Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
  • C07K14/435—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans
  • C07K14/705—Receptors; Cell surface antigens; Cell surface determinants
  • C07K14/72—Receptors; Cell surface antigens; Cell surface determinants for hormones
  • C07K14/721—Steroid/thyroid hormone superfamily, e.g. GR, EcR, androgen receptor, oestrogen receptor
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K14/00—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
  • C07K14/435—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans
  • C07K14/44—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans from protozoa
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K38/00—Medicinal preparations containing peptides
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K48/00—Medicinal preparations containing genetic material which is inserted into cells of the living body to treat genetic diseases; Gene therapy

Definitions

• the present invention relates to interactions between members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptor proteins, novel combinations of various members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptor proteins, and methods of using such combinations.
• Transcriptional regulation of development and homeostasis in complex eukaryotes including humans and other mammals, birds, fish, insects, and the like, is controlled by a wide variety of regulatory substances, including steroid and thyroid hormones. These hormones exert potent effects on development and differentiation of phylogenetically diverse organisms. The effects of hormones are mediated by interaction with specific, high affinity binding proteins referred to as receptors.
• receptor proteins are known, each specific for steroid hormones [e.g., estrogens (estrogen receptor) , progesterones (progesterone receptor) , glucocorticoid (glucocorticoid receptor) , androgens (androgen receptor) , aldosterones (mineralocorticoid receptor) , vitamin D (vitamin D receptor) ] , retinoids (e.g., retinoic acid receptor) or thyroid hormones (e.g., thyroid hormone receptor) .
• Receptor proteins have been found to be distributed throughout the cell population of complex eukaryotes in a tissue specific fashion.
• receptors for steroid, retinoid and thyroid hormones are all structurally related and comprise a superfamily of regulatory proteins. These regulatory proteins are capable of modulating specific gene expression in response to hormone stimulation by binding directly to cis-acting elements.
• steroid or thyroid hormones enter cells and bind to the corresponding specific receptor protein, initiating an allosteric alteration of the protein.
• the complex of receptor and hormone (or metabolite thereof) is capable of binding with high affinity to certain specific sites on chromatin.
• One of the primary effects of steroid and thyroid hormones is an increase in transcription of a subset of genes in specific cell types.
• a number of transcriptional control units which are responsive to members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors have been identified. These include the mouse mammary tumor virus 5'-long terminal repeat (MTV LTR) , responsive to glucocorticoid, aldosterone and androgen hormones; the transcriptional control units for mammalian growth hormone genes, responsive to glucocorticoids, estrogens and thyroid hormones; the transcriptional control units for mammalian prolactin genes and progesterone receptor genes, responsive to estrogens; the transcriptional control units for avian ovalbumin genes, responsive to progesterones; mammalian metallothionein gene transcriptional control units, responsive to glucocorticoids; and mammalian hepatic ⁇ 2u - globulin gene transcriptional control units, responsive to androgens, estrogens, thyroid hormones, and glucocorticoids.
• MTV LTR mouse mammary tumor virus 5'-long terminal repeat
• GR glucocorticoid receptor
• ER estrogen receptor
• HREs hormone response elements
• RAR retinoic acid receptor
• TR thyroid hormone receptor
• VDR vitamin D receptor
• RXR retinoid X receptor family
• RAR is not the only receptor with which RXR can interact.
• RXR has been found to be capable of heterodimerizing with several other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily, including VDR, TR (see Kliewer, et al., supra) and peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor (PPAR; see, for example, Issemann and Green in Nature 347: 645-650 (1990)).
• VDR nuclear receptor superfamily
• TR see Kliewer, et al., supra
• PPAR peroxisome proliferator- activated receptor
• the combination of a first receptor species with the ultraspiracle receptor is capable of modulating the ability of the first receptor species to trans-activate transcription of genes maintained under steroid hormone or hormone-like expression control in the presence of cognate ligand for said first receptor,
• Figure 1 presents a comparison of amino acid identity for various domains of invention ultraspiracle receptor (usp) in comparison with previously identified receptors human RXR-alpha (hRXR ⁇ ) , human retinoic acid receptor-alpha (hRAR ⁇ ) and human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) .
• Figure 2 presents the % conversion of substrate by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) as a result of cotransfection of mammalian (CV1) cells with ecdysone receptor (EcR) encoding vector and/or ultraspiracle receptor (usp) encoding vector along with CAT reporter vector which contains an ecdysone response element (EcRE) .
• CAT chloramphenicol acetyltransferase
• multimeric receptor species which belong to the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors, comprising at least one member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors, and the ultraspiracle receptor.
• dimerization domain(s) of a member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors refers to that portion (or portions) of the receptor which is involved in the formation of a given multimeric complex receptor. Dimerization domain(s) typically comprise at least a portion of the carboxy- terminal portion of the receptor (i.e., the carboxy- terminal portion of a receptor with respect to the DNA-binding domain thereof) and/or at least a portion of the DNA binding domain itself. Multiple domains of a given receptor can act in concert as well as independently.
• Multimeric species can broadly be referred to as "multimeric species", which is intended to embrace all of the various oligomeric forms in which members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors (including fragments thereof comprising the dimerization domains thereof) are capable of associating with at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor.
• reference to "combinations" of steroid receptors or “multimeric" forms of steroid receptors with at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor includes heterodimeric combinations of one member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors (including fragments thereof comprising the dimerization domain thereof) with at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, heterotrimeric combinations of one or two members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors (including fragments thereof comprising the dimerization domains thereof) with at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, heterotetrameric combinations of one, two or three members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors (including fragments thereof comprising the dimerization domains thereof) with at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, and the like.
• the term "ultraspiracle receptor” refers to a novel invertebrate polypeptide which has a DNA binding domain of about 66 amino acids with at least 9 Cys residues, more than about 75 % amino acid identity in comparison with the DNA binding domain of hRXR-alpha (see Mangelsdorf et al., 1990, supra) , less than about 60 % amino acid identity in comparison with the DNA binding domain of hGR, and less than about 60% amino acid identify in comparison with the DNA binding domain of hRAR ⁇ .
• Invention polypeptide can be further characterized by having less than 50% (but typically greater than 40%) amino acid identity in comparison with the ligand binding domain of hRXR-alpha, but less than 25% amino acid identity in comparison with the ligand binding domains of either hGR or hRAR ⁇ .
• a sequence comparison of amino acid identity between invention receptor and several other receptors is presented in Figure 1.
• the deduced amino acid sequence for the ultraspiracle receptor is presented in SEQ ID NO:2 [see also, Oro et al., in Nature 347: 298-301 (1990)].
• peptides comprising a DNA binding domain with substantially the same sequence as that of amino acids 104 - 169 shown in SEQ ID NO:2 (i.e., the DNA binding domain of the ultraspiracle receptor) .
• substantially the same amino acid sequence refers to amino acid sequences having at least about 80% identity with respect to the reference amino acid sequence, and retaining comparable functional and biological properties characteristic of the protein encoded by the reference amino acid sequence.
• proteins having "substantially the same amino acid sequence” will have at least about 90% amino acid identity with respect to the reference amino acid sequence; with greater than about 95% amino acid sequence identity being especially preferred.
• a presently preferred polypeptide of the invention is the polypeptide encoded by vector pXR2C8 [see Oro et al., supra] .
• the phrase "members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors" refers to all of the various isoforms of hormone binding proteins that operate as ligand-dependent transcription factors, including members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors for which specific ligands have not yet been identified (referred to hereinafter as "orphan receptors") .
• Each such protein has the intrinsic ability to bind to a specific DNA sequence (i.e., regulatory sequence) associated with the target gene.
• the transcriptional activity of the gene is modulated by the presence or absence of the cognate hormone (ligand) as a result of binding of ligand to receptor, enabling interaction of receptor with the regulatory sequence.
• the DNA-binding domains of all members of this superfamily of receptors are related, consisting of 66-68 amino acid residues, and possessing about 20 invariant amino acid residues, including nine cysteines.
• a member of the superfamily can be characterized as a protein which contains these diagnostic amino acid residues, which are part of the DNA-binding domain of such known steroid receptors as the human glucocorticoid receptor (amino acids 421-486) , the estrogen receptor (amino acids 185-250) , the mineralocorticoid receptor (amino acids 603-668) , the human retinoic acid receptor (amino acids 88-153), and the like.
• the highly conserved amino acids of the DNA-binding domain of members of the superfamily are as follows:
• X designates non-conserved amino acids within the DNA-binding domain; the amino acid residues denoted with an asterisk are residues that are almost universally conserved, but for which variations have been found in some identified hormone receptors; and the residues enclosed in parenthesis are optional residues (thus, the DNA-binding domain is a minimum of 66 amino acids in length, but can contain several additional residues) .
• Exemplary members of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors include steroid receptors such as glucocorticoid receptor, mineralocorticoid receptor, progesterone receptor, androgen receptor, vitamin D 3 receptor, and the like; plus retinoid receptors, such as the various isoforms of RAR (e.g., RAR ⁇ , RAR?, or RAR ) , the various isoforms of RXR (e.g., RXR ⁇ , RXR?, or RXRy) , and the like; thyroid receptors, such as TR ⁇ , TR?, and the like; insect derived receptors such as the ecdysone receptor, and the like; as well as other gene products which, by their structure and properties, are considered to be members of the superfamily, as defined hereinabove, including the various isoforms thereof (even though ligands therefor have not yet been identified; such receptors are referred to as "orphan receptors
• orphan receptors examples include HNF4 [see, for example, Sladek et al., in Genes & Development 4: 2353-2365 (1990)], the COUP family of receptors [see, for example, Miyajima et al., in Nucleic Acids Research 16: 11057-11074 (1988), and Wang et al., in Nature 340: 163-166 (1989)], COUP-like receptors and COUP homologs, such as those described by Mlodzik et al., in Cell 60: 211-224 (1990) and Ladias et al., in Science 251: 561-565 (1991), various isoforms of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs; see, for example, Issemann and Green, supra) , the insect derived knirps and knirps-related receptors, and the like.
• PPARs peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors
• multimeric receptor(s) can modulate the ability of member(s) of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors to trans-activate transcription of genes maintained under expression control in the presence of ligand for said receptor.
• the actual effect on activation of transcription i.e., enhancement or repression of transcription activity
• formation of a heterodi er of the ecdysone receptor with the ultraspiracle receptor promotes the ability of the ecdysone receptor to induce trans-activation activity in the presence of an ecdysone response element (see, for example, SEQ ID NO:26) .
• a method to modulate, in an expression system, the transcription activation of a gene by a member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors in the presence of ligand therefor, wherein the expression of said gene is maintained under the control of a hormone response element comprising: exposing said system to at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, in an amount effective to form a multimeric complex receptor with said member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors.
• Exposure of said system to at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor is accomplished by directly administering ultraspiracle receptor (or fragments thereof that allow modification of the receptor through the formation of heterodimeric receptor species) to said system, or by exposing said system to compound(s) and/or condition(s) which induce expression of the ultraspiracle receptor (or dimerization domain thereof) .
• the resulting multimeric receptor species is effective to modulate transcription activation of said gene.
• modulate refers to the ability of a given multimeric complex receptor to either enhance or repress the induction of transcription of a target gene by a given receptor, relative to such ability of said receptor in its uncomplexed state.
• the actual effect of multimerization on the transcription activity of a receptor will vary depending on the specific receptor species which are part of the multimeric complex receptor, and on the response element with which the multimeric complex receptor interacts.
• formation of a heterodimer of the ecdysone receptor and the ultraspiracle receptor provides enhanced trans-activation activity with respect to the ability of the ecdysone receptor alone to promote trans-activation.
• ecdysone is employed herein in its generic sense (in accordance with common usage in the art) , referring to compounds with the appropriate biological activity, in analogy with the terms estrogen or progestin [see, for example, Cherbas et al., in Biosynthesis, metabolism and mode of action of invertebrate hormones (ed. J. Hoffmann and M. Porchet) , p. 305-322; Springer-Verlag, Berlin] . 20-Hydroxyecdysone is the major naturally occurring ecdysone.
• Analogs of the naturally occurring ecdysones are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention, such as for example, ponasterone A, 26-iodoponasterone A, muristerone, inokosterone, 26-mesylinokosterone, and the like.
• hormone response element refers to short cis-acting sequences (i.e., having about 20 bp) that are required for hormonal (or ligand) activation of transcription. The attachment of these elements to an otherwise hormone-nonresponsive gene causes that gene to become hormone responsive. These sequences, commonly referred to as hormone response elements (or HREs) , function in a position- and orientation-independent fashion. Unlike other enhancers, the activity of HREs can be modulated by the presence or absence of ligand. See, for example, Evans, Science 240: 889-895 (1988) , and the references cited therein. In the present specification and claims, the term “hormone response element” is used in a generic sense to mean and embody the functional characteristics implied by all terms used in the art to describe these sequences.
• Hormone response elements contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include naturally occurring response elements as well as modified forms thereof (see, for example, SEQ ID NOs: 7, 12, 15, 25, 26, 28 and 29) , as well as synthetic response elements which can be composed of two or more "half sites", wherein each half site comprises the sequence
• R is selected from A or G;
• M is selected from A or C; with the proviso that at least 4 nucleotides of said -RGBNNM- sequence are identical with the nucleotides at corresponding positions of the sequence -AGGTCA-, or the half-sites of ecdysone response elements (EcREs) (see, for example, SEQ ID NOs:26, 28 and 29) and wherein the nucleotide spacing between each of said half-sites falls in the range of 0 up to 15 nucleotides, N.
• EcREs ecdysone response elements
• the other half site of the response element be the same as, or vary from the preferred sequence by no more than 1 nucleotide. It is presently preferred that the 3 '-half site (or downstream half site) of a pair of half sites vary from the preferred sequence by at most 1 nucleotide.
• DR-x When the above-described half sites are combined in direct repeat fashion (rather than as palindromic constructs) , the resulting synthetic response elements are referred to as "DR-x", wherein “DR” refers to the direct repeat nature of the association between the half sites, and “x” indicates the number of spacer nucleotides between each half site.
• Exemplary response elements useful in the practice of the present invention are derived from various combinations of half sites having sequences selected from, for example, -AGGTCA-, -GGTTCA-, -GGGTTA-, -GGGTGA-, -AGGTGA-, -GGGTCA-, and the like.
• the nucleotides employed in a non-zero spacer are independently selected from C, T, G, or A.
• Exemplary three nucleotide spacers include -AGG-, -ATG-, -ACG-, -CGA-, and the like.
• Exemplary four nucleotide spacers include -CAGG-, -GGGG-, -TTTC-, and the like.
• Exemplary five nucleotide spacers include -CCAGG-,
• Exemplary response elements contemplated by the present invention include the following DR-3 elements:
• CTCGCATATATTAGCTT-3 ' (SEQ ID No. 21); the ecdysone responsive elements set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 26, 28 and 29, and the like.
• Presently preferred response elements contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include:
• a method to modulate, in an expression system, the transcription activation of a gene by a member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors in the presence of ligand therefor, and in the further presence of the ultraspiracle receptor, wherein the expression of said gene is maintained under the control of a hormone response element comprising: exposing said system to compound(s) and/or condition( ⁇ ) which prevent association of said member with the ultraspiracle receptor or fragments thereof, in an amount effective to prevent said association.
• Compound(s) and/or condition(s) which prevent association of said member with the ultraspiracle receptor include hormone-like compounds which act as agonists or antagonists for the ultraspiracle receptor, antibodies raised against the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, antibodies raised against the dimerization domain of said member, antisense sequence(s) based on sequence(s) complementary to known RNA encoding at least the dimerization domain of the ultraspiracle receptor, and the like. Amounts of agents effective to prevent such association will vary depending on the particular agents used and can be readily determined by those of skill in the art; typically falling in the sub-nanomolar up to micromolar range.
• a method for modulating the expression of an exogenous gene in a subject containing:
• said method comprising administering to said subject an effective amount of said associated ligand; wherein said ligand is not normally present in the cells of said subject; and wherein said ligand is not toxic to said subject.
• exogenous genes refers to both wild type genes and therapeutic genes, which are introduced into the subject in the form of DNA or RNA, either natural or synthetic.
• the gene of interest can be introduced into target cells (for in vitro applications) , or the gene of interest can be introduced directly into a subject, or indirectly introduced by the transfer of transformed cells into a subject.
• Wild type genes are those that are native to cells of a particular type, but which may be undesirably overexpressed in these cells, or may not be expressed in these cells in biologically significant levels.
• a synthetic or natural gene coding for human insulin would be exogenous genetic material to a yeast cell (since yeast cells do not naturally contain insulin genes)
• a human insulin gene inserted into a human skin fibroblast cell would be a wild type gene with respect to that cell since human skin fibroblasts contain the genetic material encoding human insulin, although human skin fibroblasts do not express human insulin in biologically significant levels.
• Wild type genes contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include genes which encode a gene product: the substantial absence of which leads to the occurrence of a non-normal state in said subject; or a substantial excess of which leads to the occurrence of a non-normal state in said subject; and the like.
• therapeutic gene refers to genes which impart a beneficial function to the host cell in which such gene is expressed.
• Therapeutic genes are those that are not naturally found in host cells. For example, a synthetic or natural gene coding for authentic human insulin would be therapeutic when inserted into a skin fibroblast cell so as to be expressed in a host human, where the host human is not otherwise capable of expressing functionally active human insulin in biologically significant levels.
• Therapeutic genes contemplated for use in the practice of the present invention include genes which encode a gene product: which is toxic to the cells in which it is expressed; or which imparts a beneficial property to said subject (e.g., disease resistance, etc); and the like.
• Exogenous genetic material or genes useful in this embodiment of the present invention include genes that encode secretory proteins that can be released from said cell; enzymes that can metabolize a substrate from a toxic form to a benign form, or from a benign form to a useful form; regulatory proteins; cell surface receptors; and the like.
• Such useful genes include, but are not limited to, genes that encode blood clotting factors such as human factors VIII and IX; genes that encode hormones such as insulin, parathyroid hormone, luteinizing hormone releasing factor (LHRH) , alpha and beta seminal inhibins, and human growth hormone; genes that encode proteins such as enzymes, the absence of which leads to the occurrence of an abnormal state in said subject; genes encoding cytokines or lymphokines such as interferons, granulocytic macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) , colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) , tumor necrosis factor (TNF) , and erythropoietin (EPO) ; genes encoding inhibitor substances such as alpha.,-antitrypsin; genes encoding substances that function as drugs, e.g., genes encoding the diphtheria and cholera toxins; and the like.
• blood clotting factors such as human factors VIII and IX
• Hormone response elements contemplated for use in this embodiment of the present invention involving modulating the expression of an exogenous gene in a subject include any sequence responsive to the above-described multimeric complex receptors, such as insect response elements, and the like. See, for example, SEQ ID NOs: 26, 28 and 29.
• Insect response elements contemplated for use in modulating the expression of an exogenous gene in a subject according to the present invention include, for example, ecdysone response elements, and the like.
• Such response elements are operably linked to a suitable promoter for expression of the target gene product.
• promoter refers to a specific nucleotide sequence recognized by RNA polymerase, the enzyme that initiates RNA synthesis. This sequence is the site at which transcription can be specifically initiated under proper conditions.
• exogenous genes operatively linked to a suitable promoter, are introduced into the cells of a suitable host, the exogenous genes are subject to expression control in the presence of hormone or hormone-like compounds not normally present in the host cells.
• Exemplary promoters include ⁇ MTV, ⁇ SV, ⁇ ADH promoters, and the like.
• receptor which is not normally present in the cells of said subject refers to receptors which are not endogenous to the host in which the invention process is being carried out.
• Receptors which are not endogenous to the host include endogenous receptors modified so as to be non-responsive to ligands which are endogenous to the host in which the invention process is being carried out.
• Receptor(s) not normally present in the cells of the subject and ultraspiracle receptor can be provided to said subject by direct introduction of the proteins themselves, by introduction of RNA or DNA construct(s) encoding said receptors, by introduction of cells harboring genes encoding said receptor and/or response element, and the like. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, e.g., by microinjection, retroviral infection, electroporation, lipofection, and the like.
• associated ligand refers to a substance or compound which, inside a cell, binds to the receptor protein, thereby creating a ligand/receptor complex, which in turn can bind to an appropriate hormone response element.
• An associated ligand therefore is a compound which acts to modulate gene transcription for a gene maintained under the control of a hormone response element, and includes compounds such as hormones, growth substances, non-hormone substances that regulate growth, and the like.
• Ligands include steroid or steroid-like hormones, retinoids, thyroid hormones, pharmaceutically active compounds, and the like. Individual ligands may have the ability to bind to multiple receptors.
• a method of inducing expression of an exogenous gene product in a subject containing a DNA construct encoding said product under the control of a hormone response element; wherein said response element is not normally present in the cells of said subject comprising introducing into said subject: a receptor which is not normally present in the cells of said subject; wherein said receptor, in combination with its associated ligand and the ultraspiracle receptor, binds to a hormone response element, activating transcription therefrom, the ultraspiracle receptor, and the associated ligand for said receptor which is not normally present in the cells of said subject.
• receptor can be provided directly to said subject as the protein, or indirectly by administering to said subject a second DNA construct encoding said receptor, or by administering to said subject cells harboring 6 such constructs.
• expression of said exogenous gene product and the receptor is preferably maintained under the control of a tissue specific promoter.
• a method for the expression of recombinant products detrimental to a host organism comprising: transforming suitable host cells with: (i) a construct comprising a sequence encoding said recombinant product under the control of a hormone response element; wherein said response element is not normally present in the cells of said host, and (ii) DNA encoding a receptor not normally present in said host cells; growing said host cells to the desired level in the substantial absence of hormone(s) which, in combination with said receptor not normally present in the cells of said host and ultraspiracle receptor, is capable of binding to said hormone response element, and inducing expression of said recombinant product by introducing into said host cells the ultraspiracle receptor and hormone(s) which, in combination with said receptor not normally present in the cells of said host, bind to said response element.
• recombinant product is induced only after cell growth (as opposed to protein expression conditions) has produced a desired density of cell mass.
• the desired level of growth in accordance with this embodiment is a level which produces a high cell density, and thereafter expression of product is induced.
• Conditions suitable for cell growth (and for protein expression, when desired) can be readily determined by those of skill in the art.
• expression of the construct to produce the detrimental product causes ablation of the cells harboring said construct.
• the desired level of growth is that level appropriate to ensure the desired distribution of cells harboring the inducible construct. Thus, expression will be induced when it is desired to ablate such cells.
• ablation refers to removing or eliminating specific cell types in a culture of a cell population, or in a transgenic animal host by means of a DNA construct that encodes a protein whose presence is not per se toxic to the cells, but which can confer upon the cells a toxic potential due to the ability of the protein to control the expression of substances that are or will become toxic to the cells.
• the elimination of specific cell-type(s) or specific cell line(s) in accordance with one aspect of the present invention produces a cell population which is substantially free of cells which are not normally present in the wild-type cell population.
• the elimination of specific cell-type(s) or specific cell line(s), in accordance with another aspect of the present invention produces a defined altered state in the treated subject.
• Cell(s) or cell line(s) contemplated to be eliminated in accordance with the present invention can be a cell or cell line capable of providing a desirable component to a cell population, as an exogenous gene product; wherein the ability to eliminate said cell or cell line from said cell population is desired, e.g., once said population achieves the ability to produce sufficient quantities of such component as an endogenous gene product; or, the cell line to be eliminated can be a diseased cell line or a cell line predisposed to a disease state.
• Normal cell(s) or cell line(s) contemplated to be eliminated in accordance with the present invention are cell(s) or cell line(s), the elimination of which would result in the creation of a defined altered state in the cell population.
• a method to distinguish the physiological effect of a first hormone receptor in a host from other hormone receptors in said host which respond to the same ligand comprising: replacing the ligand binding domain of said first receptor with a ligand binding domain from an exogenous receptor to produce a chimeric receptor maintained under the control of a tissue specific promoter; wherein said exogenous receptor and the ligand to which the exogenous receptor responds are not normally present in said host; and wherein said exogenous receptor, in the presence of its associated ligand, binds to a hormone response element, thereby activating said response element, and thereafter monitoring the production of product(s) whose expression is controlled by said first hormone receptor when said host is exposed to ultraspiracle receptor and ligand to which said exogenous receptor responds.
• a method to render a mammalian hormone receptor uniquely responsive to a ligand not endogenous to host(s) in which said receptor is normally found comprising: replacing the ligand binding domain of said receptor with a ligand binding domain from a second receptor; wherein said second receptor is not normally present in said host; and wherein the ligand to which the second receptor responds is not normally present in said host.
• a method to determine the ligand(s) to which orphan receptor(s) responds comprising: monitoring a host cell containing a reporter construct and a hybrid receptor for expression of product(s) of said reporter construct upon contacting said cell with potential ligands for said orphan receptor and the ultraspiracle receptor; wherein said reporter construct comprises a gene encoding a reporter molecule, operatively linked for transcription to a steroid or steroid-like hormone response element; wherein said response element is not normally present in the cells of said host; wherein said hybrid receptor comprises: the N-terminal domain and DNA binding domain of a member of the steroid/thyroid superfamily of receptors, wherein said member is not normally present in the host cells, and wherein said member, in the presence of its associated ligand, binds said response element, activating transcription therefrom, and the ligand binding domain of said orphan receptor.
• an isolated DNA which encodes the ultraspiracle receptor, as described above as well as functional fragments thereof.
• the complete nucleotide sequence for the ultraspiracle receptor is presented in SEQ ID NO:l [see also, Oro et al. , in Nature 347: 298-301 (1990)].
• sequences encoding polypeptides comprising a DNA binding domain with substantially the same sequence as that of amino acids 104 - 169 shown in SEQ ID NO:2 (i.e., the DNA binding domain of the ultraspiracle receptor) .
• the term “substantially the same as” refers to DNA having at least about 70% homology with respect to the nucleotide sequence of the DNA fragment with which subject DNA is being compared.
• DNA "substantially the same as" a comparative DNA will be at least about 80% homologous to the comparative nucleotide sequence; with greater than about 90% homology being especially preferred.
• DNAs able to hybridize to the above- described sequences, and having substantially the same functional properties thereof are also contemplated.
• a presently preferred DNA of the invention is the _EcoRI fragment of vector pXR2C8 [see Oro, et al., supra] .
• DNA of the invention can optionally be incorporated into expression vector(s) operative in a cell in culture to make the ultraspiracle receptor (or functional fragments thereof) by expression of said DNA in said cell.
• the transcription of DNA can be controlled by the Drosophila melanogaster actin 5C promoter.
• Host cells which can employed for expression of said DNA include Drosophila melanogaster Schneider line 2 cells, Kc cells, and the like.
• CMX-EcR was constructed by digesting pActEcR plasmid [Koelle et al., Cell Vol. 62:59-77 (1991)] with
• Hindlll The resulting Hindlll fragment, which contains the EcR coding region, was then inserted into CMXPL1, a derivative of CMX expression vector [Umesono et al. Cell
• Expression plasmid CMX-usp was made by inserting the EcoRI fragment from the cDNA clone
• ⁇ MTV-ECRE5- CAT was constructed by ligation of an EcRE-containing oligonucleotide (SEQ ID NO: 22) :
• GEcR was constructed by ligation of a Notl/BamHI fragment containing the DNA and hormone binding domains of a modified EcR cDNA, EcRnx, in place of the DNA and hormone binding domains of the similarly modified glucocorticoid receptor expression construct pRShGRnx [Giguere et al., Nature Vol. 330:624-629 (1987)].
• the modified receptor cDNA was constructed using the site-directed mutagenesis procedure of Kunkel, T.A. , Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. £32 .
• SEQ ID NO:23 is:
• SEQ ID NO : 24 is :
• suitable plasmids for human (h)RAR ⁇ , hTRB, hVDR, rat PPAR, Drosophila (d)usp and dEcR were linearized with restriction enzyme 3' of the termination codon.
• the linearized templates were used for in vitro transcription and then translation using rabbit reticulocyte lysate according to manufacturer's instruction (Promega) .
• Drosophila embryo extract was a gift from Dr. J. Kadonaga and prepared as described by Zoeller et al., in Genes Dev. , Vol. .2:68-81 (1988).
• Schneider cell extracts were prepared following the procedures in Damm et al., Nature Vol.
• the extraction buffer contained 0.4 M KC1 in 20 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 20% glycerol, 2 M DTT and 1 mM PMSF.
• binding buffer which contained 100 mM KC1, 7.5% glycerol, 20 mM HEPES pH 7.5, 2 mM DTT and 0.1% NP-40, on ice for 20 minutes in the presence of 2 ⁇ g of nonspecific competitor poly dl-dC and other oligo competitors. Then approximately 1 ng of 32P-dCTP probe, p which was labelled to specific activity about 1-5 x 10 cpm/ ⁇ g by fill-in reaction with Klenow fragments, was added to the reaction and incubated at room temperature for 20 minutes. Antiserum or preimmune serum was added 10 minutes after the probe was added.
• reaction was then loaded into 5% non-denaturing polyacryla ide gel in 0.5 X TBE running buffer [l X TBE comprises 0.089 M Tris borate, 0.089 M boric acid and 0.002 M EDTA] . After electrophoresis, the gel was dried for autoradiography.
• Primers were designed to amplify the usp coding region which either covered the entire N-terminal and DNA binding domain (from amino acid 1 to 210; GST-uspN) or the complete coding region (GST-usp) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) .
• the amplified fragments were subcloned into PGEX2T vector (Pharmacia) for expression in bacteria.
• the expression of GST fusion protein was performed according to the manufacturer's directions (Pharmacia).
• the fusion protein GST-uspN was prepared and fractionated on SDS polyacrylamide gel and the band corresponding to the fusion protein was excised. The gel slice was fragmented and used to immunize the rabbit at three week intervals. The rabbit sera were collected and tested by Western Blot for the ability to recognize usp protein. The positive sera were further purified by the procedure described in Vaughan et al., Met. in Enzymol. (Academic Press Vol. 168:588-617 (1989) with slight modification. Briefly, full length GST-usp fusion protein and GST protein were purified using Glutathione Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia) . The purified proteins were individually coupled to affi-gel 10 according to the manufacturer's protocol (Biorad) .
• the crude antiserum was first incubated with GST-coupled affi-gel for 2.5 hours at 4°C with gentle rocking. The unbound fraction was separated from the beads by centrifugation. The supernatant was then incubated with full length GST-usp coupled affi-gel overnight at 4°C with gentle rocking. The contents were then packed into column and washed with 50 mM HEPES pH 7.5 supplemented with 0.5 M NaCl. The bound antibodies were eluted by 100 mM glycine. The eluted fractions were neutralized with 1 M Tris pH 8 and pooled, then dialyzed against PBS buffer which contained 0.02% of sodium azide.
• the purified antiserum was concentrated by Centricon 30 (Amicon) before it was stored. This purified antibody is very specific as it does not cross react with RXRs. It also does not react with other closely related fly nuclear receptors including seven up (svp) type I, II [Mlodzik et al., Cell 0:211-224 (1990)].
• Transfection was performed with calcium-phosphate precipitation method as described previously [Umesono et al., Nature 336:262-264 (1989)].
• CV1 monkey kidney cells were maintained in Dulbecco*s modified Eagle • s medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% calf bovine serum. The cells were transfected for 8-9 hours and then the DNA precipitates were washed away and replaced with fresh medium with 10% charcoal-resin double stripped fetal bovine serum. 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (Sigma; 10 mg/ml in ethanol) , or ethanol alone was then given to the cells. 24-28 hours later, the cells were harvested.
• DMEM Dulbecco*s modified Eagle • s medium
• 20-hydroxy-ecdysone Sigma; 10 mg/ml in ethanol
• ethanol alone was then given to the cells. 24-28 hours later, the cells were harvested.
• Beta-galactosidase (?Gal) activity was measured and a normalized amount of extract was used for CAT assay (Umesono et al. (1989) supra] .
• the following amount of plasmid DNA was included in the 10 cm plate transfection: 250 ng each of CMX-EcR and RSV-GEcR; 500 ng of CMX-usp; 5 ⁇ g ⁇ MTV-ECRE 5 -CTA; 5 ⁇ g of BGal internal control plasmid CH111 (a derivative of CH110, Pro ega) .
• the amount of CMX plasmid was kept constant in each transfection by adding CMX-luciferase.
• PGEM4 was added to bring the total amount of plasmid DNA to 15 ⁇ g per plate.
• EXAMPLE V usp is the Drosophila nuclear factor that can enhance RAR DNA binding activity
• usp protein was in vitro translated in the rabbit reticulocyte lysate (see Example II for procedure employed) and tested whether in vitro translated usp can mimic the fly extracts' activity to interact with RAR ⁇ . Neither in vitro translated usp alone, nor RAR ⁇ alone, bound to a ⁇ RARE probe. However, when the two proteins were incubated together, a prominent retarded complex appeared. This complex comigrated with the complex detected in the RAR and cell extract mixing experiments. The presence of both usp and RAR protein in this protein/DNA complex was demonstrated by the antibodies raised against usp and RAR ⁇ .
• Example VI usp can heterodimerize with several members of the mammalian nuclear receptor family
• PPAR/usp complex bound to AOX-PPARE with high affinity.
• the usp antibody again showed the presence of usp in those complexes by shifting the retarded bands in all three combinations, whereas preimmune serum did not affect the binding pattern.
• Oligonucleotide competition assay demonstrated that the usp dependent heterodimers all showed correct response element specificity. Therefore, by interacting with usp to form heterodimer, all four mammalian receptors tested achieved high affinity DNA binding to their cognate response elements.
• Example VII Ecdysone receptor and usp can heterodimerize to form a high affinity DNA binding complex
• the ligand binding domain has been shown to contain the dimerization domain for some nuclear receptors [For an et al., Mol. Endocrinol. Vol. 2:1610-1626 (1989); Fawell et al., Cell £ ⁇ :953-962 (1990)] and it is also essential for interaction between RAR and nuclear factors including RXR [Glass et al., supra; Kliewer et al. supra] .
• EcR ecdysone receptor
• This complex can be competed away by specific cold oligonucleotide but not by the unrelated oligonucleotide competitor GREpal, a glucocorticoid response element.
• affinity purified usp antibody was added to the reaction. usp antibody can supershift the specific EcRE binding complex from the S2 extract but not the lower minor complex, which was much less sensitive to the specific cold oligonucleotide competition.
• Preimmune serum had no effect on the upper major complex but it disrupted the lower minor complex.
• Antibody against RXR ⁇ and RAR did not affect the specific complex. Therefore, these data demonstrate that usp is part of the EcRE DNA binding complex present in S2 cells, strongly suggesting an interaction between EcR and usp.
• EcR and usp interaction was also tested under more defined conditions. In vitro translated EcR and usp were prepared and their interaction was assayed by gel mobility shift assays. Using the same hsp27-EcRE as the probe, usp did not bind to this element by itself. EcR also failed to bind to hsp27-EcRE, in contrast to the EcRE binding activity in S2 cells. To test whether usp can complement EcR DNA binding, as it does with mammalian receptors, both usp and EcR were co-incubated in the reaction. In the presence of both receptors, a novel high affinity DNA binding complex appeared. Usp antibody, but not preimmune serum, can supershift the complex, demonstrating that usp is part of the complex.
• EcR/usp heterodimer was set out to determine whether the DNA binding properties of EcR/usp heterodimer can be correlated with ecdysone responsiveness in vivo. This was done by testing EcR/usp heterodimer binding to several wild type and mutant EcREs characterized by their differential ability to mediate the ecdysone responsiveness in cultured cells (for review see Cherbas et al., Genes Dev. Vol. .5:120-131 (1991)). The response elements used in this study are set forth below. The position and the orientation of ERE-like half sites (AGGTCA-like) are marked by arrows.
• the palindromic motif in hsp27- EcRE is indicated by arrows arranged as ⁇ ⁇ -.
• the mutated nucleotides in UN and 15N-EcRE are in small letters.
• the arrow in HN-EcRE covers where the remaining palindromic motif extends.
• Eip28/29-EcRE which is named as dis*- Eip28/29 in Cherbas et al. , supra.
• the half site which can constitute a highly degenerated palindrome is marked with a wavy, broken line. Note that two ERE half sites are present in the configuration of direct repeats spaced by three nucleotides in Eip28/29-EcRE.
• the ability of individual response elements to mediate ecdysone response in cultured cells (summarized from Cherbas et al., supra) and to serve as high affinity binding site for EcR/usp complex are summarized to the right of the sequences.
• EcRE derived from the Drosophila Eip28/29 gene has been shown to mediate ecdysone response in cultured cells [Cherbas et al., supra1.
• the Eip28/29-EcRE is a composite element containing a direct repeat and a highly degenerated palindromic motif.
• the ability of EcR/usp complex to recognize this EcRE was examined. This element can effectively compete the EcR/usp binding to hsp27-EcRE. This competition is as effective as that of the hsp27-EcRE itself, demonstrating that the Eip28/29-EcRE is also a high affinity binding site for EcR/usp complex.
• an unrelated competitor GREpal
• the high affinity binding by the EcR/usp complex parallels the ability the Eip28/29-EcRE to mediate ecdysone response in culture cells.
• hsp27-EcRE In contrast to the high affinity binding referred to above, a mutant hsp27-EcRE (referred as 11-N-hsp by Cherbas et al., supra, wherein the two nucleotides at the ends of the palindrome and the flanking sequence were changed) , failed to serve as a high affinity binding site for the EcR/usp.
• This oligonucleotide did not compete the specific binding of EcR/usp to hsp27-EcRE, which was consistent with the observation that this mutated EcRE failed to confer ecdysone responsiveness to a heterologous promoter in transfection assay (Cherbas et al., supra) .
• EcR and usp can interact during this developmental stage.
• the EcRE binding activities in the embryo extract were determined by mobility shift assay using 5-10 ⁇ g of embryo extract and 2 P-labelled hsp27-EcRE as the probe.
• Specific EcRE binding complexes can be detected, as demonstrated by specific oligonucleotide and unrelated oligonucleotide competition.
• usp is present in those complexes, as usp antibody was able to supershift those complexes.
• Preimmune serum did not alter the mobility pattern, although a slightly enhanced overall DNA binding was observed.
• EcRE binding complexes The detection of multiple EcRE binding complexes is consistent with the existence of multiple forms of EcR protein which have been reported (Koelle et al., supra) .
• the identities of these complexes as EcR complexes were supported by the fact that the upper complex comigrated with the EcR complex present in the S2 extract and that the DNA binding specificity of these complexes as assayed by oligonucleotide competition was indistinguishable from the EcR/usp complex prepared in vitro.
• Example X usp is required for ecdysone responsiveness in heterologous cultured cells
• Ecdysone response in CV1 cells was determined by using an ecdysone-responsive reporter gene ( ⁇ MTV-ECRE 5 -CAT) , which contains the same core hsp27-EcRE motif tested in DNA binding assay described earlier.
• the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) activity induced by ecdysone was measured in the presence of different combinations of transfected EcR and usp expression vectors.
• CAT activity is expressed in Figure 2 as the percentage of conversion which is normalized against the level in EcR alone at the presence of ecdysone assigned as one (column 1, shaded rectangle) .
• the final concentration of 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (Sigma) is 40 ⁇ M.
• the GEcR mediated ecdysone response is similar to EcR except the signal level is higher (compare Figure 2A and 2B) .
• the presence of usp appears to be essential for EcR and GEcR to exert an ecdysone response in CVl cells.
• ADDRESSEE PRETTY, SCHROEDER, BRUEGGEMANN ⁇ CLARK
• NAME Reiter, , Stephen E.
• MOLECULE TYPE DNA (genomic)
• GAT GCC CAA ATG GCG CAG GCG CCC AAT TCG GCT GGA GGC TCT GCC GCC 4 Asp Ala Gin Met Ala Gin Ala Pro Asn Ser Ala Gly Gly Ser Ala Ala 70 75 80
• GGC GCC CGC AAT GCG GCG GGT AGG CTC AGC GCC AGC GGA GGC GGC AGT 7 Gly Ala Arg Asn Ala Ala Gly Arg Leu Ser Ala Ser Gly Gly Gly Ser 185 190 195

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