COMPOSITION OF MATTER COMPRISING PRIMARY NUCLEIC ACID COMPONENT

• US 20080108139A1
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Enzo Therapeutics Incorporated (Enzo Biochem Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Enzo Therapeutics Incorporated (Enzo Biochem Incorporated)
• Inventors: Liu, Dakai, Kelker, Norman, Rabbani, Elazar, Stavrianopoulos, Jannis, Donegan, James, Engelhardt, Dean
• Application Number:
  US11/929,055
• Publication Number:
  US 20080108139A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/455
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 31/12 Antivirals
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 31/18 for HIV
• CPC Class Codes: A61P 43/00 Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 14/005 from viruses
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 14/62 Insulins
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/1132 against retroviridae, e.g. HIV
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/87 Introduction of foreign genetic material using processes not otherwise provided for, e.g. co-transformation
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2740/16322 New viral proteins or individual genes, new structural or functional aspects of known viral proteins or genes
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/1247 DNA-directed RNA polymerase (2.7.7.6)
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6897 involving reporter genes operably linked to promoters
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/703 Viruses associated with AIDS
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2525/301 Hairpin oligonucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2525/307 Circular oligonucleotides

Abstract

The present invention provides an array of compositions useful for effecting and/or exhibiting changes in biological functioning and processing within cells and in biological systems containing such cells. In effect, these compositions combine chemical modifications and/or ligand additions with biological functions. The chemical modifications and/or ligand additions provide additional characteristics to the compositions without interfering substantially with their biological function. Such additional characteristics include nuclease resistance, targeting specific cells or specific cell receptors localizing to specific sites within cells and augmenting interactions between the compositions and target cells of interest as well as decreasing such interactions when desired. Also provided by the present invention are processes and kits.

Claims

1. A nucleic acid construct which comprises a nucleic acid sequence which encodes a polymerase, said construct further comprising an intron sequence, non-native to said polymerase, wherein said intron sequence is within the sequence encoding said polymerase and wherein said polymerase is (a) incapable of being expressed in a prokaryotic cell, due to the presence of said intron and (b) is capable of producing more than one copy of a nucleic acid sequence from said construct when introduced into a eukaryotic cell.

3. A method for selectively expressing a polymerase in a eukaryotic cell comprising

(a) providing the nucleic acid construct of claim 1 and

(b) introducing said construct into said eukaryotic cell.

2. A nucleic acid construct which comprises a sequence that encodes a gene product, said construct further comprising an intron sequence non-native to said gene product, wherein (a) said intron sequence is within the sequence encoding said gene product;

(b) said gene product is incapable of being expressed in a prokaryotic cell due to the presence of said intron; and

(c) said gene product or protein expressed from said gene product would be toxic specifically to a prokaryotic cell in the absence of said non-native intron.

4. A method for selectively expressing a gene product comprising an intron non-native to said gene product in a eukaryotic cell comprising

(a) providing the nucleic acid construct of claim 2 and

(b) introducing said nucleic acid construct into a eukaryotic cell.