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  • C12N9/00—Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
  • C12N9/93—Ligases (6)
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
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  • A61K38/16—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
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  • A61P9/00—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system
  • A61P9/10—Drugs for disorders of the cardiovascular system for treating ischaemic or atherosclerotic diseases, e.g. antianginal drugs, coronary vasodilators, drugs for myocardial infarction, retinopathy, cerebrovascula insufficiency, renal arteriosclerosis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
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  • C12Y601/00—Ligases forming carbon-oxygen bonds (6.1)
  • C12Y601/01—Ligases forming aminoacyl-tRNA and related compounds (6.1.1)
  • C12Y601/01003—Threonine-tRNA ligase (6.1.1.3)
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
  • G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
  • G01N33/53—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor
  • G01N33/573—Immunoassay; Biospecific binding assay; Materials therefor for enzymes or isoenzymes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
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  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
  • C07K2317/70—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by effect upon binding to a cell or to an antigen
  • C07K2317/76—Antagonist effect on antigen, e.g. neutralization or inhibition of binding
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07K—PEPTIDES
  • C07K2319/00—Fusion polypeptide
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N2333/00—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature
  • G01N2333/90—Enzymes; Proenzymes
  • G01N2333/9015—Ligases (6)

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to compositions comprising newly identified protein fragments of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases and other proteins, polynucleotides that encode them and complements thereof, related agents, and methods of use thereof in diagnostic, drug discovery, research, and therapeutic applications.
• AARSs aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
• these unexpected activities are not observed in the context of the full-length or parental protein sequences; instead, they are observed following removal or resection of AARS protein fragments from their parental sequences, or by expressing and sufficiently purifying fragment AARS sequences and then testing for novel, non- synthetase related activities.
• resectin refers to a portion of a protein which has been excised or restricted (either by means of proteolysis, alternative splicing, mutagenesis, or recombinant genetic engineering) from the context of its native full-length or parental protein sequence, which often otherwise masks its novel biological activities.
• resectins are not limited to biotherapeutic agents, diagnostic agents, or drug targets in the treatment of various medical conditions, or their potential association with human diseases.
• AARSs As essential housekeeping genes with a known function in mammals that is critical to life, AARSs were neither considered as drug targets in mammals, nor were they parsed out by standard genomic sequencing, bioinformatic, or similar efforts to identify resectins having non-synthetase activities. Standard biochemical research efforts have similarly been directed away from characterizing the biological properties of AARS resectins and their potential therapeutic and diagnostic relevance, mainly due to the previously understood role of their corresponding full-length parental AARSs.
• Figure 1 shows the domain structure of the Threonyl aminoacyl tRNA synthetase overlaid with the relative positions and sizes of the N-terminal AARS polypeptides identified shown schematically.
• Figure 1A shows fragments identified from mass spectrometry analysis
• Figure IB shows fragments identified from deep sequencing of transcriptomes.
• Figure 2 shows the domain structure of the Threonyl aminoacyl tRNA synthetase overlaid with the relative positions and sizes of the C-terminal AARS polypeptides shown schematically.
• Figure 2A shows fragments identified from mass spectrometry analysis
• Figure 2B shows fragments identified from deep sequencing of transcriptomes.
• Figure 3 shows the domain structure of the Threonyl aminoacyl tRNA synthetase overlaid with the relative positions and sizes of the internal AARS polypeptides identified from mass spectrometry analysis shown schematically.
• Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the discovery of protein fragments of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs), which possess non-canonical biological activities, such as extracellular signaling activities, and/or other characteristics of therapeutic and diagnostic relevance.
• AARSs aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
• the AARSs are universal and essential elements of the protein synthesis machinery found in all organisms, but human AARSs and their associated proteins have naturally-occurring resected variants, with potent cell signaling activities that contribute to normal functioning of humans.
• the activities of these protein fragments are distinct from the protein synthesis activities commonly known for AARSs, and the present invention includes the discovery and development of these resected proteins as new biotherapeutic agents, new discovery research reagents, and as new antigens/targets for directed biologies and diagnostic agents that can be used to potentially treat or diagnose a wide variety of human diseases, such as inflammatory, hematological, neurodegenerative, autoimmune, hematopoietic, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases or disorders.
• diseases such as inflammatory, hematological, neurodegenerative, autoimmune, hematopoietic, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases or disorders.
• the AARS protein fragment(s) of the present invention may therefore be referred to as "resectins,” or alternatively as “appendacrines.”
• resectin derives from the process of excising or resecting a given AARS protein fragment from the context of its full-length parent AARS sequence, which typically masks its non-canonical activities.
• the AARS protein fragments and polynucleotides of the present invention were identified through the occurrence of this resection process, whether naturally-occurring (e.g., proteolytic, splice variant), artificially-induced, or predicted.
• appendacrine derives from a combination of "append” (from Latin - appender) and to “separate” or “discern” (from Greek - crines),” and also reflects the separation of one or more appended domains of the AARS protein fragments from their corresponding full-length or parent AARS sequences.
• AARS fragments have been previously shown to have non- synthetase activities, the expression, isolation, purification, and characterization of such fragments for biotherapeutic, discovery, or diagnostic utility is limited, and persons skilled in the art would not have readily appreciated such activities to associate with each member of the entire family of AARSs, or with alternative fragments.
• a methodical approach was utilized to discover and verify AARS protein fragments for the 20 mitochondrial and 20 cytosolic AARSs (and associated proteins) for biotherapeutic discovery and diagnostic utility.
• certain of the present AARS protein fragment(s) and polynucleotides that encode them are identified from biological samples using mass spectrometry (MS), mainly to identify proteolytic fragments, and others were identified by deep sequencing techniques, mainly to identify splice variants.
• MS mass spectrometry
• Other AARS protein fragment(s) are identified using in silico predictions of amino acid sequences, such as by computationally comparing synthetases from humans and lower organisms along with key demarcations ⁇ e.g., protease sites); this approach utilized sequence analysis of the full-length AARS based on specific criteria to discern proteolytic fragments and functional domains possessing non-canonical biological activities.
• Novel resectins of the AARSs are unexpected, and their differential expression is also unexpected. Specific resections are typically seen under different treatments (e.g. , from cells grown in media with or without serum), at different stages of growth (e.g., adult brain vs. fetal brain) and for different tissue types (e.g., pancreas vs. liver). The pattern of expression is not the same for all aminoacyl tRNA synthetases despite the fact that the canonical functions for all aminoacyl tRNA synthetases are needed in the same cell locations and in relatively proportional amounts.
• AARS protein fragments can be expressed and purified to sufficiently high purity to discern their biological properties. Previously, fragments were often not of sufficient purity, folding, and stability to enable proper biological characterization of non-synthetase activities. Cell based assays, for instance, are used in conjunction with sufficiently pure, stable, soluble and folded resectins to reveal their important biotherapeutic, discovery or diagnostic activities.
• embodiments of the present invention relate to protein fragments of Threonyl tRNA synthetases, related agents and compositions of biotherapeutic, discovery, or diagnostic utility, and methods of use thereof.
• the compositions of the present invention are useful in a variety of diagnostic, drug discovery, and therapeutic applications, as described herein.
• the AARS proteins and fragments are purified and stored in suitable condition to the extent required for such biotherapeutic, discovery, or diagnostic uses.
• compositions comprising an isolated aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least about 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 or 40 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, and has a solubility of at least about 5 mg/ml, and wherein the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis, and less than about 10 EU / mg protein endotoxin.
• the composition is a therapeutic composition.
• the composition is substantially serum free.
• the AARS protein fragment comprises a non-canonical activity.
• the non-canonical biological activity is selected from modulation of extracellular signaling, modulation of cell proliferation, modulation of cell differentiation, modulation of gene transcription, modulation of cytokine production or activity, modulation of cytokine receptor activity, and modulation of inflammation.
• the AARS protein fragment has an EC50 of less than about 1 nM, about 5 nM, about 10 nM, about 50 nM, about 100 nM or about 200 nM for a cell-based non- canonical biological activity.
• the AARS protein fragment is fused to a heterologous polypeptide.
• the AARS fusion protein substantially retains a non- canonical activity of the AARS protein fragment.
• the AARS fusion protein suppresses a non-canonical activity of the AARS protein fragment.
• the heterologous polypeptide is attached to the N-terminus of the AARS protein fragment.
• the heterologous polypeptide is attached to the C- terminus of the AARS protein fragment.
• the heterologous polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of purification tags, epitope tags, targeting sequences, signal peptides, membrane translocating sequences, and PK modifiers.
• the composition comprises an AARS protein fragment at a concentration of least about 10 mg/mL. In certain embodiments the composition comprises an AARS protein fragment which is at least 90% monodisperse. In certain embodiments the composition comprises less than about 3 % high molecular weight aggregated proteins. In certain embodiments the composition exhibits less than 3% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4°C. In certain embodiments the composition exhibits less than 3% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at room temperature.
• compositions comprising an isolated aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that differs from an amino acid sequence set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9 by substitution, deletion, and/or addition of about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 amino acids, wherein the altered protein fragment substantially retains a non-canonical activity of the unaltered protein, or has a dominant negative phenotype in relation to the non-canonical activity, wherein the protein fragment has a solubility of at least about 5 mg/ml, and wherein the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis and less than about 10 EU / mg protein endotoxin.
• the composition is substantially serum free.
• compositions comprising an isolated antibody that specifically binds to an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, wherein affinity of the antibody for the AARS protein fragment is about 10X stronger than its affinity for a corresponding full-length AARS polypeptide.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• One of the surprising aspects of the present invention includes certain resectins possessing "new" surfaces accessible to antibody or other directed biologies, whereas the full length AARS "hides” or covers these surfaces with other sequences or adjacent domains. The process of resecting can also create greater aqueous accessibility for revealing previously unidentified biological activities.
• compositions comprising an isolated antibody that specifically binds to an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, wherein the antibody has an affinity of at least about 10 nM for the AARS protein fragment, and an affinity of at least about 100 nM for a corresponding full-length AARS polypeptide.
• the antibody binds to an epitope located within an AARS polypeptide unique splice junction as set forth in any of Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or to an amino acid sequence C- terminal of this splice site.
• the antibody antagonizes the non- canonical activity of the AARS protein fragment.
• Such antagonists may optionally bind the corresponding parental or full-length AARS.
• bioassay systems comprising a substantially pure aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, and a binding partner that binds to the AARS protein fragment.
• the binding partner is selected from the group consisting of a cellular surface receptor protein, nucleic acid, lipid membrane, cell regulatory protein, enzyme, and transcription factor.
• such a receptor may be part of a cell, preferably a cell relevant to the revealed biology of the resectin.
• Certain embodiments include cellular compositions, comprising an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, and an engineered population of cells in which at least one cell comprises a polynucleotide encoding said AARS protein fragment.
• the cells are capable of growing in a serum free medium.
• detection systems comprising a substantially pure aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 50 or 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, a cell that comprises a cell-surface receptor or an extracellular portion thereof that binds to the protein fragment, and a molecule of less than about 2000 daltons, or a second polypeptide, which modulates binding or interaction between the AARS protein fragment and the extracellular receptor.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• Particular embodiments include diagnostic systems, comprising a substantially pure aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, and a cell that comprises a cell-surface receptor or an extracellular portion thereof that binds to the AARS protein fragment, wherein the system or cell comprises an indicator molecule that allows detection of a change in the levels or activity of the cell- surface receptor or extracellular portion thereof.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• Certain embodiments include cellular growth devices, comprising an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, an engineered population of cells in which at least one cell comprises a polynucleotide encoding said AARS protein fragment, at least about 10 liters of serum- free cell media, and a sterile container.
• the cells utilized for any of the methods or compositions described herein are capable of growing in serum-free media, optionally with an antibiotic and an inducer.
• RNAi agents comprising a sequence that is targeted against a unique splice junction of an AARS splice variant as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9.
• compositions comprising an isolated aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, wherein the protein fragment specifically binds to a binding partner and has a solubility of at least about 5 mg/ml, and wherein the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis.
• the composition may have less than 10 EU endotoxin / mg protein.
• compositions comprising an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that is at least 80%, 85%, 90%), 95%o, 98%o, or 100% identical to an amino acid sequence set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, wherein the protein fragment has a solubility of at least about 5 mg/ml, and wherein the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis and less than 10 EU endotoxin / mg protein.
• AARS isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• the compositions may comprise an AARS protein fragment that is at least about 50%, about 60%), about 70%>, about 80%>, about 90%> or about 95% monodisperse with respect to its apparent molecular mass.
• the compositions comprise less than about 10 % (on a protein basis) high molecular weight aggregated proteins, or less than about 5 % high molecular weight aggregated proteins, or less than about 4% high molecular weight aggregated proteins, or less than about 3% high molecular weight aggregated proteins, or less than 2 % high molecular weight aggregated proteins, or less than about 1% high molecular weight aggregated proteins.
• the compositions exhibits less than about 10% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4 °C, or less than about 5% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4 °C, or less than about 3% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4 °C, or less than about 2% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4 °C, or less than about 1% aggregation when stored at a concentration of at least 10 mg/ mL in PBS for one week at 4 °C.
• compositions comprising a substantially pure aminoacyl-tPvNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, and at least one covalently or non-covalently moiety attached thereto.
• the moiety is a detectable label.
• the moiety is a water soluble polymer.
• the moiety is PEG.
• the moiety is attached to the N-terminus of the protein fragment.
• the moiety is attached to the C-terminus of the protein fragment.
• compositions comprising a solid substrate attached to an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or a biologically active fragment or variant thereof, wherein the protein fragment has a solubility of at least about 5 mg/ml, and the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis.
• AARS isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• compositions comprising a binding agent that specifically binds to an isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein fragment as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, wherein the binding agent has an affinity of at least about 1 nM for the protein fragment.
• the binding agent binds to an epitope located within an AARS polypeptide unique splice junction as set forth in any of Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or to an amino acid sequence C-terminal of this splice site.
• the binding agent antagonizes a non-canonical activity of the AARS polypeptide.
• Certain embodiments include isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) polypeptides, comprising an amino acid sequence of an AARS protein fragment as described herein, an amino acid sequence encoded by an AARS polynucleotide as described herein, or a variant or fragment thereof.
• AARS polypeptides comprise an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or 100% identical to an AARS reference sequence as disclosed in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• AARS polypeptides consist essentially of an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or 100% identical to an AARS reference sequence as disclosed in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• the polypeptide comprises a non-canonical biological activity.
• the non-canonical biological activity is selected from modulation of cell signaling (e.g., extracellular signaling), modulation of cell proliferation, modulation of cell migration, modulation of cell differentiation, modulation of apoptosis or cell death, modulation of angiogenesis, modulation of cell binding, modulation of cellular metabolism, modulation of cellular uptake, modulation of gene transcription, or secretion, modulation of cytokine production or activity, modulation of cytokine receptor activity, and modulation of inflammation.
• cell signaling e.g., extracellular signaling
• Other aspects include antibodies and other binding agents that exhibit binding specificity for an isolated AARS polypeptide as described herein, a binding partner of the AARS polypeptide, or the complex of both.
• the affinity of the antibody or binding agent for the AARS polypeptide is about 10X stronger than its affinity for a corresponding full-length AARS polypeptide.
• the binding agent is selected from a peptide, peptide mimetic, an adnectin, an aptamer, and a small molecule.
• the antibody or binding agent antagonizes a non- canonical activity of the AARS polypeptide.
• the antibody or binding agent agonizes a non-canonical activity of the AARS polypeptide.
• Certain embodiments include isolated aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) polynucleotides, comprising a nucleotide sequence of an AARS polynucleotide as described herein, a nucleotide sequence that encodes an AARS protein fragment as described herein, or a variant, a fragment, or a complement thereof.
• AARS polynucleotides comprise a nucleotide sequence that is at least 80%>, 85%, 90%>, 95%, 98%, or 100% identical to an AARS reference polynucleotide, or a complement thereof, as disclosed in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• the nucleotide sequence is codon optimized for bacterial expression.
• the nucleotide sequence is at least 80%> identical a polynucleotide sequence disclosed in Table E2.
• Specific AARS polynucleotides consist essentially of a nucleotide sequence that is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or 100% identical to an AARS reference polynucleotide, or a complement thereof, as disclosed in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• Other AARS polynucleotides comprise or consist essentially of a nucleotide sequence that specifically hybridizes to an AARS reference polynucleotide, as disclosed in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• the polynucleotide is selected from a primer, a probe, and an antisense oligonucleotide.
• the primer, probe, or antisense oligonucleotide is targeted to a specific or unique splice junction, and / or sequence 3' of this splice site within an AARS polynucleotide.
• Certain embodiments include methods of determining presence or levels of an AARS protein fragment in a sample, comprising contacting the sample with one or more binding agents that specifically bind to an AARS protein fragment as described herein, detecting the presence or absence of the binding agent, and thereby determining the presence or levels of the AARS protein fragment.
• Other embodiments include methods of determining presence or levels of an AARS protein fragment in a sample, comprising analyzing the sample with a detector that is capable of specifically identifying a protein fragment as described herein, and thereby determining the presence or levels of the AARS protein fragment.
• the detector is a mass spectrometer (MS), a flow cytometer, a protein imaging device, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), or a protein microarray.
• MS mass spectrometer
• ELISA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
• Certain embodiments comprise comparing the presence or levels of the AARS protein fragment to a control sample or a predetermined value.
• Certain embodiments comprise characterizing the state of the sample to distinguish it from the control.
• the sample and control comprise a cell or tissue, and the method comprises distinguishing between cells or tissues of different species, cells of different tissues or organs, cells at different cellular developmental states, cells at different cellular differentiation states, cells at different physiological states, or healthy and diseased cells. For instance, selected resectins may be more abundant under conditions such as stress or insult.
• Certain embodiments include discovery methods of, and related compositions for, identifying a compound that specifically binds to an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) polypeptide as described herein, or one or more of its cellular binding partners, comprising a) combining the AARS polypeptide or its cellular binding partner or both with at least one test compound under suitable conditions, and b) detecting binding of the AARS polypeptide or its cellular binding partner or both to the test compound, thereby identifying a compound that specifically binds to the AARS polypeptide or its cellular binding partner or both.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• the test compound is a polypeptide or peptide, an antibody or antigen-binding fragment thereof, a peptide mimetic, or a small molecule.
• the test compound agonizes a non-canonical biological activity of the AARS polypeptide or its cellular binding partner.
• the test compound antagonizes a non-canonical biological activity of the AARS polypeptide or its cellular binding partner.
• Certain embodiments include a compound identified by the above-method, such as an agonist (e.g., small molecule, peptide).
• Certain embodiments include methods of determining presence or levels of a polynucleotide sequence of an AARS splice variant in a sample, comprising contacting the sample with one or more oligonucleotides that specifically hybridize to an AARS polynucleotide as described herein, detecting the presence or absence of the oligonucleotides in the sample, and thereby determining the presence or levels of the polynucleotide sequence of the AARS splice variant.
• inventions include methods of determining presence or levels of a polynucleotide sequence of an AARS splice variant in a sample, comprising contacting the sample with at least two oligonucleotides that specifically amplify an AARS polynucleotide as described herein, performing an amplification reaction, detecting the presence or absence of an amplified product, and thereby determining presence or levels of the polynucleotide sequence of the AARS splice variant.
• the oligonucleotide(s) specifically hybridize to or specifically amplify a splice junction that is unique to the AARS splice variant.
• Certain embodiments include comparing the presence or levels of the AARS protein fragment or splice variant to a control sample or a predetermined value. Certain embodiments include characterizing the state of the sample to distinguish it from the control.
• the sample and control comprise a cell or tissue, and the method comprises distinguishing between cells or tissues of different species, cells of different tissues or organs, cells at different cellular developmental states, cells at different cellular differentiation states, or healthy and diseased cells.
• compositions comprising an AARS polynucleotide described herein, an AARS polypeptide described herein, a binding agent as described herein, or a compound identified by the above-method or described herein, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or carrier.
• Certain embodiments include methods of modulating a cellular activity of a cell, comprising contacting the cell with an AARS polynucleotide described herein, an AARS polypeptide described herein, a binding agent described herein, a compound of the above -method or described herein, or a pharmaceutical composition described herein.
• the cellular activity is selected from cell proliferation, cell migration, cell differentiation, apoptosis or cell death, cell signaling, angiogenesis, cell binding, cellular uptake, cell secretion, metabolism, cytokine production or activity, cytokine receptor activity, gene transcription, and inflammation.
• the cell is selected from the group consisting of pre-adipocytes, bone marrow, neutrophils, blood cells, hepatocytes, astrocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, and skeletal muscle cells.
• the cell is in a subject. Certain embodiments comprise treating the subject, wherein the subject has a condition associated with a neoplastic disease, an immune system disease or condition, an infectious disease, a metabolic disease, an inflammatory disorder, neuronal/neurological disease, a muscular/cardio vascular disease, a disease associated with aberrant hematopoiesis, a disease associated with aberrant angiogenesis, or a disease associated with aberrant cell survival.
• processes for manufacturing a pharmaceutical compound comprising: a) performing an in vitro screen of one or more candidate compounds in the presence an AARS protein fragment of at least 100 amino acids that comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, to identify a compound that specifically binds to the AARS protein fragment; b) performing a cell- based or biochemical or receptor assay with the compound identified in step a), to identify a compound that modulates one or more non-canonical activities of the AARS protein fragment; c) optionally assessing the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the compound identified in step b), to correlate its structure with modulation of the non- canonical activity, and optionally derivatizing the compound to alter its ability to modulate the non-canonical activity; and d) producing sufficient amounts of the compound identified in step b), or the derivatized compound in step c), for use in humans, thereby manufacturing the pharmaceutical compound.
• SAR structure-activity relationship
• Other embodiments include processes for manufacturing a pharmaceutical compound, comprising: a) performing an in vitro screen of one or more candidate compounds in the presence a cell-surface receptor or an extracellular portion thereof that specifically binds to an AARS protein fragment of Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, to identify a compound that specifically binds to the cell-surface receptor or extracellular portion thereof; b) performing a cell-based or biochemical or receptor assay with the compound identified in step a), to identify a compound that modulates one or more non-canonical activities of the AARS protein fragment; c) optionally assessing the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the compound identified in step b), to correlate its structure with modulation of the non-canonical activity, and optionally derivatizing the compound to alter its ability to modulate the non-canonical activity; and d) producing sufficient amounts of the compound identified in step b), or the derivatized compound in step c), for use in humans, thereby
• Some embodiments include a cellular composition, comprising an engineered population of cells in which at least one cell comprises a polynucleotide encoding a heterologous full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein, wherein the cells are capable of growing in a serum-free medium.
• the full length aminoacyl- tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein comprises a heterologous purification or epitope tag to facilitate purification of an AARS protein fragment.
• the full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein comprises a heterologous proteolysis site to enable production of the AARS protein fragment upon cleavage.
• Some embodiments include a method for producing an AARS polypeptide as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2 in situ within a cell, comprising; i) expressing a heterologous full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein within the cell, wherein the cell comprises a protease capable of cleaving the heterologous full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein to produce the AARS polypeptide.
• AARS heterologous full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• Some embodiments include a method for producing an AARS polypeptide as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2 comprising contacting an isolated full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein with a protease that is capable of cleaving the full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein and producing an AARS polypeptide.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• Some embodiments include an engineered full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) protein comprising a heterologous proteolysis site to enable the proteolytic generation of an AARS protein fragment as set forth in any of Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9 or Table E2.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• Some embodiments include a composition, comprising an isolated full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase protein, wherein the composition has a purity of at least about 95% on a protein basis, less than about 10 EU endotoxin / mg protein, and is substantially serum free.
• the full length aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase protein is present at a concentration of at least 10 mg / mL, and is at least 90% monodisperse.
• a further embodiment includes a method of treating a disease or disorder mediated by the dysregulation of the expression, activity or spatiotemporal location of a tRNA synthetase via the administration of an AARS protein fragment, or nucleic acid encoding the ARRS protein fragment, as set forth in any of Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9, or Table E2.
• the disease is selected cancer, neuropathy, diabetes, and inflammatory disorders.
• the current invention is directed, at least in part, to the discovery of novel AARS polypeptides, and methods for their preparation and use, that represent the transformation of native wild type proteins into new forms that exhibit markedly different characteristics compared to the naturally occurring full length Threonyl tRNA synthetase genes.
• AARS polypeptides were identified based on extensive sequence, and mass spectrum analysis of expressed Threonyl tRNA synthetase in different tissues, followed by the systematic production and testing of each potential AARS polypeptide to identify protein sequences that represent stable and soluble protein domains which exhibit novel biological activities, and favorable therapeutic drug characteristics.
• Threonyl RNA synthetase derived AARS polypeptides comprise polypeptide sequences approximately comprising amino acids 1 -322 of Thr tRNA synthetase.
• Threonyl tRNA synthetase derived AARS polypeptides comprise polypeptide sequences approximately comprising amino acids 1 - [0071] In a third aspect, such Threonyl tRNA synthetase derived AARS polypeptides comprise polypeptide sequences approximately comprising amino acids 294-723 of Threonyl tRNA synthetase.
• “about” is meant a quantity, level, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that varies by as much as 30, 25, 20, 25, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1% to a reference quantity, level, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length.
• An "agonist” refers to a molecule that intensifies or mimics an activity.
• Agonists may include proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, small molecules, or any other compound or composition that modulates the activity of an AARS either by directly interacting with the AARS or its binding partner, or by acting on components of the biological pathway in which the AARS participates. Included are partial and full agonists.
• amino acid is intended to mean both naturally occurring and non-naturally occurring amino acids as well as amino acid analogs and mimetics.
• Naturally occurring amino acids include the 20 (L)-amino acids utilized during protein biosynthesis as well as others such as 4-hydroxyproline, hydroxy lysine, desmosine, isodesmosine, homocysteine, citrulline and ornithine, for example.
• Non- naturally occurring amino acids include, for example, (D)-amino acids, norleucine, norvaline, p-fluorophenylalanine, ethionine and the like, which are known to a person skilled in the art.
• Amino acid analogs include modified forms of naturally and non- naturally occurring amino acids.
• Such modifications can include, for example, substitution or replacement of chemical groups and moieties on the amino acid or by derivitization of the amino acid.
• Amino acid mimetics include, for example, organic structures which exhibit functionally similar properties such as charge and charge spacing characteristic of the reference amino acid. For example, an organic structure which mimics Arginine (Arg or R) would have a positive charge moiety located in similar molecular space and having the same degree of mobility as the e-amino group of the side chain of the naturally occurring Arg amino acid.
• Mimetics also include constrained structures so as to maintain optimal spacing and charge interactions of the amino acid or of the amino acid functional groups. Those skilled in the art know or can determine what structures constitute functionally equivalent amino acid analogs and amino acid mimetics.
• non-natural amino acids can be utilized to modify (e.g., increase) a selected non-canonical activity of an AARS protein fragment, or to alter the in vivo or in vitro half-life of the protein.
• Non-natural amino acids can also be used to facilitate (selective) chemical modifications (e.g., pegylation) of an AARS protein.
• certain non-natural amino acids allow selective attachment of polymers such as PEG to a given protein, and thereby improve their pharmacokinetic properties.
• amino acid analogs and mimetics can be found described in, for example, Roberts and Vellaccio, The Peptides: Analysis, Synthesis, Biology, Eds. Gross and Meinhofer, Vol. 5, p. 341, Academic Press, Inc., New York, N.Y. (1983), the entire volume of which is incorporated herein by reference.
• Other examples include peralkylated amino acids, particularly permethylated amino acids. See, for example, Combinatorial Chemistry, Eds. Wilson and Czarnik, Ch. 11, p. 235, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, N.Y. (1997), the entire book of which is incorporated herein by reference.
• Yet other examples include amino acids whose amide portion (and, therefore, the amide backbone of the resulting peptide) has been replaced, for example, by a sugar ring, steroid, benzodiazepine or carbo cycle. See, for instance, Burger's Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Ed. Manfred E. Wolff, Ch. 15, pp. 619-620, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, N.Y. (1995), the entire book of which is incorporated herein by reference. Methods for synthesizing peptides, polypeptides, peptidomimetics and proteins are well known in the art (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,109; M.
• the AARS polypeptides of the present invention may be composed of naturally occurring and non-naturally occurring amino acids as well as amino acid analogs and mimetics.
• the term "antagonist" refers to a molecule that reduces or attenuates an activity. For example, a non-canonical biological activity of an AARS, or another protein.
• Antagonists may include proteins such as antibodies, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, small molecules, or any other compound or composition that modulates the activity of an AARS or its binding partner, either by directly interacting with the AARS or its binding partner or by acting on components of the biological pathway in which the AARS participates. Included are partial and full antagonists.
• AARS aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
• aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases catalyze a two-step reaction: first, they activate their respective amino acid by forming an aminoacyl- adenylate, in which the carboxyl of the amino acid is linked in to the alpha-phosphate of ATP by displacing pyrophosphate, and then, when the correct tRNA is bound, the aminoacyl group of the aminoacyl-adenylate is transferred to the 2' or 3' terminal OH of the tRNA.
• Class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases typically have two highly conserved sequence motifs. These enzymes aminoacylate at the 2'-OH of an adenosine nucleotide, and are usually monomeric or dimeric. Class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases typically have three highly conserved sequence motifs. These enzymes aminoacylate at the 3' -OH of the same adenosine, and are usually dimeric or tetrameric. The active sites of class II enzymes are mainly made up of a seven-stranded anti-parallel ⁇ -sheet flanked by a- helices. Although phenylalanine-tRNA synthetase is class II, it aminoacylates at the 2'- OH.
• AARS polypeptides include sources of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic forms of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS), a tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (TrpRS), a glutaminyl- tRNA synthetase (GlnRS), a glycyl-tRNA synthetase (GlyRS), a histidyl-tRNA synthetase (HisRS), a seryl-tRNA synthetase (SerRS), a phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS), an alanyl-tRNA synthetase (AlaRS), an asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (AsnRS), an aspartyl- tRNA synthetase (AspRS), a cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase (CysRS),
• coding sequence is meant any nucleic acid sequence that contributes to the code for the polypeptide product of a gene.
• non-coding sequence refers to any nucleic acid sequence that does not contribute to the code for the polypeptide product of a gene.
• endotoxin free or “substantially endotoxin free” relates generally to compositions, solvents, and/or vessels that contain at most trace amounts (e.g., amounts having no clinically adverse physiological effects to a subject) of endotoxin, and preferably undetectable amounts of endotoxin.
• Endotoxins are toxins associated with certain bacteria, typically gram-negative bacteria, although endotoxins may be found in gram-positive bacteria, such as Listeria monocytogenes.
• LPS lipopolysaccharides
• LOS lipo-oligo-saccharides
• a depyrogenation oven may be used for this purpose, as temperatures in excess of 300°C are typically required to break down most endotoxins.
• a glass temperature of 250°C and a holding time of 30 minutes is often sufficient to achieve a 3 log reduction in endotoxin levels.
• Other methods of removing endotoxins are contemplated, including, for example, chromatography and filtration methods, as described herein and known in the art.
• compositions comprising AARS polypeptides represent new formulations which exhibit novel and new biological and therapeutic characteristics not found in AARS polypeptide compositions contaminated with serum or endotoxin which have the potential to bind to and alter the novel biological properties of the AARS polypeptides.
• Endotoxins can be detected using routine techniques known in the art.
• the Limulus Ameobocyte Lysate assay which utilizes blood from the horseshoe crab, is a very sensitive assay for detecting presence of endotoxin, and reagents, kits and instrumentation for the detection of endotoxin based on this assay are commercially available, for example from the Lonza Group.
• very low levels of LPS can cause detectable coagulation of the limulus lysate due a powerful enzymatic cascade that amplifies this reaction.
• Endotoxins can also be quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• ELISA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
• endotoxin levels may be less than about 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 EU /mg of protein.
• 1 ng lipopolysaccharide (LPS) corresponds to about 1-10 EU.
• the "purity" of any given agent (e.g., AARS protein fragment) in a composition may be specifically defined.
• certain compositions may comprise an agent that is at least 80, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100% pure, including all decimals in between, as measured, for example and by no means limiting, by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), a well-known form of column chromatography used frequently in biochemistry and analytical chemistry to separate, identify, and quantify compounds.
• HPLC high pressure liquid chromatography
• gene is meant a unit of inheritance that may occupy a specific locus on a chromosome and consists of transcriptional and/or translational regulatory sequences and/or a coding region and/or non-translated sequences (i.e., introns, 5' and 3' untranslated sequences).
• Homology refers to the percentage number of amino acids that are identical or constitute conservative substitutions. Homology may be determined using sequence comparison programs such as GAP (Deveraux et ah, 1984, Nucleic Acids Research 12, 387-395), which is incorporated herein by reference. In this way sequences of a similar or substantially different length to those cited herein could be compared by insertion of gaps into the alignment, such gaps being determined, for example, by the comparison algorithm used by GAP.
• the term "host cell” includes an individual cell or cell culture that can be or has been a recipient of any recombinant vector(s), isolated polynucleotide, or polypeptide of the invention.
• Host cells include progeny of a single host cell, and the progeny may not necessarily be completely identical (in morphology or in total DNA complement) to the original parent cell due to natural, accidental, or deliberate mutation and/or change.
• a host cell includes cells transfected or infected in vivo or in vitro with a recombinant vector or a polynucleotide of the invention.
• a host cell which comprises a recombinant vector of the invention is a recombinant host cell.
• isolated is meant material that is substantially or essentially free from components that normally accompany it in its native state.
• an “isolated polynucleotide,” as used herein, includes a polynucleotide that has been purified from the sequences that flank it in its naturally-occurring state, e.g., a DNA fragment which has been removed from the sequences that are normally adjacent to the fragment.
• an "isolated peptide” or an “isolated polypeptide” and the like, as used herein, includes the in vitro isolation and/or purification of a peptide or polypeptide molecule from its natural cellular environment, and from association with other components of the cell; i.e., it is not significantly associated with in vivo substances.
• mRNA or sometimes refer by "mRNA transcripts" as used herein, include, but not limited to pre-mRNA transcript(s), transcript processing intermediates, mature mRNA(s) ready for translation and transcripts of the gene or genes, or nucleic acids derived from the mRNA transcript(s). Transcript processing may include splicing, editing and degradation.
• a nucleic acid derived from an mRNA transcript refers to a nucleic acid for whose synthesis the mRNA transcript or a subsequence thereof has ultimately served as a template.
• mRNA derived samples include, but are not limited to, mRNA transcripts of the gene or genes, cDNA reverse transcribed from the mRNA, cRNA transcribed from the cDNA, DNA amplified from the genes, RNA transcribed from amplified DNA, and the like.
• Non-canonical activity refers generally to either i) a new activity possessed by an AARS polypeptide of the invention that is not possessed to any significant degree by the intact native full length parental protein, or ii) an activity that was possessed by the by the intact native full length parental protein, where the AARS polypeptide either exhibits a significantly higher (i.e. at least 20% greater) specific activity compared to the intact native full length parental protein, or exhibits the activity in a new context; for example by isolating the activity from other activities possessed by the intact native full length parental protein.
• non-limiting examples of non-canonical activities include extracellular signaling, RNA-binding, amino acid-binding, modulation of cell proliferation, modulation of cell migration, modulation of cell differentiation (e.g., hematopoiesis, neurogenesis, myogenesis, osteogenesis, and adipogenesis), modulation of gene transcription, modulation of apoptosis or other forms of cell death, modulation of cell signaling, modulation of cellular uptake, or secretion, modulation of angiogenesis, modulation of cell binding, modulation of cellular metabolism, modulation of cytokine production or activity, modulation of cytokine receptor activity, modulation of inflammation, and the like.
• EC 50 half maximal effective concentration refers to the concentration of an AARS protein fragment, antibody or other agent described herein at which it induces a response halfway between the baseline and maximum after some specified exposure time; the EC 50 of a graded dose response curve therefore represents the concentration of a compound at which 50% of its maximal effect is observed.
• the EC 50 of an agent provided herein is indicated in relation to a “non- canonical” activity, as noted above.
• EC 50 also represents the plasma concentration required for obtaining 50% of a maximum effect in vivo.
• the “EC 90” refers to the concentration of an agent or composition at which 90% of its maximal effect is observed.
• the "EC 90 " can be calculated from the "EC 50 " and the Hill slope, or it can be determined from the data directly, using routine knowledge in the art.
• the EC 50 of an AARS protein fragment, antibody, or other agent is less than about 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 nM.
• biotherapeutic composition will have an EC 50 value of about InM or less.
• modulating includes “increasing” or “stimulating,” as well as “decreasing” or “reducing,” typically in a statistically significant or a physiologically significant amount as compared to a control.
• a “modulator” may be an agonist, an antagonist, or any mixture thereof depending upon the conditions used.
• An “increased” or “enhanced” amount is typically a “statistically significant” amount, and may include an increase that is 1.1, 1.2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30 or more times (e.g., 500, 1000 times) (including all integers and decimal points in between and above 1, e.g., 1.5, 1.6, 1.7.
• a "decreased" or reduced amount is typically a "statistically significant” amount, and may include a 1%>, 2%>, 3%>, 4%>, 5%>, 6%>, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18% , 19%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or 100% decrease in the amount produced by no composition (the absence of an agent or compound) or a control composition, including all integers in between.
• a control in comparing canonical and non-canonical activities could include the AARS protein fragment of interest compared to its corresponding full-length AARS, or a fragment AARS having comparable canonical activity to its corresponding full-length AARS.
• Other examples of "statistically significant" amounts are described herein.
• an AARS sequence of the present invention may be "derived” from the sequence information of an AARS proteolytic fragment or AARS splice variant, or a portion thereof, whether naturally-occurring or artificially generated, and may thus comprise, consist essentially of, or consist of that sequence.
• polypeptide and protein are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues and to variants and synthetic and naturally occurring analogues of the same.
• amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residues are synthetic non-naturally occurring amino acids, such as a chemical analogue of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally-occurring amino acid polymers and naturally occurring chemical derivatives thereof.
• derivatives include, for example, post-translational modifications and degradation products including pyroglutamyl, iso-aspartyl, proteolytic, phosphorylated, glycosylated, oxidatized, isomerized, and deaminated variants of the AARS reference fragment.
• sequence identity or, for example, comprising a “sequence 50% identical to,” as used herein, refer to the extent that sequences are identical on a nucleotide-by-nucleotide basis or an amino acid-by-amino acid basis over a window of comparison.
• a "percentage of sequence identity” may be calculated by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over the window of comparison, determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base (e.g., A, T, C, G, I) or the identical amino acid residue (e.g., Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Gly, Val, Leu, He, Phe, Tyr, Trp, Lys, Arg, His, Asp, Glu, Asn, Gin, Cys and Met) occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison (i.e., the window size), and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity.
• the identical nucleic acid base e.g., A, T, C, G, I
• the identical amino acid residue e.g., Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Gly, Val, Leu, He, Phe, Tyr, Trp, Lys, Arg,
• references to describe sequence relationships between two or more polynucleotides or polypeptides include “reference sequence,” “comparison window,” “sequence identity,” “percentage of sequence identity” and “substantial identity.”
• a “reference sequence” is at least 12 but frequently 15 to 18 and often at least 25 monomer units, inclusive of nucleotides and amino acid residues, in length.
• two polynucleotides may each comprise (1) a sequence (i.e., only a portion of the complete polynucleotide sequence) that is similar between the two polynucleotides, and (2) a sequence that is divergent between the two polynucleotides
• sequence comparisons between two (or more) polynucleotides are typically performed by comparing sequences of the two polynucleotides over a "comparison window" to identify and compare local regions of sequence similarity.
• a “comparison window” refers to a conceptual segment of at least 6 contiguous positions, usually about 50 to about 100, more usually about 100 to about 150 in which a sequence is compared to a reference sequence of the same number of contiguous positions after the two sequences are optimally aligned.
• the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) of about 20% or less as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences.
• Optimal alignment of sequences for aligning a comparison window may be conducted by computerized implementations of algorithms (GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package Release 7.0, Genetics Computer Group, 575 Science Drive Madison, WI, USA) or by inspection and the best alignment (i.e., resulting in the highest percentage homology over the comparison window) generated by any of the various methods selected.
• GAP Garnier et al.
• sequence similarity or sequence identity between sequences are performed as follows. To determine the percent identity of two amino acid sequences, or of two nucleic acid sequences, the sequences are aligned for optimal comparison purposes (e.g., gaps can be introduced in one or both of a first and a second amino acid or nucleic acid sequence for optimal alignment and non-homologous sequences can be disregarded for comparison purposes).
• the length of a reference sequence aligned for comparison purposes is at least 30%>, preferably at least 40%>, more preferably at least 50%>, 60%>, and even more preferably at least 70%>, 80%>, 90%>, 100%> of the length of the reference sequence.
• amino acid residues or nucleotides at corresponding amino acid positions or nucleotide positions are then compared. When a position in the first sequence is occupied by the same amino acid residue or nucleotide as the corresponding position in the second sequence, then the molecules are identical at that position.
• the percent identity between the two sequences is a function of the number of identical positions shared by the sequences, taking into account the number of gaps, and the length of each gap, which need to be introduced for optimal alignment of the two sequences.
• the comparison of sequences and determination of percent identity between two sequences can be accomplished using a mathematical algorithm.
• the percent identity between two amino acid sequences is determined using the Needleman and Wunsch, (1970, J. Mol. Biol. 48: 444-453) algorithm which has been incorporated into the GAP program in the GCG software package (available at http://www.gcg.com), using either a Blossum 62 matrix or a PAM250 matrix, and a gap weight of 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 and a length weight of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
• the percent identity between two nucleotide sequences is determined using the GAP program in the GCG software package (available at http://www.gcg.com), using a NWSgapdna.CMP matrix and a gap weight of 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 and a length weight of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
• a particularly preferred set of parameters are a Blossum 62 scoring matrix with a gap penalty of 12, a gap extend penalty of 4, and a frame shift gap penalty of 5.
• the percent identity between two amino acid or nucleotide sequences can be determined using the algorithm of E. Meyers and W. Miller (1989, Cabios, 4: 1 1-17) which has been incorporated into the ALIGN program (version 2.0), using a PAM120 weight residue table, a gap length penalty of 12 and a gap penalty of 4.
• nucleic acid and protein sequences described herein can be used as a "query sequence" to perform a search against public databases to, for example, identify other family members or related sequences.
• Such searches can be performed using the NBLAST and XBLAST programs (version 2.0) of Altschul, et al., (1990, J. Mol. Biol, 215: 403-10).
• Gapped BLAST can be utilized as described in Altschul et al, (1997, Nucleic Acids Res, 25: 3389-3402).
• the default parameters of the respective programs ⁇ e.g. , XBLAST and NBLAST.
• the term "solubility" refers to the property of an agent provided herein to dissolve in a liquid solvent and form a homogeneous solution.
• Solubility is typically expressed as a concentration, either by mass of solute per unit volume of solvent (g of solute per kg of solvent, g per dL (100 mL), mg/ml, etc.), molarity, molality, mole fraction or other similar descriptions of concentration.
• the maximum equilibrium amount of solute that can dissolve per amount of solvent is the solubility of that solute in that solvent under the specified conditions, including temperature, pressure, pH, and the nature of the solvent.
• solubility is measured at physiological pH.
• solubility is measured in water or a physiological buffer such as PBS.
• solubility is measured in a biological fluid (solvent) such as blood or serum.
• the temperature can be about room temperature (e.g., about 20, 21 , 22, 23, 24, 25°C) or about body temperature (37°C).
• an agent such as an AARS protein fragment has a solubility of at least about 0.1 , 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1 1 , 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, or 30 mg/ml at room temperature or at 37°C.
• a "splice junction" as used herein includes the region in a mature mRNA transcript or the encoded polypeptide where the 3 ' end of a first exon joins with the 5 ' end of a second exon.
• the size of the region may vary, and may include 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1 1 , 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100 or more (including all integers in between) nucleotide or amino acid residues on either side of the exact residues where the 3 ' end of one exon joins with the 5 ' end of another exon.
• an “exon” refers to a nucleic acid sequence that is represented in the mature form of an RNA molecule after either portions of a precursor RNA (introns) have been removed by cis-splicing or two or more precursor RNA molecules have been ligated by trans-splicing.
• the mature RNA molecule can be a messenger RNA or a functional form of a non-coding RNA such as rRNA or tRNA.
• an exon can refer to the sequence in the DNA or its RNA transcript.
• An "intron” refers to a non- coding nucleic acid region within a gene, which is not translated into a protein. Non- coding intronic sections are transcribed to precursor mRNA (pre -mRNA) and some other RNAs (such as long noncoding RNAs), and subsequently removed by splicing during the processing to mature RNA.
• a "splice variant” refers to a mature mRNA and its encoded protein that are produced by alternative splicing, a process by which the exons of the RNA (a primary gene transcript or pre-mRNA) are reconnected in multiple ways during RNA splicing. The resulting different mRNAs may be translated into different protein isoforms, allowing a single gene to code for multiple proteins.
• a "subject,” as used herein, includes any animal that exhibits a symptom, or is at risk for exhibiting a symptom, which can be treated or diagnosed with an AARS polynucleotide or polypeptide of the invention.
• subjects for which it is desirable to profile levels of AARS polypeptides and/or polynucleotides of the invention for diagnostic or other purposes.
• Suitable subjects include laboratory animals (such as mouse, rat, rabbit, or guinea pig), farm animals, and domestic animals or pets (such as a cat or dog).
• laboratory animals such as mouse, rat, rabbit, or guinea pig
• farm animals such as a cat or dog
• domestic animals or pets such as a cat or dog
• Treatment includes any desirable effect on the symptoms or pathology of a disease or condition that can be effected by the non-canonical activities of an AARS polynucleotide or polypeptide, as described herein, and may include even minimal changes or improvements in one or more measurable markers of the disease or condition being treated. Also included are treatments that relate to non-AARS therapies, in which an AARS sequence described herein provides a clinical marker of treatment. "Treatment” or “treating” does not necessarily indicate complete eradication or cure of the disease or condition, or associated symptoms thereof. The subject receiving this treatment is any subject in need thereof. Exemplary markers of clinical improvement will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.
• Embodiments of the present invention therefore include full length proteins, mature protein isoforms and protein fragments of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARS), in addition to biologically active variants and fragments thereof.
• the proteins and fragments may arise through endogenous proteolysis, in vitro proteolysis, splice variation, or in silico prediction, among other mechanisms.
• the AARS protein fragments described herein, and variants thereof, may possess at least one "non-canonical" biological activity.
• the AARS protein fragment(s) of the present invention are also referred to herein as "AARS polypeptides" or "AARS reference polypeptides.”
• the AARS polypeptides provided herein comprise or consist essentially of all or a portion of the AARS polypeptide "reference sequence(s)" as set forth in Table(s) 1-3, or Table(s) 4-6, or Table(s) 7-9 below, which represent the amino acid sequence(s) of various fragments of Threonyl tRNA synthetases.
• Mouse and human AARS protein sequences are highly related, typically differing by no more than a few amino acids within an entire sequence, a particular domain, or a particular protein fragment.
• N-terminal AARS Polypeptides (Tables 1, 2 & 3)

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