, cDNA is prepared from mRNA extracted from a given tissue, and an “adapter” sequence is ligated to each end. Subsequently, nucleic acid amplification (PCR) is performed using a combination of gene-specific and adapter-specific oligonucleotide primers to amplify the "deleted" 5 'end of the cDNA. Next, a “nested” primer, a primer designed to anneal inside the amplification product (typically an adapter-specific primer that anneals further 3 ′ to the adapter sequence and an additional 5 ′ to the known gene sequence) The PCR reaction is repeated using a gene-specific primer that anneals to the side. The product of this reaction is then analyzed by DNA sequencing and the product
A full-length cDNA can be constructed by directly binding to NA or performing another full-length PCR using new sequence information for designing the 5 'primer.

[0029] The recombinant polypeptides of the present invention can be produced from genetically engineered host cells containing the expression system using methods known in the art. Thus, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to an expression system containing one or more polynucleotides of the present invention, a host cell engineered with said expression system, and the production of a polypeptide of the present invention by recombinant methods. Cell-free translation systems can also be used to produce such proteins using RNA derived from the DNA constructs of the present invention.

For recombinant production, host cells can be genetically engineered to incorporate a polynucleotide expression system of the invention or a portion thereof. Davis et al., Basic Met
Polynucleotides can be introduced into host cells by methods described in many standard laboratory manuals, such as hods in Molecular Biology (1986) and Sambrook et al., supra. Suitable methods for introducing a polynucleotide into a host cell include, for example, calcium phosphate transfection, DEAE-dextran mediated transfection, transvection, microinjection, cationic lipid mediated transfection, electroporation, transduction, Scrape loading, bullet introduction (bal
listic introduction) or infection.

[0031] Representative examples of suitable hosts include bacterial cells (eg, Streptococcus).
cocci), Staphylococci, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Streptomyces, Bacillus subtilis), fungal cells (eg, yeast, Aspergillus), insect cells (eg, Drosophila) (Drosophila) S2
, Spodoptera Sf9 cells), animal cells (eg, CHO, COS, H
eLa, C127, 3T3, BHK, HEK293, Bowes melanoma cells) and plant cells.

[0032] A wide variety of expression systems can be used. Such expression systems include systems derived from chromosomes, episomes, and viruses, such as bacterial plasmids, bacteriophages, transposons, yeast episomes, insertion factors, yeast chromosomal elements, and viruses (eg, baculovirus, SV40). Such as papovavirus, vaccinia virus, adenovirus, fowlpox virus, pseudorabies virus, and retrovirus), and vectors derived from combinations thereof, such as plasmids such as cosmids and phagemids and bacteriophage genetics. Some come from elements. These expression systems may contain control sequences that regulate as well as cause expression. Generally, any system or vector that can maintain, augment, and express a polynucleotide for the production of a polypeptide in a host can be used. The appropriate polynucleotide sequence can be inserted into the expression system by any of the commonly known techniques, such as those described in Sambrook et al. (Supra). Appropriate secretion signals can be incorporated into the polypeptide of interest to secrete the translated protein into the endoplasmic reticulum lumen, into the periplasmic space, or into the extracellular environment. These signals may be endogenous to the polypeptide of interest or heterologous signals.

When it is desired to express a polypeptide of the invention for use in a screening assay, it is generally preferred that the polypeptide be produced on the surface of cells. If so, the cells are harvested prior to use in the screening assay. If the polypeptide is secreted into the medium, the medium is recovered to recover and purify the polypeptide. If produced intracellularly, lyse the cells first,
Thereafter, the polypeptide must be recovered.

To recover and purify the polypeptide of the present invention from recombinant cell culture, ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity Known methods including chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and lectin chromatography can be used. Most preferably, high performance liquid chromatography is used for purification. When the polypeptide is modified during intracellular synthesis, isolation and / or purification,
The active conformation can be restored using known techniques for regenerating proteins.

The polynucleotide of the present invention can be used as a diagnostic by detecting a mutation in a related gene. Detection of a variant of a gene characterized by a polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1 in a cDNA or genomic sequence associated with a dysfunction is a disease caused by under-, over- or altered spatial and temporal expression of the gene. Alternatively, it will provide a diagnostic tool that can be added to or make a diagnosis of susceptibility to the disease. Individuals with mutations in the gene can be found at the DNA level by various techniques known to those skilled in the art.

Diagnostic nucleic acids can be obtained from cells of a subject, such as cells from blood, urine, saliva, tissue biopsy or autopsy material. Genomic DNA may be used directly for detection, or may be enzymatically amplified using PCR (preferably RT-PCR) or other amplification methods prior to analysis. RNA or cDNA can be used in a similar manner. Deletion and insertion mutations can be detected by a change in the size of the amplified product when compared to the normal genotype. Point mutation labels amplified DNA
It can be identified by hybridizing with the LCBKINASE1 nucleotide sequence. Perfectly matched sequences and mismatched duplexes can be distinguished by RNase digestion or by differences in melting temperatures. DNA sequence differences may also be due to changes in electrophoretic mobility of DNA fragments on gels with or without denaturing agents, or
A can also be detected by sequencing (see, for example, Myers et al., Science (1985) 230:
1242). Sequence changes at specific positions can also be confirmed by nuclease protection assays (eg, RNase and S1 protection) or by chemical cleavage (Cotton et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1985) 85: 4397-).
4401).

For example, in order to carry out efficient screening for gene mutation, an array of oligonucleotide probes containing the LCBKINASE1 polynucleotide sequence or a fragment thereof (a
rray) can be constructed. Preferably, such an array is a high density array or grid. Array techniques are known and have general applicability and have been used to solve various molecular genetics problems, including gene expression, genetic linkage and genetic variability (eg, M Chee et al., Science, Vol.274, pp.610-
613 (1996) and other references cited therein).

Detection of an abnormal decrease or increase in the level of polypeptide or mRNA expression can also be used to diagnose or determine a subject's susceptibility to a disease of the present invention. The decrease or increase in expression can be determined at the RNA level by any of the polynucleotide quantification methods known in the art, such as nucleic acid amplification (eg, PCR, RT-PCR), RNase protection, Northern blotting, and other hybridization methods. Can be measured. Assays for measuring the level of a protein, such as a polypeptide of the present invention, in a sample obtained from a host are well-known to those of skill in the art. Such assays include radioimmunoassays, competitive binding assays, western blot analysis, ELISA assays and the like.

Thus, in another embodiment, the invention provides: (a) a polynucleotide of the invention (preferably the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1) or a fragment or RNA transcript thereof; (b) a nucleotide of (a) A nucleotide sequence complementary to the sequence, (c) the polypeptide of the present invention (preferably, the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2) or a fragment thereof, or (d) the polypeptide of the present invention (preferably, the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2) A) a diagnostic kit comprising:

It will be appreciated that in such a kit, (a), (b), (c) or (d) is a substantial component. Such a kit is useful for diagnosing a disease or susceptibility to a disease, particularly the disease of the present invention.

The polynucleotide sequence of the present invention is also useful for studies on chromosomal location. This sequence can target a specific location on an individual human chromosome and hybridize to that specific location. Creating a chromosomal map of related sequences according to the present invention is an important first step in correlating these sequences with gene-related diseases. Once a sequence has been mapped to a precise chromosomal location, the physical location of that sequence on that chromosome can be correlated with genetic map data. This type of data is described, for example, in V. McKusick, Mendelian Inheritance in Man (Johns
(Available online at Hopkins University Welch Medical Library). Thereafter, the relationship between the gene mapped to the same chromosomal region and the disease is confirmed by linkage analysis (co-inheritance of physically adjacent genes). The exact location of genomic sequences (such as gene fragments) on the human chromosome can be determined by radiation hybrid (RH) mapping (Walter, M. Spillett, D., Thomas, P., Weissenbach, J., and Goodfe
llow, P., (1994) A method for constructing radiation hybrid maps of whole
genomes ("How to build a radiation hybrid map of the whole genome"), Nature Gene
tics 7, 22-28). Some RH panels are Resear
ch Genetics (Huntsville, AL, USA), for example, GeneBridge4
RH panel (Hum Mol Genet 1996 Mar; 5 (3): 339-46 A radiation hybrid map of
the human genome. ("Radiation hybrid map of the human genome") Gyapay G, S
chmitt K, Fizames C, Jones H, Vega-Czarny N, Spillett D, Muselet D, Prud
'Homme JF, Dib C, Auffray C, Morissette J, Weissenbach J, Goodfellow PN)
There is. In order to determine the chromosomal location of the gene using this panel, PCR is performed 93 times using primers designed from the target gene on RH DNA. These DNA
Are hamster backgrounds (human / hamster hybrid cell line)
Including the random human genomic fragment maintained at The result of these PCRs is a score of 93 indicating the presence or absence of the PCR product of the gene of interest. These scores are compared to scores generated using PCR products from genomic sequences at known locations. This comparison is made at http://www.genome.wi.mit.edu/. The gene of the present invention maps to human chromosome 7q32.

The polynucleotide sequence of the present invention is also a useful tool for tissue expression studies. Such studies allow measurement of the expression pattern of a polynucleotide of the invention, and detection of mRNA encoding the polypeptide indicates the expression pattern of the polypeptide encoded in the tissue. The techniques used are well known in the art and include cDNA microarray hybridization (Schena et al., Science, 2
70, 467-470, 1995 and Shalon et al., Genome Res, 6, 639-645, 1996), and in situ hybridization methods for clones arranged on a grid and nucleotide amplification methods such as PCR. A preferred method is to use the TAQMAN ™ technique available from Perkin Elmer. The results obtained from these studies suggest a normal function of the polypeptide in the organism. In addition, the normal expression pattern of the mRNA and another form of the same gene (e.g., having an alteration in a gene that may encode a polypeptide, or having a regulatory mutation)
Studies comparing the expression pattern of the mRNA encoded by) provide valuable insights into the role of the polypeptides of the invention, or their inappropriate expression in disease. Such inappropriate expression may be of a temporal, spatial or just quantitative nature.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to antibodies. The polypeptide of the present invention or a fragment thereof, or a cell expressing the same, can also be used as an immunogen for producing an antibody immunospecific for the polypeptide of the present invention. By "immunospecific" is meant that the antibody exhibits a substantially higher affinity for the polypeptides of the present invention than its affinity for other related polypeptides in the prior art.

Antibodies against the polypeptide of the present invention can be prepared in an animal (using a conventional protocol).
A fragment comprising the polypeptide or epitope, preferably a non-human animal).
Alternatively, it can be obtained by administering cells. For preparation of monoclonal antibodies, any technique which provides antibodies produced by continuous cell line cultures can be used. For example, the hybridoma method (Kohler, G. and Milstein, C., Nature
(1975) 256: 495-497), trioma method, human B cell hybridoma method (Kozbor et al.
, Immunology Today (1983) 4:72) and the EBV-hybridoma method (Cole et al.,
Monoclonal Antibodies and Cancer Therapy, pp.77-96, Alan R. Liss, Inc.,
1985).

To generate single chain antibodies to a polypeptide of the present invention, US Pat. No. 4,946,
Methods for preparing single chain antibodies as described in US Pat. No. 778 can be adapted. Also, transgenic mice or other organisms, including other mammals, can be used to express humanized antibodies.

Using the antibody described above, a clone expressing the polypeptide can be isolated and identified, or the polypeptide can be purified by affinity chromatography. Antibodies to the polypeptides of the present invention may have potential use, inter alia, in treating the diseases of the present invention.

The polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention can also be used as a vaccine. Thus, in a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of eliciting an immunological response in a mammal, the method comprising protecting the animal from a disease, whether or not the disease has already been identified in the individual. Antibodies and / or T cell immune responses (eg, cytokine producing T cells or cytotoxic T cells)
Comprising inoculating a mammal with sufficient polypeptide of the present invention to produce a polypeptide (including cells). In order to elicit an immunological response that produces an antibody that protects a mammal against the disease of the present invention, the polypeptide is mediated in vivo by a vector that directs the expression of a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of the present invention. An immunological response can also be elicited in a mammal by a method comprising delivering One way to administer the vector is by coating it on particles or otherwise accelerating the vector into the desired cells. Such nucleic acid vectors include DNA
, RNA, modified nucleic acids, or DNA / RNA hybrids. For use in vaccines, the polypeptide or nucleic acid vector is usually a vaccine formulation (composition)
Would be provided as. The formulation may further include a suitable carrier. Since the polypeptide may be broken down in the stomach, it may be parenterally (eg, subcutaneously,
It is preferred to administer (by intramuscular, intravenous or intradermal injection). Formulations suitable for parenteral administration include sterile aqueous and non-aqueous injections which may contain antioxidants, buffers, bacteriostats and solutes which render the formulation isotonic with the blood of the recipient, and suspensions. Alternatively, there are aqueous and non-aqueous sterile suspensions which may include fillers. These formulations are 1
It can be provided in a multi-dose or multi-dose container (e.g., sealed ampoules and vials) and can also be stored in a lyophilized state which requires only the addition of a sterile liquid carrier immediately before use. The vaccine formulation may include an adjuvant system to enhance the immunogenicity of the formulation, such as an oil-in-water adjuvant system or other adjuvant systems known in the art. The dose varies with the specific activity of the vaccine, but can be easily determined by routine experimentation.

The polypeptides of the present invention have one or more relevant biological functions, including one or more medical conditions, particularly the diseases of the present invention described above. Therefore, it is useful to identify compounds that stimulate or suppress the function or level of this polypeptide. Accordingly, in a further aspect, the present invention provides methods of screening compounds to identify compounds that stimulate or suppress the function or level of the polypeptide. Such methods identify agonists or antagonists that can be used for the purpose of treating and preventing the aforementioned diseases of the present invention. Compounds can be identified from a variety of sources, such as cells, cell-free preparations, chemical libraries, collections of chemical compounds, and mixtures of natural products. The agonist, antagonist or inhibitor so identified may optionally be a natural or modified substrate, ligand, receptor, enzyme, etc. of the polypeptide, and its structural or functional mimetic. (Coligan et al., Current Proto
cols in Immunology 1 (2): Chapter 5 (1991)) or small molecules.

In the screening method, the binding of the candidate compound to the polypeptide of the present invention, or a cell or membrane carrying the polypeptide, or a fusion protein thereof is performed using a label directly or indirectly bound to the candidate compound. And easy to measure. Alternatively, screening methods involve measuring or detecting (quantitatively or qualitatively) the competitive binding of the polypeptide and the candidate compound to a labeled competitor (eg, an agonist or antagonist). Furthermore, such screening methods can test whether a candidate compound results in a signal resulting from activation or suppression of the polypeptide, using a detection system suitable for cells carrying the polypeptide. . Generally, inhibitors of activation are assayed in the presence of a known agonist to determine the effect of the presence of the candidate compound on activation by the agonist. Furthermore, in these screening methods, a candidate compound and a solution containing the polypeptide of the present invention are mixed to form a mixture, the LCBKINASE1 activity in the mixture is measured, and the LCBKINASE1 activity of the mixture is determined to include the candidate compound at all. It simply needs to include each step of comparing with the no control mixture.

[0050] The polypeptides of the present invention may be used in conventional low volume screening methods or in high efficiency screening (HTS) formats. Such HTS
Formats include the use of well-established 96-well and more recently 384-well microtiter plates, as well as Schullek et al. (Anal Biochem., 246, 20-2).
9, (1997)) and other emerging methods such as the nanowell method.

In high efficiency screening assays to identify antagonists of the polypeptides of the present invention, fusion proteins such as those made above from the Fc portion and the LCBKINASE1 polypeptide can also be used (D. Bennett et al., J. . Mol. Recognition,
8: 52-58 (1995) and K. Johanson et al., J. Biol. Chem., 270 (16): 9459-9471 (1
995)).

In addition, a screening method for detecting the effect of an additional compound on the production of mRNA or polypeptide in cells using the polynucleotide, polypeptide or antibody against the polypeptide of the present invention may be assembled. it can. For example,
Using monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies by standard methods known in the art, an ELISA assay can be constructed to measure the level of secretion or cell binding of the polypeptide, from appropriately engineered cells or tissues. Can be used to search for a substance that suppresses or enhances the production of a polypeptide (also referred to as an antagonist or an agonist, respectively).

[0053] If membrane-bound or soluble receptors are present, the polypeptides of the invention can be used to identify such receptors by standard receptor binding methods known in the art. Can be used. Such receptor binding methods include, but are not limited to, ligand binding assays and cross-linking assays, in which the polypeptide is labeled with a radioactive isotope (eg, ¹²⁵ I) or chemically modified (eg, ¹²⁵ I). Eg, biotinylated) or fused to a peptide sequence suitable for detection and purification and incubated with a putative receptor source (cells, cell membranes, cell supernatants, tissue extracts, body fluids, etc.). Other methods include biophysical methods such as surface plasmon resonance and spectroscopy. These screening methods can also be used to identify agonists or antagonists of the polypeptide that compete with the binding of the polypeptide (if any) to its receptor. Standard methods for performing screening assays are well understood in the art.

Examples of antagonists of the polypeptides of the present invention include antibodies, in some cases
Oligonucleotides or proteins (eg, fragments of ligands, substrates, receptors, enzymes, etc.) that are closely related to the ligands, substrates, receptors, enzymes, etc. of the polypeptide, or the polypeptides of the invention that respond Small molecules that do not induce (and thus interfere with the activity of the polypeptide).

[0055] Screening methods also include the use of transgenic technology and the LCBKINASE1 gene. Techniques for producing transgenic animals are well established. For example, the LCBKINASE1 gene can be transferred to the male pronucleus of a fertilized egg by microinjection, to a pre-implantation or post-implantation embryo by retrovirus introduction, or to an embryonic stem cell genetically modified by electroporation or the like. It can be introduced by injection into it. A particularly useful transgenic animal is a so-called "knock-in" animal, in which the gene of the animal has been replaced by the human equivalent found in the genome of the animal. Knock-in transgenic animals are useful for target validation in the drug discovery process, where the compounds are specific for human targets. Another useful transgenic animal is a so-called "knock-out" animal in which the expression of an animal ortholog of a polypeptide of the invention encoded by an endogenous DNA sequence in a cell is partially or completely reduced. Disabled. Gene knockouts target specific cells or tissues,
It can occur only in certain cells or tissues as a result of technology limitations, or it can occur in all or substantially all cells of the animal. Transgenic animal technology also provides a complete animal expression cloning system in which the introduced gene is expressed to produce the polypeptide of the invention in large quantities.

[0056] Screening kits for use in the above-described methods form a further aspect of the invention. Such a screening kit comprises (a) the polypeptide of the present invention, (b) a recombinant cell expressing the polypeptide of the present invention, (c) a cell membrane expressing the polypeptide of the present invention, or (d) An antibody against the polypeptide of the present invention, wherein said polypeptide is preferably the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2. It will be appreciated that in such a kit, (a), (b), (c) or (d) is a substantial component.

Glossary The following definitions are intended to facilitate understanding of terms used frequently in the above description.

As used herein, “antibody” includes polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, chimeric antibodies, single-chain antibodies, humanized antibodies, as well as Fab fragments, including Fab or other products of an immunoglobulin expression library. It is.

“Isolated” means altered (by the hand of man) from its natural state (if present in nature), which varies from its original environment. Or separate, or both. For example, a polynucleotide or polypeptide naturally occurring in the body of a living organism is not "isolated," but the polynucleotide or polypeptide separated from its coexisting material in the natural state is described herein. As used herein, "isolated". In addition, a polynucleotide or polypeptide introduced into an organism by transformation, genetic engineering or any other recombinant method may be present in the organism (which may be live or non-live) even if it is still present in the organism, Isolated. "

“Polynucleotide” generally refers to any polyribonucleotide (RNA) or polydeoxyribonucleotide (DNA), which can be unmodified or modified RNA or DNA. "Polynucleotide" includes, but is not limited to, single- and double-stranded DNA, DNA in which single- and double-stranded regions are mixed, single- and double-stranded RNA, single-stranded RNA, D with mixed region and double-stranded region
Hybrid molecules comprising NA and RNA (either single-stranded, or more typically double-stranded, or a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions) are included. In addition, "polynucleotide" means a triple-stranded region consisting of RNA or DNA or both RNA and DNA. The term "polynucleotide" also includes DNAs or RNAs containing one or more modified bases, and DNAs or RNAs with backbones modified for stability or for other reasons. "Modified" bases include, for example, tritylated bases and special bases such as inosine. Various modifications can be made to DNA and RNA. Thus, "polynucleotide" embraces chemically, enzymatically or metabolically modified forms of polynucleotides commonly occurring in nature, as well as chemical forms of DNA and RNA characteristic of viruses and cells. . "Polynucleotide" also embraces relatively short polynucleotides, often referred to as oligonucleotides.

“Polypeptide” refers to any polypeptide comprising two or more amino acids linked together by peptide bonds or modified peptide bonds (ie, peptide isosteres). "Polypeptide" refers to both short chains (commonly referred to as peptides, oligopeptides or oligomers) and long chains (commonly referred to as proteins). Polypeptides may contain amino acids other than the 20 gene-encoded amino acids. "Polypeptides" include amino acid sequences that have been modified by natural processes, such as post-translational processing, or by any of the chemical modification methods known in the art. Such modifications are elaborated in basic textbooks, more detailed scholarly articles and research literature. Modifications can be made anywhere in the polypeptide, including the peptide backbone, amino acid side chains, amino or carboxyl termini. The same type of modification may be present in the same or varying degrees at several sites in a given polypeptide. Also, a given polypeptide may contain many types of modifications. Polypeptides can be branched for ubiquitination or cyclic, with or without branching. Cyclic, branched or branched cyclic polypeptides can result from post-translation natural processes and can also be produced by synthetic methods. Modifications include acetylation, acylation, ADP-ribosylation, amidation, biotinylation, flavin covalent bond, heme moiety covalent bond, nucleotide or nucleotide derivative covalent bond, lipid or lipid derivative covalent bond, phosphatidylinositol Covalent bond, crosslink, cyclization, disulfide bond formation, demethylation, covalent crosslink formation, cystine formation, pyroglutamate formation, formylation, γ-carboxylation, glycosylation, GPI anchor formation,
Transfer RNA-mediated addition of amino acids to proteins, such as hydroxylation, iodination, methylation, myristoylation, oxidation, proteolytic processing, phosphorylation, prenylation, racemization, selenoylation, sulfation, arginylation, ubiquitination (Eg, Proteins-Structure and Molecular Properties, 2nd Ed.
, TE Creighton, WH Freeman and Company, New York, 1993; Posttranslat
ional Covalent Modification of Proteins, edited by BC Johnson, Academic Press,
Wold, F., Post-translational Protein Modifications: P in New York, 1983.
erspectives and Prospects, pgs. 1-12; Seifter et al., “Analysis for protein
modifications and nonprotein cofactors ", Meth Enzymol (1990) 182: 626-646
And Rattan et al., “Protein Synthesis: Post-translational Modifications
and Aging ", Ann NY Acad Sci (1992) 663: 48-62).

A “fragment” of a polypeptide sequence refers to a polypeptide sequence that is shorter than the reference sequence but retains essentially the same biological function or activity as the reference polypeptide. A “fragment” of a polynucleotide sequence refers to a polynucleotide sequence that is shorter than the reference sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

“Variant” refers to a polynucleotide or polypeptide that differs from a reference polynucleotide or polypeptide, but retains essential properties thereof. A typical variant of a polynucleotide differs in nucleotide sequence from a reference polynucleotide. Changes in the nucleotide sequence of this variant may or may not alter the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide encoded by the reference polynucleotide. Nucleotide changes can result in amino acid substitutions, deletions, additions, fusions and truncations of the polypeptide encoded by the reference sequence, as described below. A typical variant of a polypeptide differs in amino acid sequence from a reference polypeptide. In general, the sequences of the reference polypeptide and the variant are generally closely similar and limited to changes so that they will be identical in many regions. A variant and reference polypeptide may differ in amino acid sequence by one or more substitutions, deletions, or additions in any combination. The amino acid residue to be substituted or inserted may or may not be one encoded by the genetic code. Typical conservative substitutions include Gly, Ala; Val, Ile, Leu; Asp, Glu; Asn, Gln; Ser, Thr
Lys, Arg; and Phe and Tyr. A variant of a polynucleotide or polypeptide may be naturally occurring, such as an allele, or may be a variant that is not known to occur naturally. Non-naturally occurring variants of polynucleotides and polypeptides can be made by mutagenesis methods or by direct synthesis. Variants also include polypeptides having one or more post-translational modifications, such as glycosylation, phosphorylation, methylation, ADP-ribosylation, and the like. Embodiments include methylation of the N-terminal amino acid, phosphorylation of serine and threonine, and modification of the C-terminal glycine.

“Allele” refers to one of the alternative forms of two or more genes present at a given locus in the genome.

“Polymorphism” refers to a change in the nucleotide sequence (and, if relevant, the encoded polypeptide sequence) at a given position in the genome within a population.

“Single nucleotide polymorphism” (SNP) refers to the presence of nucleotide diversity at a single nucleotide position in the genome, within a population. SNPs can occur in one gene or in an intergenic region of the genome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be assayed using allele specific amplification (ASA). This process requires at least three primers. A common primer is used in the reverse complement for the polymorphism being assayed. This common primer ranges from 50 to 1500 bp from the polymorphic base. The other two (or more) primers are identical to each other, except that the last 3 'base has fluctuations to match one of the two (or more) alleles creating the polymorphism. is there. Then, using the common primer and one of the allele-specific primers, respectively, the sample DNA
Perform two (or more) PCR reactions for.

As used herein, “splice variant” refers to a cDNA that is originally transcribed from the same genomic DNA sequence, but is produced from an RNA molecule that has undergone alternative RNA splicing.
Means a molecule. Alternative RNA splicing occurs when the first RNA transcript is spliced, generally resulting in the removal of introns, thereby resulting in the production of one or more mRNA molecules, each encoding a different amino acid sequence. is there. The term splice variant also refers to a variant encoded by a cDNA molecule described above.

“Identity” reflects the relatedness between two or more polypeptide sequences or two or more polynucleotide sequences, as determined by comparing the sequences. Generally, identical means perfect nucleotide-to-nucleotide or amino acid-to-amino acid correspondence for the two polynucleotide sequences or the two polypeptide sequences, respectively, over the entire length of the sequences being compared. Means

“% Identity” can be used to determine “% identity” for sequences that do not completely match. Generally, two sequences to be compared are aligned and the greatest correlation between the sequences is obtained. This includes inserting "gaps" in one or both sequences to increase the degree of alignment. % Identity is particularly suitable for sequences of identical or very similar length, over the full length of each compared sequence (so-called global alignment), or more suitable for sequences of unequal length, shorter Over a limited length (so-called local alignment), it can be determined.

“Similarity” is an even more elaborate measure of the relatedness between two polypeptide sequences. In general, “similarity” refers to a residue-by-residue comparison between the amino acids of two polypeptide chains, including the residue from each compared sequence (in terms of identity). In the absence of a perfect match between group pairs, as well as in the absence of a perfect match, one considers, on an evolutionary basis, whether a residue may have replaced another residue. This possibility has an associated "score" from which the "% identity" of the two sequences can be subsequently determined.

[0071] Methods for comparing the identity and similarity of two or more sequences are known in the art. Therefore, for example, Wisconsin sequence analysis package version 9.1 (Wisco
Program (Dev) available in nsin Sequence Analysis Package, version 9.1
ereux J et al., Nucleic Acids Res, 12, 387-395, 1984, Genetic Computer Group
The% identity between two polynucleotides, the% identity and% similarity between two polypeptide sequences, for example, using the BESTFIT and GAP programs (available from Madison, Wisconsin, USA). Can be determined. BESTFIT
Are described in Smith and Waterman (J Mol Biol, 147, 195-197, 1981, Advances in App.
lied Mathematics, 2, 482-489, 1981), using the "local homology" algorithm to find the best single region of similarity between two sequences. BESTFIT is more suitable for comparing two polynucleotide or two polypeptide sequences of different length, and the program assumes that shorter sequences represent portions of longer sequences. In comparison, GAP was Neddleman and
Align the two sequences according to Wunsch's algorithm (J Mol Biol, 48, 443-453, 1970) and find the “maximum similarity”. GAP is more suitable for comparing sequences of approximately the same length, and alignment is expected over its entire length. Preferably, the parameters “gap weight” and “length weight” used in each program are 50 and 3 for polynucleotide sequences and 12 and 4 for polypeptide sequences, respectively. Preferably, the% identity and similarity are
It is determined when the two sequences being compared are optimally aligned.

Other programs for determining identity and / or similarity between sequences are also known in the art. For example, BLAST family programs (Altschul S
F et al., J Mol Biol, 215, 403-410, 1990, Altschul SF et al., Nucleic Acids Res.,
25: 389-3402, 1997) is the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI; Bethes)
da, Maryland, USA) and the NCBI homepage (www.ncbi.nlm.
nih.gov). And FASTA (Pearson WR, Methods i
n Enzymology, 183, 63-99, 1990; Pearson WR and Lipman DJ, Proc Nat Ac
ad Sci USA, 85, 2444-2448, 1998) is available as part of the Wisconsin sequence analysis package.

Preferably, the BLOSUM62 amino acid substitution matrix (Henikoff S and Henikoff J
G. Proc. Nat. Acd. Sci. USA, 89, 10915-10919, 1992) is used for polypeptide sequence comparisons, including first translating the nucleotide sequence into an amino acid sequence prior to comparison.

[0074] Preferably, the BESTFIT program is used to determine the percent identity of a query polynucleotide or polypeptide sequence with respect to a reference polynucleotide or polypeptide sequence, and to optimally align the query and reference sequence. , And sets the parameters of the program to default values as described above.

“Identity index” is a measure of sequence relatedness that can be used to compare a candidate sequence (polynucleotide or polypeptide) to a reference sequence. Thus, for example, a candidate polynucleotide sequence having, for example, an identity index of 0.95 as compared to a reference polynucleotide sequence, except that the candidate polynucleotide sequence can contain an average of up to 5 differences each for 100 nucleotides of the reference sequence. Identical to the sequence.
Such differences are selected from the group consisting of at least one nucleotide deletion, substitution (including transposition, inversion or insertion). These differences may be at the 5 'or 3' end of the reference polynucleotide sequence, or at any position between these terminal positions, either individually in the nucleotides of the reference sequence or in the reference sequence. 1
The above continuous groups can be interposed. In other words, to obtain a polynucleotide sequence having an identity index of 0.95 as compared to the reference polynucleotide sequence, as described above, an average of up to five deletions, substitutions, or insertions per 100 nucleotides in the reference sequence are made. Or any combination thereof. The same applies mutatis mutandis to other values of the identity index (eg 0.96, 0.97.0.98 and 0.99).

Similarly, for a polypeptide, a candidate polypeptide sequence having, for example, an identity index of 0.95, as compared to a reference polypeptide sequence, will have an average difference of up to 5 amino acids per 100 amino acids in the reference sequence. It is identical to the reference sequence except that it can be included.
The difference is selected from the group consisting of a deletion, substitution (including conservative and non-conservative amino acid substitutions) or insertion of at least one amino acid, wherein the difference is at the amino or carboxy terminal position of the reference polypeptide sequence, or And may intervene individually between amino acids in the reference sequence, or as one or more contiguous groups within the reference sequence. In other words, to obtain a polypeptide sequence having an identity index of 0.95 as compared to the reference polypeptide sequence, an average of up to 5 amino acids per 100 amino acids in the reference sequence is deleted, substituted, or substituted as described above. It may be inserted or any combination thereof. The same applies mutatis mutandis to other values of the identity index (eg 0.96, 0.97, 0.98 and 0.99).

[0077] relationship between the number and the identity index difference of nucleotide or amino acid is represented by the following formula: n _a ≦ x _a - in (x _a · I) formula, n _a nucleotide or amino acid differences is a number, x _a, respectively, a nucleotide total number or the total number of amino acids of SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ ID NO: 2, I is the identity index, • is the symbol for the multiplication operator, and non of x _a and I integer product is truncated to the nearest integer prior to subtracting it from x _a.

“Homolog” is a general term used in the art to indicate a polynucleotide or polypeptide sequence that has a high degree of sequence relatedness to a reference sequence. Such an association can be quantified by determining the degree of identity and / or similarity between the two sequences as described above. The terms corresponding to such general terms include "ortholog" and "paralog". "Ortholog" means a polynucleotide or polypeptide that is a functional equivalent of a polynucleotide or polypeptide in another species. "Paralog" refers to a polynucleotide or polypeptide functionally similar in the same species.

“Fusion protein” refers to a protein encoded by two, often unrelated, fused genes or fragments thereof. As an example, EP-A-0 4
64 ^*** describes fusion proteins comprising various portions of the constant region of an immunoglobulin molecule and other human proteins or portions thereof. In many cases,
For use in therapy and diagnostics, immunoglobulins may be used as part of the fusion protein.
It is advantageous to use the Fc region, which leads to, for example, improved pharmacokinetic properties (see, for example, EP-A-0232262). On the other hand, for some uses it may be desirable to remove the Fc portion after expressing, detecting and purifying the fusion protein.

All publications and references, including patents and patent application specifications, cited in this specification are as if each publication and reference were explicitly and individually indicated. , The entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, any patent application on which this application claims priority is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety in the form as set forth above for publications and references.

Sequence information SEQ ID NO: 1

SEQ ID NO: 2

SEQ ID NO: 3

SEQ ID NO: 4

[Sequence list]

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) C12N 1/21 C12P 21/02 C 4H045 5/10 C12Q 1/02 C12P 21/02 1/68 A C12Q 1 / 02 G01N 33/15 Z 1/68 33/50 Z G01N 33/15 33/53 D 33/50 33/566 33/53 C12N 15/00 ZNAA 33/566 5/00 A (72) Inventor Duckworth, David, Malcolm United Kingdom CM 195 ev. FB03 FB07 4B024 AA01 AA11 BA80 CA04 EA06 GA11 HA03 4B063 QA01 QA18 QQ02 QQ08 QQ20 QQ43 QQ53 QQ79 QR48 QR55 QR59 QR62 QR77 QR80 QR82 QS05 QS24 QS25 QS33 QS34 4B064 AG01 CA19 CC24 DA13 DA14 4B065 AA93Y AB01 AC14 CA24 CA45 CA46 4H045 AA10 AA11 AA20 EA30 EA50 EA50

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An isolated polypeptide selected from the group consisting of (a) to (d): (a) an isolated polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 (B) an isolated polypeptide comprising a polypeptide sequence having at least 95% identity to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; (c) at least 95% identity to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 And (d) fragments and variants of the polypeptide according to (a) to (c). 2. The isolated polypeptide of claim 1, comprising the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. 3. The isolated polypeptide of claim 1, which is the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. 4. An isolated polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of: (a) to (f): (a) a polynucleotide sequence having at least 95% identity to the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 (B) an isolated polynucleotide having at least 95% identity to the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1, (c) at least 95% identity to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 (D) a polynucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence having at least 95% identity to the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2. (E) a labeled protein having the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 under stringent hybridization conditions. An isolated polynucleotide having a nucleotide sequence of at least 100 nucleotides obtained by screening the library using the library, or a fragment thereof having at least 15 nucleotides. (F) The polynucleotide according to (a) to (e), A polynucleotide which is an RNA equivalent of a nucleotide; or a polynucleotide sequence which is complementary to said isolated polynucleotide; and a polynucleotide which is a variant and fragment of said polynucleotide,
Or a polynucleotide complementary to the above-mentioned polynucleotide over its entire length. 5. The isolated polynucleotide according to claim 4, which is selected from the group consisting of the following (a) to (d): (a) an isolated polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1 A polynucleotide, (b) an isolated polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1, (c) an isolated polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, and (d) a polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 2. An isolated polynucleotide encoding a peptide. 6. An expression system containing a polynucleotide capable of producing the polypeptide of claim 1 when the expression vector is present in a compatible host cell. 7. A recombinant host cell containing the expression vector according to claim 6,
Or a cell membrane expressing the polypeptide of claim 1. 8. Culturing the host cell of claim 7 under conditions sufficient to produce the polypeptide of claim 1, and recovering the polypeptide from the culture medium. A method for producing the polypeptide according to claim 1. 9. An antibody immunospecific for the polypeptide according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 10. A screening method for identifying a compound that stimulates or suppresses the function or level of the polypeptide according to claim 1, comprising: (a) a candidate compound and the polypeptide (or the polypeptide; (B) expressing or binding to the candidate compound in a quantitative or qualitative manner by using a label directly or indirectly bound to the candidate compound; Measuring the competition for binding to the polypeptide (or a cell expressing the polypeptide or its membrane) or its fusion protein in the presence of a labeled competitor; (c) determining whether the candidate compound Whether activation or suppression results in a signal produced is determined using a detection system suitable for the cell or cell membrane expressing the polypeptide. (D) preparing a mixture by combining the candidate compound and a solution containing the polypeptide of claim 1, measuring the activity of the polypeptide in the mixture, and measuring the activity of the mixture. Is compared with a control mixture containing no candidate compound at all, or (e) detecting the effect of the candidate compound on mRNA encoding the polypeptide in cells and production of the polypeptide using an ELISA assay or the like. The screening method, comprising a method selected from the group consisting of: 11. An isolated polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of: (a) a nucleotide having at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO: 3 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 3 An isolated polynucleotide comprising the sequence; (b) an isolated polynucleotide comprising the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 3; (c) a polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 3; or (d) a SEQ ID NO: 4 amino acids and at least 95
An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a polypeptide having 100% identity. 12. A polypeptide selected from the group consisting of the following (a) to (e): (a) at least 95% of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 4
A polypeptide having an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 over the entire length of SEQ ID NO: 4; (c) an amino acid having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 (D) a polypeptide that is the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 4, or (e) a polypeptide that is encoded by a polynucleotide that includes the sequence contained in SEQ ID NO: 3.