WO1993014123A1

WO1993014123A1 - A novel human kunitz-type protease inhibitor and variants thereof

Info

Publication number: WO1993014123A1
Application number: PCT/DK1993/000006
Authority: WO
Inventors: Fanny Norris; Kjeld Norris; Søren Erik BJØRN; Lars Christian Petersen; Ole Hvilsted Olsen; Donald Cameron Foster; Cindy Ann Sprecher
Original assignee: Novo Nordisk A/S
Priority date: 1992-01-07
Filing date: 1993-01-07
Publication date: 1993-07-22
Also published as: EP0621873B1; EP0621873A1; ES2123635T3; DE69321342T2; US5618696A; CA2127247A1; JPH07504652A; HUT70291A; ATE171712T1; AU670059B2; FI943235A; NZ246571A; HU9401989D0; KR940703860A; JP3345420B2; NO942553L; NO942553D0; DE69321342D1; IL104314A0; FI943235A0

Abstract

Human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor comprising the following amino acid sequence Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr (SEQ ID No. 1) or a variant thereof with protease inhibitor properties.

Description

A NOVEL HUMAN KUNITZ-TYPE PROTEASE INHIBITOR AND VARIANTS THEREOF

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novel human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor and variants thereof, DNA encoding the novel inhibitor or variants, a method of producing the novel inhibitor or variants and a pharmaceutical composition containing the novel inhibitor or variants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (neutrophils or PMNs) and mononuclear phagocytes (monocytes) play an important part in tissue injury, infection, acute and chronic inflammation and wound healing. The cells migrate from the blood to the site of inflammation and, following appropriate stimulation, they release oxidant compounds (O₂● , O₂-, H₂O₂ and HOCl) as well as granules containing a variety of proteolytic enzymes. The secretory granules contain, i.a., alkaline phosphatase, metalloproteinases such as gelatinase and collagenase and serine proteases such as neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G and proteinase 3.

Latent metalloproteinases are released together with tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP). The activation mechanism has not been fully elucidated, but it is likely that oxidation of thiol groups and/or proteolysis play a part in the process. Also, free metalloproteinase activity is dependent on inactivation of TIMP.

In the azurophil granules of the leukocytes, the serine proteases neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G and proteinase-3 are packed as active enzymes pomplexed with glucosaminoglycans.

These complexes are inactive but dissociate on secretion to release the active enzymes. To neutralise the protease activity, large amounts of the inhibitors α₁-proteinase inhibitor (α₁-PI) and α₁-chymotrypsin inhibitor (α₁-ChI) are found in plasma. However, the PMNs are able to inactivate the inhibitors locally. Thus, α₁-PI which is the most important inhibitor of neutrophil elastase is sensitive to oxidation at the reactive centre (Met-358) by oxygen metabolites produced by triggered PMNs. This reduces the affinity of α₁-PI for neutrophil elastase by approximately 2000 times.

After local neutralisation of α₁-PI, the elastase is able to degrade a number of inhibitors of other proteolytic enzymes. Elastase cleaves α₁-Chl and thereby promotes cathepsin G activity. It also cleaves TIMP, resulting in tissue degradation by metalloproteinases. Furthermore, elastase cleaves antithrombin III and heparin cofactor II, and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) which probably promotes clot formation. On the other hand, the ability of neutrophil elastase to degrade coagulation factors is assumed to have the opposite effect so that the total effect of elastase is unclear. The effect of neutrophil elastase on fibrinolysis is less ambiguous. Fibrinolytic activity increases when the elastase cleaves the plasminogen activator inhibitor and the α₂ plasmin inhibitor. Besides, both of these inhibitors are oxidated and inactivated by O₂ metabolites.

PMNs contain large quantities of serine proteases, and about 200 mg of each of the leukocyte proteases are released daily to deal with invasive agents in the body. Acute. inflammation leads to a many-fold increase in the amount of enzyme released. Under normal conditions, proteolysis is kept at an acceptably low level by large amounts of the inhibitors α₁-PI, α₁-ChI and α₂ macroglobulin. There is some indication, however, that a number of chronic diseases is caused by pathological proteolysis due to overstimulation of the PMNs, for instance caused by autoimmune response, chronic infection, tobacco smoke or other irritants, etc. Aprotinin (bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor) is known to inhibit various serine proteases, including trypsin, chymotrypsin, plasmin and kallikrein, and is used therapeutically in the treatment of acute pancreatitis, various states of shock syndrome, hyperfibrinolytic haemorrhage and myocardial infarction (cf., for instance, J.E. Trapnell et al, Brit. J. Surg. 61, 1974, p. 177; J. McMichan et al., Circulatory shock 9, 1982, p. 107; L.M. Auer et al., Acta Neurochir. 49, 1979, p. 207; G. Sher, Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 129, 1971 , p. 164; and B. Schneider, Artzneim. -Forsch. 26, 1976, p. 1606). Administration of aprotinin in high doses significantly reduces blood loss in connection with cardiac surgery, including cardiopulmonary bypass operations (cf., for instance, B.P. Bidstrup et al., J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 97, 1989, pp. 364-372; W. van Oeveren et al., Ann. Thorac. Surg. 44, 1987, pp. 640-645). It has previously been demonstrated (cf. H.R. Wenzel and H. Tschesche, Angew. Chem. Internat. Ed. 20, 1981, p. 295) that certain aprotinin analogues, e.g. aprotinin(1-58, Vall5) exhibits a relatively high selectivity for granulocyte elastase and an inhibitory effect on collagenase, aprotinin (1-58, Alal5) has a weak effect on elastase, while aprotinin (3-58, Arg15, Ala17, Ser42) exhibits an excellent plasmakallikrein inhibitory effect (cf. WO 89/10374).

However, when administered in vivo, aprotinin has been found to have a nephrotoxic effect in rats, rabbits and dogs after repeated injections of relatively high doses of aprotinin (Bayer, Trasylol, Inhibitor of proteinase; E. Glaser et al. in "Verhandlungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Innere Medizin, 78. Kongress", Bergmann, München, 1972, pp. 1612-1614). The nephrotoxicity (i.a. appearing in the form of lesions) observed for aprotinin might be ascribed to the accumulation of aprotinin in the proximal tubulus cells of the kidneys as a result of the high positive net charge of aprotinin which causes it to be bound to the negatively charged surfaces of the tubuli.. This nephrotoxicity makes aprotinin less suitable for clinical purposes, in particular those requiring administration of large doses of the inhibitor (such as cardiopulmonary bypass operations). Besides, aprotinin is a bovine protein which may therefore contain one or more epitopes which may give rise to an undesirable immune response on administration of aprotinin to humans.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to identify human protease inhibitors of the same type as aprotinin (i.e. Kunitz-type inhibitors) with a similar inhibitor profile or modified to exhibit a desired inhibitor profile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a novel human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor comprising the following amino acid sequence

Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr (SEQ ID No. 1) or a variant thereof with protease inhibitor properties. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a variant of this inhibitor comprising the following amino acid sequence

X¹ Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu X² Gly X³ Cys X⁴ X⁵ X⁶ X⁷ X⁸ X⁹ Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe X¹⁰ Tyr Gly Gly Cys X¹¹ X¹² X¹³ Ser Asn Asn Phe X¹⁴ X¹⁵ X¹⁶ Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe X¹⁷ (SEQ ID No. 2) wherein X¹ represents H or 1-5 naturally occurring amino acid residues except Cys, X²-X¹⁶ each independently represents a naturally occurring amino acid residue except Cys, and X¹⁷ represents OH or 1-5 naturally occurring amino acid residues except Cys, with the proviso that at least one of the amino acid residues X¹-X¹⁷ is different from the corresponding amino acid residue of the native sequence.

In the present context, the term "naturally occurring amino acid residue" is intended to indicate any one of the 20 commonly occurring amino acids, i.e. Ala, Val, Leu, lle Pro, Phe, Trp, Met, Gly, Ser, Thr, Cys, Tyr, Asn, Gln, Asp, Glu, Lys, Arg and His. The novel inhibitor was isolated from a human genomic DNA library by homology PCR ( polymerase chain reaction) cloning. The amino acid sequences of known human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domains were aligned together with that of aprotinin, and two regions, I and II, corresponding to aprotinin amino acid residues 12-16 and 35-38, respectively, were identified. Degenerate PCR primers were designed corresponding to homology region I and degenerate PCR primers were designed corresponding to homology region II. The PCR primers carried a 5'-extension containing a restriction recognition site for cloning purposes. From the PCR experiment involving two of the primers a DNA sequence corresponding to a novel Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain was identified. This DNA sequence was used as a probe for the isolation of the full length DNA sequence by screening a human genomic cosmid library. The isolation procedure is described in further detail in example 1 below with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. In the following, the novel inhibitor is referred to a HKI B9.

By substituting one or more amino acids in one or more of the positions indicated above, it may be possible to change the inhibitor profile of HKI B9 so that it preferentially inhibits neutrophil elastase, cathepsin G and/or proteinase-3. Furthermore, it may be possible to construct variants which specifically inhibit enzymes involved in coagulation or fibrinolysis (e.g. plasmin or plasma kallikrein) or the complement cascade. One advantage of HKI B9 is that it has a net charge of zero as opposed to aprotinin which, as indicated above, has a strongly positive net charge. It is therefore possible to construct variants of the invention with a lower positive net charge than aprotinin, thereby reducing the risk of kidney damage on administration of large doses of the variants. Another advantage is that, contrary to aprotinin, it is a human protein (fragment) so that undesired immunological reactions on administration to humans are significantly reduced.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Examples of preferred variants of HKI B9 are variants wherein X¹ is Asp-Leu-Leu-Pro; or wherein X² is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Thr, Asp, Pro, Glu, Lys, Gln, Ser, lle and Val, in particular wherein X² is Thr or Lys; or wherein X³ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Pro, Thr, Leu, Arg, Val and lle, in particular wherein X³ is Pro or lle; or wherein X⁴ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Lys, Arg, Val, Thr, lle, Leu, Phe, Gly, Ser, Met, Trp, Tyr, Gln, Asn and Ala, in particular wherein X⁴ is Lys, Val, Leu, lle, Thr, Met, Gln or Arg; or wherein X⁵ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Ala, Gly, Thr, Arg, Phe, Gln and Asp, in particular wherein X⁵ is Ala, Thr, Asp or Gly; or wherein X⁶ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Arg, Ala, Lys, Leu, Gly, His, Ser, Asp, Gln, Glu, Val, Thr, Tyr, Phe, Asn, lle and Met, in particular wherein X⁶ is Arg, Phe, Ala, Leu or Tyr; or wherein X⁷ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lle, Met, Gln, Glu, Thr, Leu, Val and Phe, in particular wherein X⁷ is lle; or wherein X⁸ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lle, Thr, Leu, Asn, Lys, Ser, Gln, Glu, Arg, Pro and Phe, in particular wherein X⁸ is lle or Thr; or wherein X⁹ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Arg, Ser, Ala, Gln, Lys and Leu, in particular wherein X⁹ is Arg; or wherein X¹⁰ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Gln, Pro, Phe, lle Lys, Trp, Ala, Thr, Leu, Ser, Tyr, His, Asp, Met, Arg and Val, in particular wherein X¹⁰ is Val or Ala; or wherein X¹¹ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Gly, Met, Gln, Glu, Leu, Arg, Lys, Pro and Asn, in particular wherein X¹¹ is Arg or Gly; or wherein X¹² is Ala or Gly; or wherein X¹³ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Lys, Asn and Asp, in particular wherein X¹³ is Lys or Asn; or wherein X¹⁴ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Val, Tyr, Asp, Glu, Thr, Gly, Leu, Ser, lle, Gln, His, Asn, Pro, Phe, Met, Ala, Arg, Trp and Lys, in particular wherein X¹⁴ is Lys or Leu; or wherein X¹⁵ is Arg, Ser or Thr; or wherein X¹⁶ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Glu, Lys, Gln and Ala, in particular wherein X¹⁶ is Lys or Ala; or wherein X¹⁷ is Thr. In a preferred embodiment, X¹ is Asp-Leu- Leu-Pro and X¹⁷ is Thr, while X²-X¹⁶ are as defined above.

Variants of HKI B9 of the invention should preferably not contain a Met residue in the protease binding region (i.e. the amino acid residues represented by X³-X¹⁴). By analogy to α1-PI described above, a Met residue in any one of these positions would make the inhibitor sensitive to oxidative inactivation by oxygen metabolites produced by PMNs, and conversely, lack of a Met residue in these positions should render the inhibitor more stable in the presence of such oxygen metabolites.

A currently preferred variant of the invention is one in which the amino acid residues located at the protease-binding site of the Kunitz inhibitor (i.e. X⁴-X¹⁴ corresponding to positions 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 34, 39, 40, 41 and 46 of aprotinin) are substituted to the amino acids present in the same positions of native aprotinin. This variant comprises the following amino acid sequence Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Lys Ala Arg lle lle Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Val Tyr Gly Gly Cys Arg Ala Lys Ser Asn Asn Phe Lys Ser Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr (SEQ ID No. 3)

In another aspect, the invention relates to a DNA construct encoding a human Kunitz-type inhibitor or variant thereof according to the invention. The DNA construct of the invention may be prepared synthetically by established standard methods, e.g. the phosphoamidite method described by S.L. Beaucage and M.H. Caruthers, Tetrahedron Letters 22, 1981, pp . 1859-1869 , or the method described by Matthes et al ., EMBO Journal 3, 1989, pp. 801-805. According to the phosphoamidite method, oligonucleotides are synthesized, e.g. in an automatic DNA synthesizer, purified, annealed, ligated and cloned in suitable vectors. Alternatively, it is possible to use genomic or cDNA coding for HKI B9 (e.g. obtained by screening a genomic library as described above). The DNA sequence may be modified at one or more sites corresponding to the site(s) at which it is desired to introduce amino acid substitutions, e.g. by site-directed mutagenesis using synthetic oligonucleotides encoding the desired amino acid sequence for homologous recombination in accordance with well-known procedures.

In a still further aspect, the invention relates to a recombinant expression vector which comprises a DNA construct of the invention. The recombinant expression vector may be any vector which may conveniently be subjected to recombinant DNA procedures, and the choice of vector will often depend on the host cell into which it is to be introduced. Thus, the vector may be an autonomously replicating vector, i.e. a vector which exists as an extrachromosomal entity, the replication of which is independent of chromosomal replication, e.g. a plasmid.

Alternatively, the vector may be one which, when introduced into a host cell, is integrated into the host cell genome and replicated together with the chromosome(s) into which it has been integrated. In the vector, the DNA sequence encoding HKI B9 or a variant thereof of the invention should be operably connected to a suitable promoter sequence. The promoter may be any DNA sequence which shows transcriptional activity in the host cell of choice and may be derived from genes encoding proteins either homologous or heterologous to the host cell. Examples of suitable promoters for directing the transcription of the DNA encoding the inhibitor of the invention in mammalian cells are the SV 40 promoter (Subramani et al., Mol. Cell Biol. 1 , 1981, pp. 854-864), the MT-1 (metallothionein gene) promoter (Palmiter et al., Science 222, 1983, pp. 809-814) or the adenovirus 2 major late promoter. Suitable promoters for use in yeast host cells include promoters from yeast glycolytic genes (Hitzeman et al., J. Biol. Chem. 255, 1980, pp. 12073- 12080; Alber and Kawasaki, J. Mol. Appl. Gen. 1, 1982, pp. 419- 434) or alcohol dehydrogenase genes (Young et al., in Genetic Engineering of Microorganisms for Chemicals (Hollaender et al, eds.), Plenum Press, New York, 1982), or the TPI1 (US 4, 599, 311) or ADH2-4C (Russell et al., Nature 304, 1983, pp. 652-654) promoters. Suitable promoters for use in filamentous fungus host cells are, for instance, the ADH3 promoter (McKnight et al., The EMBO J. 4, 1985, pp. 2093-2099) or the tpiA promoter.

The DNA sequence encoding the inhibitor of the invention may also be operably connected to a suitable terminator, such as the human growth hormone terminator (Palmiter et al., op. cit.) or (for fungal hosts) the TPI1 (Alber and Kawasaki, op. cit.) or ADH3 (McKnight et al., op. cit.) promoters. The vector may further comprise elements such as polyadenylation signals (e.g. from SV 40 or the adenovirus 5 Elb region), transcriptional enhancer sequences (e.g. the SV 40 enhancer) and translational enhancer sequences (e.g. the ones encoding adenovirus VA RNAs).

The recombinant expression vector of the invention may further comprise a DNA sequence enabling the vector to replicate in the host cell in question. An examples of such a sequence (when the host cell is a mammalian cell) is the SV 40 origin of replication, or (when the host cell is a yeast cell) the yeast plasmid 2μ replication genes REP 1-3 and origin of replication. The vector may also comprise a selectable marker, e.g. a gene the product of which complements a defect in the host cell, such as the gene coding for dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) or one which confers resistance to a drug, e.g. neomycin, hygromycin or methotrexate, or the Schizosaccharomyces pombe TPI gene (described by P.R. Russell, Gene 40, 1985, pp. 125- 130.

The procedures used to ligate the DNA sequences coding for the inhibitor of the invention, the promoter and the terminator, respectively, and to insert them into suitable vectors containing the information necessary for replication, are well known to persons skilled in the art (cf., for instance, Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 1989).

The host cell into which the expression vector of the invention is introduced may be any cell which is capable of producing the inhibitor of the invention and is preferably a eukaryotic cell, such as a mammalian, yeast or fungal cell.

The yeast organism used as the host cell according to the invention may be any yeast organism which, on cultivation, produces large quantities of the inhibitor of the invention.

Examples of suitable yeast organisms are strains of the yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces kluweri,

Schizosaccharomyces pombe or Saccharomyces uvarum, The transformation of yeast cells may for instance be effected by protoplast formation followed by transformation in a manner known per se.

Examples of suitable mammalian cell lines are the COS (ATCC CRL 1650), BHK (ATCC CRL 1632, ATCC CCL 10) or CHO (ATCC CCL 61) cell lines. Methods of transfecting mammalian cells and expressing DNA sequences introduced in the cells are described in e.g. Kaufman and Sharp, J. Mol. Biol. 159. 1982, pp. 601- 621; Southern and Berg, J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 1, 1982, pp. 327- 341; Loyter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 79, 1982, pp. 422-426; Wigler et al., Cell 14. 1978, p. 725; Corsaro and Pearson, Somatic Cell Genetics 7, 1981, p. 603, Graham and van der Eb, Virology 52, 1973, p. 456; and Neumann et al., EMBO J. 1, 1982, pp. 841-845.

Alternatively, fungal cells may be used as host cells of the invention. Examples of suitable fungal cells are cells of filamentous fungi, e.g. Aspergillus spp. or Neurospora spp., in particular strains of Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus niger. The use of Aspergillus spp. for the expression of proteins is described in, e.g., EP 238 023.

The present invention further relates to a method of producing an inhibitor according to the invention, the method comprising culturing a cell as described above under conditions conducive to the expression of the inhibitor and recovering the resulting inhibitor from the culture.

The medium used to cultivate the cells may be any conventional medium suitable for growing mammalian cells or fungal (including yeast) cells, depending on the choice of host cell. The inhibitor will be secreted by the host cells to the growth medium and may be recovered therefrom by conventional procedures including separating the cells from the medium by centrifugation or filtration, precipitating the proteinaceous components of the supernatant or filtrate by means of a salt, e.g. ammonium sulfate, purification by a variety of chromatographic procedures, e.g. ion exchange chromatography or affinity chromatography, or the like.

The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising HKI B9 or a variant thereof of the invention together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. In the composition of the invention, the variant may be formulated by any of the established methods of formulating pharmaceutical compositions, e.g. as described in Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1985. The composition may typically be in a form suited for systemic injection or infusion and may, as such, be formulated with sterile water or an isotonic saline or glucose solution.

HKI B9 or a variant thereof of the invention is therefore contemplated to be advantageous to use for the therapeutic applications suggested for native aprotinin or aprotinin analogues with other inhibitor profiles, in particular those which necessitate the use of large aprotinin doses. Therapeutic applications for which the use of the variant of the invention is indicated as a result of its ability to inhibit human serine proteases, e.g. trypsin, plasmin, kallikrein, elastase, cathepsin G and proteinase-3, include (but are not limited to) acute pancreatitis, inflammation, thrombocytopenia, preservation of platelet function, organ preservation, wound healing, shock (including shock lung) and conditions involving hyperfibrinolytic haemorrhage, emphysema, rheumatoid arthritis, adult respiratory distress syndrome, chronic inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis, in other words diseases presumed to be caused by pathological proteolysis by elastase, cathepsin G and proteinase-3 released from triggered PMNs.

Apart from the pharmaceutical use indicated above, HKI B9 or a variant thereof as specified above may be used to isolate useful natural substances, e.g. proteases or receptors from human material, which bind directly or indirectly to TFPI Kunitz-type domain II, for instance by means of screening assays or by affinity chromatography.

EXAMPLES General methods.

Standard DNA techniques were carried out as described ( Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E.F., and Maniatis, T. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY) . Synthetic oligonucleotides were prepared on an automatic DNA synthesizer (380B, Applied Biosystems) using phosphoramidite chemistry on a controlled pore glass support (Beaucage, S.L., and Caruthers, M.H., Tetrahedron Letters 22, (1981) 1859-1869). DNA sequence determinations were performed by the dideoxy chain-termination technique ( Sanger, F., Micklen, S., and Coulson, A.R., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74. (1977) 5463-5467). Polymerase chain reactions ( PCR) were performed on a DNA Thermal Cycler ( Perkin Elmer Cetus).

Amino acid analysis was carried out after hydrolysis in 6M HCl at 110°C in vacuum-sealed tubes for 24 hours. Analysis was performed on a Beckman 121MB automatic amino acid analyzer modified for microbore operation. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis was obtained by automated Edman degradation using an Applied Biosystems 470A gas-phase sequencer. Analysis by on-line reverse phase HPLC was performed for the detection and quantitation of the liberated PTH amino acids from each sequencer cycle.

Molecular weight determination was obtained on a BIO-ION 20 plasma desorption mass spectrometer (PDMS) equipped with a flight tube of approximately 15 cm and operated in positive mode. Aliquots of 5μl were analyzed at an accelerating voltage set to 15 kV and ions were collected for 5 million fission events. The accuracy on assigned molecular ions is approximately 0.1% for well defined peaks, otherwise somewhat less. Example 1

Cloning of human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain HKIB9.

A. PCR cloning.

1 μg of human placenta genomic DNA ( Clontech, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A., cat. no. 6550-2) was used as a template in each of 18 PCR reactions with 100 pmole of "right" primer A, B, C, E, F or H and 100 pmole of "left" primer X, Y or Z, see fig. 2. The PCR reactions were performed in a 100 μl volume using a commercial kit ( GeneAmp, Perkin Elmer Cetus). The reaction mixtures were heated to 95°C for 4 min, and then subjected to the following cycle: 95°C for 1 min, 50°C for 1 min, and 72°C for 1 min. After 30 cycles the temperature was kept at 72°C for 10 min.

The reaction mixtures were subjected to gel electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel and 0.1 kb DNA fragments isolated. After digestion with EcoRI and Xbal ligation to the 2.8 kb EcoRI and Xbal fragment of plasmid pTZ19R ( Pharmacia LKB, Uppsala, Sweden, code no. 27-4986-01, Mead, D. A., Szczesna-Skorupa, E. and Kemper, B. (1986) Prot. Engin. 1, 67-74) was performed. The ligation mixtures were used to transform a competent E. coli strain ( r-, m⁺) selecting for ampicillin resistance. Plasmids from the resulting colonies were analysed by digestion with EcoRI and Xbal followed by gel electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel. DNA sequencing was performed on plasmids with inserts of approximately 91 bp.

Human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domains were identified by a characteristic DNA sequence, TG(T/C)NNNNNNTT(T/C)NNN, corresponding to a region containing codons for the invariant Cys 30 and Phe 33 ( aprotinin numbering, marked with an asterix on fig. 1) in the correct distance from the two PCR primers used. Apart from known human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domains and unrelated sequences a new DNA sequence corresponding to a human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain, HKIB9, was identified from a PCR reaction involving primers B and Y. The DNA sequence between the two PCR primers of HKIB9 thus obtained and the corresponding amino acid sequence is given below:

T Y M T R W F F N F E T G E C E L F A AACCTACATGACGCGATGGTTTTTCAACTTTGAAACTGGTGAATGTGAGTTATTTGCT

The characteristic DNA sequence mentioned above is underlined.

B. Library screening.

A human genomic DNA cosmid library was constructed as follows: Human genomic DNA was isolated from human whole blood. After partial Sau3A digestion the DNA was ligated into the BamHI site of the cosmid vector pWE15 ( Stratagene, La Jolla, CA, U.S.A.). Approximately 420,000 colonies were screened using the oligonucleotide probe 4280

5' CAAATAACTCACATTCACCAGTTTCAAAGTTGAAAAACCATCGCGTCATGTAGGT 3' labeled in the 5' position with ³²P. Filters were hybridized overnight at 65°C in 5xSSC, 5x Denhardt's, 0.1% SDS. Filters were then washed in 1xSSC, 0.1%SDS at 65°C for 1 hour, and finally exposed to film. A positive cosmid was identified, and a 3.5 kb PstI fragment was isolated and subcloned into plasmid pUC18, resulting in plasmid pMb-106. DNA sequencing of pMb-106 resulted in the sequence shown in SEQ ID No. 4.

Example 2

Production of human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor domain HKIB9 from veast strain KFN-1830.

1 μg of human placenta genomic DNA ( Clontech, Palo Alto, CA, U.S.A., cat. no. 6550-2) was used as a template in a PCR reaction containing 100 pmole each of the primers N-1 (CCGTTTCTAGATTAGGTG-AACTTGCAGAATTTCTC) and N-2 (GCTGAGAGATTGGAGAAGAGAGATCTCCTCCC-AAATGT). N-1 is complementary to bases no. 346-367 in the genomic DNA sequence of HKIB9 in fig. 3 and carries a 5' extension containing a translation stop codon followed by an Xbal site. The 17 3' terminal bases of N-2 are identical to bases no. 187-207 in the genomic DNA sequence of HKIB9 in SEQ ID No. 4, and the 21 5'-terminal bases are identical to bases 215 to 235 in the synthetic leader sequence (SEQ ID No. 5) from plasmid pKFN-1000 described below.

The PCR reaction was performed in a 100μl volume using a commercial kit ( GeneAmp, Perkin Elmer Cetus) and the following cycle: 94° for 20 sec, 50° for 20 sec, and 72° for 30 sec. After 19 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min. The PCR product, a 215 bp fragment, was isolated by electrophoresis on a 2 % agarose gel.

Signal-leader: 0.1 μg of a 0.7 kb PvuII fragment from pKFN- 1000 described below was used as a template in a PCR reaction containing 100 pmole each of the primers NOR-1478 ( GTAAAAC- GACGGCCAGT) and NOR-2523 ( TCTCTTCTCCAATCTCTCAGC) . NOR-1478 is matching a sequence just upstream of the EcoRI site in SEQ ID No. 6. Primer NOR-2523 is complementary to the 17 3'-terminal bases of the synthetic leader gene of pKFN-1000, see SEQ ID No. 6. The PCR reaction was performed as described above, resulting in a 257 bp fragment.

Plasmid pKFN-1000 is a derivative of plasmid pTZ19R (Mead, D.A., Szczesna-Skorupa, E. and Kemper, B., Prot. Engin. 1 (1986) 67-74) containing DNA encoding a synthetic yeast signal- leader peptide. Plasmid pKFN-1000 is described in WO 90/10075. The DNA sequence of 235 bp downstream from the EcoRI site of pKFN-1000 and the encoded amino acid sequence of the synthetic yeast signal-leader is given in SEQ ID No. 6.

Signal-leader-HKIB9 : Approx. 0.1 μg of each of the two PCR- fragments described above were mixed. A PCR reaction was performed using 100 pmole each of primers NOR-1478 and N-1 and the following cycle: 94° for 1 min, 50° for 2 min, and 71° for 3 min. After 16 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min.

The resulting 451 bp fragment was purified by electrophoresis on a 1 % agarose gel and then digested with EcoRI and Xbal. The resulting 418 bp fragment was ligated to the 2.8 kb EcoRI-Xbal fragment from plasmid pTZ19R. The ligation mixture was used to transform a competent Ε. coli strain (r-, m⁺) selecting for ampicillin resistance. DNA sequencing showed that plasmids from the resulting colonies contained the DNA sequence for HKIB9 correctly fused to the synthetic yeast signal-leader gene. One plasmid pKFN-1826 was selected for further use.

The 418 bp EcoRI-Xbal fragment from pKFN-1826 was ligated to the 9.5 kb Ncol-Xbal fragment from pMT636 and the 1.4 kb Ncol- EcoRI fragment from pMT636, resulting in plasmid pKFN-1827.

Plasmid pMT636 is described in International Patent application No. PCT/DK88/00138. pMT636 is an E. coli - S. cerevisiae shuttle vector containing the Schizosaccharomyces pombe TPI gene (POT) (Russell, P.R., Gene 40 (1985) 125-130), the S. cerevisiae triosephosphate isomerase promoter and terminator, TPI_p and TPI_T (Alber, T., and Kawasaki, G. J. Mol. APPI. Gen. 1 (1982), 419-434).

The expression cassette of plasmid pKFN-1827 contains the following sequence:

TPI_p - KFN1000 signal-leader - HKIB9 - TPI_T

The construction of plasmid pKFN-1827 is illustrated in Fig. 3.

The DNA sequence of the 424 bp EcoRI-Xbal fragment from pKFN- 1827 is shown in SEQ ID No. 8. Yeast transformation: S. cerevisiae strain MT663 (E2-7B XE11-36 a/α, Δtpi/Δtpi, pep 4-3/pep 4-3) was grown on YPGaL (1% Bacto yeast extract, 2% Bacto peptone, 2% galactose, 1% lactate) to an O.D. at 600 nm of 0.6.

100 ml of culture was harvested by centrifugation, washed with 10 ml of water, recentrifugated and resuspended in 10 ml of a solution containing 1.2 M sorbitol, 25 mM Na₂EDTA pH = 8.0 and 6.7 mg/ml dithiotreitol. The suspension was incubated at 30°C for 15 minutes, centrifuged and the cells resuspended in 10 ml of a solution containing 1.2 M sorbitol, 10 mM Na₂EDTA, 0.1 M sodium citrate, pH = 5.8, and 2 mg Novozym^(R) 234. The suspension was incubated at 30°C for 30 minutes, the cells collected by centrifugation, washed in 10 ml of 1.2 M sorbitol and 10 ml of CAS (1.2 M sorbitol, 10 mM CaCl₂, 10 mM Tris HCl (Tris = Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane) pH = 7.5) and resuspended in 2 ml of CAS. For transformation, 0.1 ml of CAS- resuspended cells were mixed with approx. 1 μg of plasmid pKFN- 1827 and left at room temperature for 15 minutes. 1 ml of (20% polyethylene glycol 4000, 20 mM CaCl₂, 10 mM CaCl₂, 10 mM Tris HCl, pH = 7.5) was added and the mixture left for a further 30 minutes at room temperature. The mixture was centrifuged and the pellet resuspended in 0.1 ml of SOS (1.2 M sorbitol, 33% v/v YPD, 6.7 mM CaCl₂, 14 μg/ml leucine) and incubated at 30ºC for 2 hours. The suspension was then centrifuged and the pellet resuspended in 0.5 ml of 1.2 M sorbitol. Then, 6 ml of top agar (the SC medium of Sherman et al., (Methods in Yeast Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1982)) containing 1.2 M sorbitol plus 2.5% agar) at 52°C was added and the suspension poured on top of plates containing the same agar-solidified, sorbitol containing medium.

Transformant colonies were picked after 3 days at 30°C, reisolated and used to start liquid cultures. One such transformant KFN-1830 was selected for further characterization.

Fermentation: Yeast strain KFN-1830 was grown on YPD medium ( 1% yeast extract, 2% peptone ( from Difco Laboratories), and 3% glucose). A 200 ml culture of the strain was shaken at 30°C to an optical density at 650 nm of 24. After centrifugation the supernatant was isolated.

The yeast supernatant was adjusted to pH 3.0 with 5% acetic acid and phosphoric acid and applied a column of S-Sepharose Fast Flow (Pharmacia) and equilibrated with 50 mM formic acid, pH 3.7. After wash with equilibration buffer, the HKI-domain was eluted with 1 M sodium chloride. Desalting was obtained on a Sephadex G-25 column (Pharmacia) equilibrated and eluted with 0.1% ammonium hydrogen carbonate, pH 7.9. After concentraton by vacuum centifugation and adjustment of pH 3.0 further purification was performed on a Mono S column (Pharmacia) equilibrated with 50 mM formic acid, pH 3.7. After washing with equilibration buffer, gradient elution was carried out from 0 -

1 M sodium chloride in equilibration buffer. Final purification was performed by reverse phase HPLC on a Vydac C4 column (The Separation Group, CA) with gradient elution from 5-55% acetonitrile, 0.1% TFA. The purified product was lyophilised by vacuum centrifugation and redissolved in water.

Aliquots were analysed by mass PD-mass spectrometry (found: MW 6853,5, calculated: MW 6853-8) and N-terminal amino acid sequencing for 45 Edman degradation cycles confirmed the primary structure of the HKI B9 domain.

Example 3

Multiple mutation of HKIB9 in position 15 and 16.

0. 1 μg of the 1.3 kb Sphl-BamHI fragment encoding HKIB9 from plasmid pKFN-1827 was used as a template in two PCR reactions . In the first PCR reaction 100 pmole each of the primers NOR- 2 0 2 2 ( GGAG T T TAGT GAA C TT G C ) a n d M - 7 5 2 ( GAAAAACCATCGCGTCATGTAG(C/G) C-

(C/G)A(A/C)ACAAGGGC) was used. In the second PCR reaction 100 pmole each of the primers NOR-1495 (TAAGTGGCTCAGAATGA) and M- 751 (GCCCTTGT(T/G)T(C/G)G(C/G)CTACATGACGCGATGGTTTTTC) was used. NOR-2022 primes at a position 94 bp downstream of the SphI site. M-752 is complementary to the HKIB9 DNA-sequence position 276-310 of SEQ ID No. 8 except for five mismatches. NOR-1495 primes at a position 561 bp upstream from the BamHI site. M-751 is complementary to M-752.

The PCR reaction was performed in a 100μl volume using a commercial kit ( GeneAmp, Perkin Elmer Cetus) and the following cycle: 95° for 1 min, 50° for 1 min, and 72° for 2 min. After 24 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min. The PCR products, a 449 bp fragment from the first PCR and a 279 bp fragment from the second, were isolated by electrophoresis on a 2 % agarose gel.

Approx. 0.1 μg of each of the two PCR-fragments described above were mixed. A PCR reaction was performed using 100 pmole each of primers NOR-2022 and NOR-1495 and the following cycle: 95° for 1 min, 50° for 2 min, and 72° for 3 min. After 22 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min.

The resulting 693 bp fragment was purified by electrophoresis on a 1 % agarose gel and then digested with EcoRI and Xbal. The resulting 418 bp fragment was ligated to the 2.8 kb EcoRI-Xbal fragment from plasmid pTZ19R ( Mead, D. A., Szczesna-Skopura, E., and Kemper, B. Prot. Engin. 1 (1986) 67-74).

The ligation mixture was used to transform a competent E. coli strain r-, m⁺) selecting for ampicillin resistance. By DNA sequencing the following five plasmids encoding the indicated HKIB9 analogs fused to the synthetic yeast signal-leader gene were identified:

Plasmid Analog

pKFN-1892 [Q15V, T16G]-HKIB9 pKFN-1916 [Q15V, T16A]-HKIB9 pKFN-1909 [Q15F, T16G] -HKIB9 pKFN-1912 [Q15F, T16A]-HKIB9

pKFN-1913 [Q15L, T16AJ-HKIB9

The 418 bp EcoRI-Xbal fragments from these plasmids were used for the construction of the expression plasmids as described in example 2.

Transformation of yeast strain MT-663 as described in example 2 resulted in the following yeast strains:

Yeast strain Analog

KFN-1902 [Q15V, T16G]-HKIB9

KFN-1930 [Q15V, T16A]-HKIB9

KFN-1932 [Q15F, T16G]-HKIB9

KFN-1965 [Q15F, T16A]-HKIB9

KFN-1966 [Q15L, T16A]-HKIB9

Culturing of the transformed yeast strains in YPD-medium was performed as described in example 2.

Example 4.

Production of [015K]-HKIB9 and [015K, T16A]-HKIB9 from veast strains KFN-1974 and KFN-1975. 0.1 μg of the 1.3 kb Sphl-BamHI fragment encoding HKIB9 from plasmid pKFN-1827 was used as a template in two PCR reactions.

In the first PCR reaction 100 pmole each of the primers NOR-

2022 ( G G A G T T T A G T G A A C T T G C) and M-755

(GCGTCATGTAGG (C/T) TTTACAAGGGC

was used. In the second PCR reaction 100 pmole each of the primers NOR-1495 (TAAGTGGCTCAGAATGA) and M-759 (GCCCTTGTAAA-

(G/A)CCTACATGACGC) was used.

NOR-2022 primes at a position 94 bp downstream of the SphI site. M-755 is complementary to the HKIB9 DNA-sequence position 276-299, SEQ ID No. 8, except for two mismatches. NOR-1495 primes at a position 561 bp upstream from the BamHI site. M-759 is complementary to M-755. The PCR reaction was performed in a 100μl volume using a commercial kit ( GeneAmp, Perkin Elmer Cetus) and the following cycle: 95° for 1 min, 50° for 1 min, and 72° for 2 min. After 24 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min. The PCR products, a 438 bp fragment from the first PCR and a 279 bp fragment from the second, were isolated by electrophoresis on a 2 % agarose gel.

Approx. 0.1 μg of each of the two PCR-fragments described above were mixed. A PCR reaction was performed using 100 pmole each of primers NOR-2022 and NOR-1495 and the following cycle: 95° for 1 min, 50° for 2 min, and 72° for 3 min. After 22 cycles a final cycle was performed in which the 72° step was maintained for 10 min. The resulting 693 bp fragment was purified by electrophoresis on a 1 % agarose gel and then digested with EcoRI and Xbal. The resulting 418 bp fragment was ligated to the 2.8 kb EcoRI-Xbal fragment from plasmid pTZ19R ( Mead, D. A., Szczesna-Skopura, E., and Kemper, B. Prot. Engin. 1 (1986) 67-74).

The ligation mixture was used to transform a competent Ε . coli strain r-, m⁺) selecting for ampicillin resistance. By DNA sequencing the following two plasmids encoding the indicated HKIB9 analogs fused to the synthetic yeast signal-leader gene were identified:

Plasmid Analog

pKFN-1919 [Q15K]-HKIB9

pKFN-1921 [Q15K, T16A]-HKIB9

The 418 bp EcoRI-Xbal fragments from these plasmids were used for the construction of the expression plasmids as described in example 2. Transformation of yeast strain MT-663 as described in example 2 resulted in the following yeast strains: Yeast strain Analog

KFN-1974 [Q15K]-HKIB9

KFN-1975 [Q15K, T16A]-HKIB9 Culturing of the transformed yeast strains in YPD-medium was performed as described in example 2.

Example 5 Inhibition of serine proteinases by HKIB9 variants KFN 1902 and 1930

The Kunitz domain variants were purified from yeast culture medium by the method described in example 2.

Their concentration was determined from the absorbance at 214 nm using aprotinin as a standard. Porcine trypsin was obtained from Novo Nordisk A/S, bovine chymotrypsin (TLCK treated) was obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO, USA). Human neutrophil cathepsin G and elastase were purified from extracts of PMNs according to the method described by Baugh and Travis, Biochemistry 15, 1976, pp. 836-843.

Peptidyl nitroanilide substrates S2251 and S2586 were obtained from Kabi (Stockholm, Sweden). S7388 and M4765 were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co.

Serine proteinases were incubated with various concentrations of the variants for 30 minutes. Substrate was then added and residual proteinase activity was measured at 405 nm.

KFN 1902 and KFN 1930 were found to be inhibitors of neutrophil elastase, K₁=140 nm and 64 nM, respectively, and to slightly inhibit chymotrypsin (5%) at 1 μM, but not to inhibit trypsin and cathepsin G under these conditions.

The experiment shows that it is possible to convert a Kunitz domain with no known inhibitory function into an elastase inhibitor.

SEQUENCE LISTING

(1) GENERAL .INFORMATTON:

(i) APPLICANT:

(A) NAME: Novo Nordisk A/S

(B) STREET: Novo Alle

(C) CITY: Bagsvaerd

(E) COUNTRY: Denmark

(F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP) : DK-2880

(G) TELEPHONE: +45 4444 8888

(H) TELEFFX: +45 4449 3256

(I) TELEX: 37304

(ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: A Novel Human Kunitz-Type Protease Inhibitor and Variants Thereof

(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 9

(iv) COMPUTER READABLE FORM:

(A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk

(B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible

(C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS

(D) SOFTWARE: Patentln Release #1.0, Version #1.25 (EPO)

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 1:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 60 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Homo sapiens

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1:

Asp Lsu Lsu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys 1 5 10 15

Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys

20 25 30

Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu

35 40 45

Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr

50 55 60

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 57 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: synthetic

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 2:

Xaa Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Xaa Gly Xaa Cys Xaa Xaa Xaa 1 5 10 15

Xaa Xaa Xaa Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe

20 25 30

Xaa Tyr Gly Gly Cys Xaa Xaa Xaa Ser Asn Asn Phe Xaa Xaa Xaa Glu

35 40 45

Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe cys Lys Phe Xaa

50 55

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 3:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 60 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: synthetic

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 3:

Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys 1 5 10 15

Lys Ala Arg lle lle Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys

20 25 30

Glu leu Phe Val Tyr Gly Gly Cys Arg Ala Lys Ser Asn Asn Phe Lys

35 40 45

Ser Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr

50 55 60

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 4:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 502 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (geriσmic)

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: Homo sapiens

(ix) FEATURE:

(A) NAME/KEY: CDS

(B) LOCATION: 187..366

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 4:

AAATGTCAAC TTCTGTGTAG ACAGATCAGA CCATAGCTGG GTAGAAAGAG GTACAGAGCA 60

CAGCCATTGT GGATGGCCTC ACAATTGTGC CCAGGGCTGT CACAGCCCCT GGCATATGAG 120

GCAAACAAGG AGAAGGTGAT GGGTTTGGTC TCCTTCAACC ACTTTCTCTC TTCAGACACT 180

ATCAAG GAT CTC CTC CCΑ AAT GTA TGC GCT TTT CCT ATG GAA AAG GGC 228 Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly

1 5 10

CCT TGT CAA ACC TAC ATG ACG CGA TGG TIT TTC AAC TTT GAA ACT GGT 276 Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly

15 20 25 30

GAA TGT GAG TTA TTT GCT TAC GGA GGC TGC GGA GGC AAC AGC AAC AAC 324 Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn

35 40 45

TTT TTG AGG AAA GAA AAA TGT GAG AAA TTC TGC AAG TTC ACC 366 Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr

50 55 60

TGATTTTCTA ACAAGAACAC AGCCCTCCAT GGATTOGGGA TTGCTCTGAG GGCCAIAGAA 426

GGCATTTGCG TGTGTGTGTG TGTGTGTGTG TGAACAAGAG GTTCATTTCC TCTACCCCCA 486

CATTTAITCT CCCTGA 502

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 60 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 5: Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys

1 5 10 15

Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys

20 25 30

Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu

35 40 45

Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr

50 55 60

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 6:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 235 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: synthetic

(ix) FEATURE:

(A) NAME/KEY: CDS

(B) LOCAITON: 77..235

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 6:

GAATTCCATT CAAGAATAGT TCAAACAAGA AGATTACAAA CTATCAATTT CATACACAAT 60

ATAAACGACC AAAAGA ATG AAG GCT GTT TTC TTG GTT TTG TCC TTG ATC 109

Met Lys Ala Val Phe Lsu Val Leu Ser Leu lle

1 5 10

GGA TTC TGC TGG GCC CAA CCA GTC ACT GGC GAT GAA TCA TCT GTT GAG 157 Gly Phe Cys Trp Ala Gln Pro Val Thr Gly Asp Glu Ser Ser Val Glu

15 20 25

ATT CCG GAA GAG TCT CTG ATC ATC GCT GAA AAC ACC ACT TTG GCT AAC 205Ile Pro Glu Glu Ser Leu lle lle Ala Glu Asn Thr Thr leu Ala Asn

30 35 40

GTC GCC ATG GCT GAG AGA TTG GAG AAG AGA 235

Val Ala Met Ala Glu Arg leu Glu Lys Arg

45 50

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 53 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein

(Xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 7:

Met Lys Ala Val Phe Leu Val Leu Ser Leu Ile Gly Phe Cys Trp Ala

1 5 10 15

Gln Pro Val Thr Gly Asp Glu Ser Ser Val Glu Ile Pro Glu Glu Ser

20 25 30

Leu Ile Ile Ala Glu Asn Thr Thr Leu Ala Asn Val Ala Met Ala Glu

35 40 45

Arg Leu Glu Lys Arg

50

(2) INFORMAITON FOR SEQ ID NO: 8:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 424 base pairs

(B) TYPE: nucleic acid

(C) STRANDEDNESS: single

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA

(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:

(A) ORGANISM: synthetic/human

(ix) FEATURE:

(A) NAME/KEY: sig_peptide

(B) LOCAITON: 77..235

(ix) FEATURE:

(A) NAME/KEY: mat_peptide

(B) LOCAITON: 236..415

(ix) FEATURE:

(A) NAME/KEY: CDS

(B) IOCATION: 77. .415

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 8:

GAATTCCATT CAAGAATAGT TCAAACAAGA AGATTACAAA CTATCAATTT CATACACAAT 60

ATAAACGACC AAAAGA ATG AAG GCT GTT TTC TTG GTT TTG TCC TTG ATC 109

Met Lys Ala Val Phe LEu Val Leu Ser Leu Ile

-53 -50 -45

GGA TTC TGC TGG GCC CAA CCA GTC ACT GGC GAT GAA TCA TCT GTT GAG 157 Gly Ehe Cys Trp Ala Gln Pro Val Thr Gly Asp Glu Ser Ser Val Glu

-40 -35 -30

ATT CCG GAA GAG TCT CTG ATC ATC GCT GAA AAC ACC ACT TTG GCT AAC 205 Ile Pro Glu Glu Ser Leu Ile Ile Ala Glu Asn Thr Thr Leu Ala Asn

-25 -20 -15 GTC GCC ATG GCT GAG AGA TTG GAG AAG AGA GAT CTC CTC CCA AAT GTA 253 Val Ala Met Ala Glu Arg Leu Glu Lys Arg Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val

-10 -5 1 5

TGC GCT TTT CCT ATG GAA AAG GGC CCT TGT CAA ACC TAC ATG ACG CGA 301 Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg

10 15 20

TGG TTT TTC AAC TTT GAA ACT GGT GAA TGT GAG TTA TTT GCT TAC GGA 349 Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly

25 30 35

GGC TGC GGA GGC AAC AGC AAC AAC TTT TTG AGG AAA GAA AAA TCT GAG 397 Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu

40 45 50

AAA TTC TGC AAG TTC ACC TAATCTAGA 424

Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr

55 60

(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9:

(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:

(A) LENGTH: 113 amino acids

(B) TYPE: amino acid

(D) TOPOLOGY: linear

(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein

(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 9:

Met Lys Ala Val Phe Leu Val leu Ser Leu lle Gly Phe Cys Trp Ala

-53 -50 -45 -40

GlnPro Val Thr Gly Asp Glu Ser Ser Val Glu He Pro Glu Glu Ser

-35 -30 -25

Lsu lle Ile Ala Glu Asn Thr Thr Leu Ala Asn Val Ala Met Ala Glu

-20 -15 -10

Arg Leu Glu Lys Arg Asp Leu Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met

-5 1 5 10

Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp phe Phe Asn Phe

15 20 25

Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn

30 35 40

Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe

45 50 55

Thr

60

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor comprising the following amino acid sequence

Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Gln Thr Tyr Met Thr Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Ala Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gly Gly Asn Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr (SEQ ID No. 1) or a variant thereof with protease inhibitor properties. 2. A variant of a human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor according to claim 1, the variant comprising the following amino acid sequence

X¹ Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu X² Gly X³ Cys X⁴ X⁵ X⁶ X⁷ X⁸ X⁹ Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe X¹⁰ Tyr Gly Gly Cys X¹¹ X¹² X¹³ Ser Asn Asn Phe X¹⁴ Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe X¹⁵ (SEQ ID No.

2) wherein X¹ represents H or 1-5 naturally occurring amino acid residues except Cys, X²-X¹⁴ each independently represents a naturally occurring amino acid residue, and X¹⁵ represents OH or 1-5 naturally occurring amino acid residues except Cys, with the proviso that at least one of the amino acid residues X¹-X¹⁵ is different from the corresponding amino acid residue of the native sequence.

3. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹ is Leu-Pro.

4. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X² is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Ala, Arg, Thr,

Asp, Pro, Glu, Lys, Gln, Ser, lle and Val.

5. A variant according to claim 4, wherein X² is Thr or Lys.

6. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X³ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Pro, Thr, Leu, Arg, Val and lle.

7. A variant according to claim 6, wherein X³ is Pro or lle.

8. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X⁴ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Lys, Arg, Val,

Thr, lle, Leu, Phe, Gly, Ser, Met, Trp, Tyr, Gln, Asn and Ala.

9. A variant according to claim 8, wherein X⁴ is Lys, Val, Leu, lle, Thr, Met, Gln or Arg.

10. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X⁵ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Ala, Gly, Thr, Arg, Phe, Gln and Asp.

11. A variant according to claim 10, wherein X⁵ is Ala, Thr, Asp or Gly.

12. A variant according to claim 2 , wherein X⁶ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Arg, Ala, Lys, Leu, Gly, His, Ser, Asp, Gln, Glu, Val, Thr, Tyr, Phe, Asn, lle and Met.

13. A variant according to claim 12, wherein X⁶ is Arg, Phe, Ala, Leu or Tyr.

14. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X⁷ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lle, Met, Gln, Glu, Thr, Leu, Val and Phe.

15. A variant according to claim 14, wherein X⁷ is lle.

16. A variant according to claim 2 , wherein X⁸ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of lle, Thr, Leu, Asn, Lys, Ser, Gln, Glu, Arg, Pro and Phe.

17. A variant according to claim 16, wherein X⁸ is lle or Thr.

18. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X⁹ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Arg, Ser, Ala, Gln, Lys and Leu.

19. A variant according to claim 18, wherein X⁹ is Arg.

20. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹⁰ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Gln, Pro, Phe, lle Lys, Trp, Ala, Thr, Leu, Ser, Tyr, His, Asp, Met, Arg and Val.

21. A variant according to claim 20, wherein X¹⁰ is Val or Ala.

22. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹¹ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Gly, Met, Gln, Glu, Leu, Arg, Lys, Pro and Asn.

23. A variant according to claim 22, wherein X¹¹ is Arg or Gly.

24. A variant according to claim 2 , wherein X¹² is Ala or Gly.

25. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹³ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Lys, Asn and Asp.

26. A variant according to claim 25, wherein X¹³ is Lys or Asn.

27. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹⁴ is an amino acid residue selected from the group consisting of Val, Tyr, Asp, Glu, Thr, Gly, Leu, Ser, lle, Gln, His, Asn, Pro, Phe, Met, Ala, Arg, Trp and Lys.

28. A variant according to claim 27, wherein X¹⁴ is Lys or Leu.

29. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹⁵ is Thr.

30. A variant according to claim 2, wherein X¹ is Leu-Pro and X¹⁵ is Thr.

31. A variant according to claim 2 comprising the following amino acid sequence

Leu Pro Asn Val Cys Ala Phe Pro Met Glu Lys Gly Pro Cys Lys Ala Arg lle lle Arg Trp Phe Phe Asn Phe Glu Thr Gly Glu Cys Glu Leu Phe Val Tyr Gly Gly Cys Arg Ala Lys Ser Asn Asn Phe Leu Arg Lys Glu Lys Cys Glu Lys Phe Cys Lys Phe Thr (SEQ ID No. 3)

32. A DNA construct comprising a DNA sequence encoding a human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor according to claim 1 or a variant thereof according to any of claims 2-31.

33. A recombinant expression vector comprising a DNA construct according to claim 32.

34. A cell containing a DNA construct according to claim 32 or an expression vector according to claim 33.

35. A method of producing a human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor according to claim 1 or a variant thereof according to any of claims 2-31, the method comprising culturing a cell according to claim 34 under conditions conducive to the expression of the protein, and recovering the resulting protein from the culture.

36. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a human Kunitz-type protease inhibitor according to claim 1 or a variant thereof according to any of claims 2-31 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient.