Therapeutic polypeptides, nucleic acids encoding same, and methods of use

• US 20030199442A1
• Filed: 10/01/2002
• Published: 10/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: CuraGen Corporation (Celldex Therapeutics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: CuraGen Corporation (Celldex Therapeutics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Rastelli, Luca, Rieger, Daniel K., Zhong, Mei, Lepley, Denise M., Alsobrook, John P. II, Gorman, Linda, Patturajan, Meera, Guo, Xiaojia (Sasha), Spytek, Kimberly A., Burgess, Catherine E.
• Application Number:
  US10/262,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20030199442A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 530/350
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 14/47 from mammals

Abstract

Disclosed herein are nucleic acid sequences that encode novel polypeptides. Also disclosed are polypeptides encoded by these nucleic acid sequences, and antibodies that immunospecifically bind to the polypeptide, as well as derivatives, variants, mutants, or fragments of the novel polypeptide, polynucleotide, or antibody specific to the polypeptide. The invention further discloses therapeutic, diagnostic and research methods for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders involving, any one of these novel human nucleic acids and proteins.

Claims

1. An isolated polypeptide comprising the mature form of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

5. The polypeptide of claim 1 wherein said polypeptide is naturally occurring.

6. A composition comprising the polypeptide of claim 1 and a carrier.

7. A kit comprising, in one or more containers, the composition of claim 6.

8. The use of a therapeutic in the manufacture of a medicament for treating a syndrome associated with a human disease, the disease selected from a pathology associated with the polypeptide of claim 1, wherein the therapeutic comprises the polypeptide of claim 1.

9. A method for determining the presence or amount of the polypeptide of claim 1 in a sample, the method comprising:

(a) providing said sample;

(b) introducing said sample to an antibody that binds immunospecifically to the polypeptide; and

(c) determining the presence or amount of antibody bound to said polypeptide,

thereby determining the presence or amount of polypeptide in said sample.

10. A method for determining the presence of or predisposition to a disease associated with altered levels of expression of the polypeptide of claim 1 in a first mammalian subject, the method comprising:

a) measuring the level of expression of the polypeptide in a sample from the first mammalian subject; and

b) comparing the expression of said polypeptide in the sample of step (a) to the expression of the polypeptide present in a control sample from a second mammalian subject known not to have, or not to be predisposed to, said disease,

wherein an alteration in the level of expression of the polypeptide in the first subject as compared to the control sample indicates the presence of or predisposition to said disease.

11. A method of identifying an agent that binds to the polypeptide of claim 1, the method comprising:

(a) introducing said polypeptide to said agent; and

(b) determining whether said agent binds to said polypeptide.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the agent is a cellular receptor or a downstream effector.

13. A method for identifying a potential therapeutic agent for use in treatment of a pathology, wherein the pathology is related to aberrant expression or aberrant physiological interactions of the polypeptide of claim 1, the method comprising:

(a) providing a cell expressing the polypeptide of claim 1 and having a property or function ascribable to the polypeptide;

(b) contacting the cell with a composition comprising a candidate substance; and

(c) determining whether the substance alters the property or function ascribable to the polypeptide;

whereby, if an alteration observed in the presence of the substance is not observed when the cell is contacted with a composition in the absence of the substance, the substance is identified as a potential therapeutic agent.

14. A method for screening for a modulator of activity of or of latency or predisposition to a pathology associated with the polypeptide of claim 1, said method comprising:

(a) administering a test compound to a test animal at increased risk for a pathology associated with the polypeptide of claim 1, wherein said test animal recombinantly expresses the polypeptide of claim 1;

(b) measuring the activity of said polypeptide in said test animal after administering the compound of step (a); and

(c) comparing the activity of said polypeptide in said test animal with the activity of said polypeptide in a control animal not administered said polypeptide, wherein a change in the activity of said polypeptide in said test animal relative to said control animal indicates the test compound is a modulator activity of or latency or predisposition to, a pathology associated with the polypeptide of claim 1.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said test animal is a recombinant test animal that expresses a test protein transgene or expresses said transgene under the control of a promoter at an increased level relative to a wild-type test animal, and wherein said promoter is not the native gene promoter of said transgene.

16. A method for modulating the activity of the polypeptide of claim 1, the method comprising contacting a cell sample expressing the polypeptide of claim 1 with a compound that binds to said polypeptide in an amount sufficient to modulate the activity of the polypeptide.

17. A method of treating or preventing a pathology associated with the polypeptide of claim 1, the method comprising administering the polypeptide of claim 1 to a subject in which such treatment or prevention is desired in an amount sufficient to treat or prevent the pathology in the subject.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the subject is a human.

29. An antibody that immunospecifically binds to the polypeptide of claim 1.

30. The antibody of claim 29, wherein the antibody is a monoclonal antibody.

31. The antibody of claim 29, wherein the antibody is a humanized antibody.

36. A method of producing the polypeptide of claim 1, the method comprising culturing a cell under conditions that lead to expression of the polypeptide, wherein said cell comprises a vector comprising, an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the cell is a bacterial cell.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the cell is an insect cell.

39. The method of claim 36 wherein the cell is a yeast cell.

40. The method of claim 36 wherein the cell is a mammalian cell.

2. An isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

41. A method of producing the polypeptide of claim 2, the method comprising culturing a cell under conditions that lead to expression of the polypeptide, wherein said cell comprises a vector comprising an isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the cell is a bacterial cell.

43. The method of claim 41 wherein the cell is an insect cell.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein the cell is a yeast cell.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein the cell is a mammalian cell.

3. An isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence which is at least 95% identical to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

4. An isolated polypeptide, wherein the polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence comprising, one or more conservative substitutions in the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

19. A method of treating a pathological state in a mammal, the method comprising administering to the mammal a polypeptide in an amount that is sufficient to alleviate the pathological state, wherein the polypeptide is a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least 95% identical to a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8, or a biologically active fragment thereof.

20. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

21. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 20, wherein the nucleic acid molecule is naturally occurring.

25. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 20, wherein said nucleic acid molecule hybridizes under stringent conditions to the nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8, or a complement of said nucleotide sequence.

26. A vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 20.

27. The vector of claim 26, further comprising a promoter operably linked to said nucleic acid molecule.

28. A cell comprising the vector of claim 26.

32. A method for determining the presence or amount of the nucleic acid molecule of claim 20 in a sample, the method comprising:

(a) providing said sample;

(b) introducing said sample to a probe that binds to said nucleic acid molecule; and

(c) determining the presence or amount of said probe bound to said nucleic acid molecule,

thereby determining the presence or amount of the nucleic acid molecule in said sample.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein presence or amount of the nucleic acid molecule is used as a marker for cell or tissue type.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein the cell or tissue type is cancerous.

35. A method for determining the presence of or predisposition to a disease associated with altered levels of expression of the nucleic acid molecule of claim 20 in a first mammalian subject, the method comprising:

a) measuring the level of expression of the nucleic acid in a sample from the first mammalian subject; and

b) comparing the level of expression of said nucleic acid in the sample of step (a) to the level of expression of the nucleic acid present in a control sample from a second mammalian subject known not to have or not be predisposed to, the disease;

wherein an alteration in the level of expression of the nucleic acid in the first subject as compared to the control sample indicates the presence of or predisposition to the disease.

22. A nucleic acid molecule, wherein the nucleic acid molecule differs by a single nucleotide from a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

23. An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding the mature form of a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:

2n, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.

24. An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of 2n-1, wherein n is an integer between 1 and 8.