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
  • C07K14/46—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans from vertebrates
  • C07K14/47—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof from animals; from humans from vertebrates from mammals
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/10—Processes for the isolation, preparation or purification of DNA or RNA
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
  • C12Q1/00—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
  • C12Q1/68—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving nucleic acids
  • C12Q1/6876—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes
  • C12Q1/6883—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes for diseases caused by alterations of genetic material
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
  • C12Q1/00—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions
  • C12Q1/68—Measuring or testing processes involving enzymes, nucleic acids or microorganisms; Compositions therefor; Processes of preparing such compositions involving nucleic acids
  • C12Q1/6876—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes
  • C12Q1/6883—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes for diseases caused by alterations of genetic material
  • C12Q1/6886—Nucleic acid products used in the analysis of nucleic acids, e.g. primers or probes for diseases caused by alterations of genetic material for cancer
• • 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
  • A61K48/005—Medicinal preparations containing genetic material which is inserted into cells of the living body to treat genetic diseases; Gene therapy characterised by an aspect of the 'active' part of the composition delivered, i.e. the nucleic acid delivered
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Q—MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
  • C12Q2600/00—Oligonucleotides characterized by their use
  • C12Q2600/156—Polymorphic or mutational markers

Definitions

• the present invention relates to novel ovarian related polynucleotides, the polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides herein collectively referred to as "ovarian antigens," and antibodies that immunospecifically bind these polypeptides, and the use of such ovarian polynucleotides, antigens, and antibodies for detecting, treating, preventing and/or prognosing disorders of the reproductive system, particularly disorders of the ovaries and/or breast, including, but not limited to, the presence of ovarian and/or breast cancer and ovarian and/or breast cancer metastases. More specifically, isolated ovarian nucleic acid molecules are provided encoding novel ovarian polypeptides.
• Novel ovarian polypeptides and antibodies that bind to these polypeptides are provided. Also provided are vectors, host cells, and recombinant and synthetic methods for producing human ovarian polynucleotides, polypeptides, and/or antibodies.
• the invention further relates to diagnostic and therapeutic methods useful for diagnosing, treating, preventing and/or prognosing disorders related to the ovaries and/or breast, including ovarian and/or breast cancer, and therapeutic methods for treating such disorders.
• the invention further relates to screening methods for identifying agonists and antagonists of polynucleotides and polypeptides of the invention.
• the invention further relates to methods and/or compositions for inhibiting or promoting the production and/or function of the polypeptides of the invention.
• the female reproductive system is comprised of both external and internal organs.
• the external organs function in permitting sperm to enter the body and protecting the internal genital organs from infection and injury.
• the internal organs form a pathway (the genital tract) for reproduction, beginning at the ovaries, through the fallopian tubes (oviducts) and uterus, to the birth canal (vagina).
• a woman's ovaries are located on both sides of the uterus, below the opening of the fallopian tubes (tubes that extend from the uterus to the ovaries). In addition to producing egg cells for reproduction, the ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone, which affect many of the female characteristics and reproductive functions.
• Stein-Leventhal syndrome This syndrome is and endocrine disorder characterized by an elevated level of male hormones (androgens). Other than anovulation, symptoms include growth of male-patterned body hair (hirsutism), excessive acne, irregular or absent menses, excessive bleeding, and obesity. Usually, the ovaries appear enlarged and may contain many follicular cysts.
• Ovaries include a variety of cell types, each of which may give rise to a distinct type of cancer, including, but not limited to, ovarian epithelial cancer, ovarian germ cell tumors, ovarian papillary serous adenocarcinoma, ovarian mucinous adenocarcinoma, ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and ovarian low malignant tumors.
• disorders of the ovaries also include, but are not limited to, inflammatory disorders, such as oophoritis (e.g., caused by viral or bacterial infection), ovarian cysts, and autoimmune disorders (e.g., premature ovarian failure and autoimmune oophoritis).
• inflammatory disorders such as oophoritis (e.g., caused by viral or bacterial infection), ovarian cysts, and autoimmune disorders (e.g., premature ovarian failure and autoimmune oophoritis).
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, other than skin cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
• the American Cancer Society predicts that there will be about 182,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the year 2000 among women in this country and about 40,800 deaths from the disease.
• Breast cancer also occurs among men, although much less often, It is generally believed that this malignancy arises from a multi step process involving mutations in a relatively small number of genes, perhaps 10 or less. These mutations result in significant changes in the growth and differentiation of breast tissue that allow it to grow independent of normal cellular controls, to metastasize, and to escape immune surveillance.
• Table 1A The third column provides the sequence identifier, "SEQ ID NO:X”, for each of the contig polynucleotide sequences disclosed in Table 1A.
• the fourth column, “ORF (From-To)" provides the location (i.e., nucleotide position numbers) within the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X that delineate the preferred open reading frame (ORF) shown in the sequence listing and referenced in Table 1A as
• SEQ ID NO:Y (column 5). Column 6 lists residues comprising predicted epitopes contained in the polypeptides encoded by each of the preferred ORFs (SEQ ID NO:Y).
• OMIM Disease Reference(s) A key to the OMIM reference identification numbers is provided in Table 5.
• the sixth column provides the location (i.e., nucleotide position numbers) within the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:B which delineate certain polynucleotides of the invention that are also exemplary members of polynucleotide sequences that encode polypeptides of the invention (e.g., polypeptides containing amino acid sequences encoded by the polynucleotide sequences delineated in column six, and fragments and variants thereof).
• polypeptides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, an amino acid sequence encoded by the polynucleotides in SEQ ID NO:X as delineated in columns 8 and 9, or fragments or variants thereof.
• Table 3 provides polynucleotide sequences that may be disclaimed according to certain embodiments of the invention.
• the fourth column provides a unique integer 'a' where 'a' is any integer between 1 and the final nucleotide minus 15 of SEQ ID NO:X, represented as "Range of a”, and the fifth column provides a unique integer 'b' where 'b' is any integer between 15 and the final nucleotide of SEQ ID NO:X, represented as "Range of b", where both a and b correspond to the positions of nucleotide residues shown in SEQ ID NO:X, and where b is greater than or equal to a + 14.
• polynucleotides shown as SEQ ID NO:X the uniquely defined integers can be substituted into the general formula of a-b, and used to describe polynucleotides which may be preferably excluded from the invention.
• preferably excluded from the polynucleotides of the invention are at least one, two, three, four, five, ten, or more of the polynucleotide sequence(s) having the accession number(s) disclosed in the sixth column of this Table (including for example, published sequence in connection with a particular BAC clone).
• Table 6 summarizes ATCC Deposits, Deposit dates, and ATCC designation numbers of deposits made with the ATCC in connection with the present application.
• isolated refers to material removed from its original environment (e.g., the natural environment if it is naturally occurring), and thus is altered “by the hand of man” from its natural state.
• an isolated polynucleotide could be part of a vector or a composition of matter, or could be contained within a cell, and still be “isolated” because that vector, composition of matter, or particular cell is not the original environment of the polynucleotide.
• SEQ ID NO:X was often generated by overlapping sequences contained in multiple clones (contig analysis).
• a representative clone containing all or most of the sequence for SEQ ID NO:X is deposited at Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGS) in a catalogued and archived library, As shown, for example, in column 1 of Table 1 A, each clone is identified by a cDNA Clone ID (identifier generally referred to herein as Clone ID NO:Z).
• Clone ID NO:Z identifier generally referred to herein as Clone ID NO:Z.
• Each Clone ID is unique to an individual clone and the Clone ID is all the information needed to retrieve a given clone from the HGS library.
• “Stringent hybridization conditions” refers to an overnight incubation at 42 degree C in a solution comprising 50% formamide, 5x SSC (750 mM NaCl, 75 mM trisodium citrate), 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 7.6), 5x Denhardt's solution, 10% dextran sulfate, and 20 ⁇ g/ml denatured, sheared salmon sperm DNA, followed by washing the filters in O.lx SSC at about 65 degree C.
• blocking reagents include Denhardt's reagent, BLOTTO, heparin, denatured salmon sperm DNA, and commercially available proprietary formulations.
• the inclusion of specific blocking reagents may require modification of the hybridization conditions described above, due to problems with compatibility.
• the polynucleotide of the present invention can be composed of any polyribonucleotide or polydeoxribonucleotide, which may be unmodified RNA or DNA or modified RNA or DNA.
• polynucleotides can be composed of single- and double-stranded DNA, DNA that is a mixture of single- and double- stranded regions, single- and double-stranded RNA, and RNA that is mixture of single- and double-stranded regions, hybrid molecules comprising DNA and RNA that may be single-stranded or, more typically, double-stranded or a mixture of single- and double-stranded regions.
• the fifth column in Table 1A provides the corresponding SEQ ID NO:Y for the polypeptide sequence encoded by the preferred ORF delineated in column 4.
• the invention provides an amino acid sequence comprising, or alternatively consisting of, a polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X delineated by "ORF (From-To)". Also provided are polynucleotides encoding such amino acid sequences and the complementary strand thereto.
• RNA oligonucleotide is ligated to the 5' ends of a population of RNA presumably containing full-length gene RNA transcript.
• a primer set containing a primer specific to the ligated RNA oligonucleotide and a primer specific to a known sequence of the gene of interest is used to PCR amplify the 5' portion of the desired full length gene which may then be sequenced and used to generate the full length gene.
• This method starts with total RNA isolated from the desired source, poly A RNA may be used but is not a prerequisite for this procedure.
• sequence listing may in some instances list only a portion of the DNA sequence in a clone included in the ATCC Deposits, it is well within the ability of one skilled in the art to sequence the DNA included in a clone contained in the ATCC Deposits by use of a sequence (or portion thereof) described in, for example Tables 1A or 2 by procedures hereinafter further described, and others apparent to those skilled in the art.
• the present invention provides a polynucleotide comprising, or alternatively consisting of, the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:X, and/or the cDNA sequence contained in Clone ID NO:Z.
• the present invention also provides a polypeptide comprising, or alternatively, consisting of, the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO:Y, a polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:X or a complement thereof, a polypeptide encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z, and/or the polypeptide sequence encoded by a nucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:B as defined in column 6 of Table IB.
• Polynucleotides encoding a polypeptide comprising, or alternatively consisting of the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO:Y, a polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:X, a polypeptide encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z and/or a polypeptide sequence encoded by a nucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:B as defined in column 6 of Table IB are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB which correspond to the same contig sequence identifer SEQ ID NO:X (see Table IB, column 2) and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that published for the BAC clone identified as BAC ID NO: A (see Table IB, column 4).
• the above-described polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB which correspond to the same contig sequence identifer SEQ ID NO:X (see Table IB, column 2) and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that contained in the BAC clone identified as BAC ID NO: A (See Table IB, column 4).
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides, other polynucleotides that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above-described polynucleotides and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• representative examples of polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more of the sequences delineated in the same row of Table IB column 6, or any combination thereof.
• Additional, representative examples of polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more of the complementary strand(s) of the sequences delineated in the same row of Table IB column 6, or any combination thereof.
• above-described polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated in the same row of Table IB, column 6, and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that of the BAC fragment having the sequence disclosed in SEQ ID NO:B (see Table IB, column 5).
• the above-described polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated in the same row of Table IB, column 6, and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that published for the BAC clone identified as BAC ID NO: A (see Table IB, column 4).
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above- described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:X and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of the sequence of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB are directly contiguous. Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of a fragment or variant of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:X and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of the sequence of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB are directly contiguous.
• Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids encoding these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above-described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides, are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of another sequence in column 6 corresponding to the same Clone ID NO:Z (see Table IB, column 1) are directly contiguous. Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one sequence in column 6 corresponding to the same contig sequence identifer SEQ ID NO:X (see Table IB, column 2) are directly contiguous. Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of another sequence in column 6 corresponding to the same row are directly contiguous.
• the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB is directly contiguous with the 5' 10 polynucleotides of the next sequential exon delineated in Table IB, column 6.
• HODCV09 23 973487 1 - 602 15 - 616 H01843, AA988637, AA487321, AI820602, AW068586, AI097301, AI279255,
• the present invention is also directed to nucleic acid molecules which comprise, or alternatively consist of, a nucleotide sequence which is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100%, identical to, for example, any of the nucleotide sequences in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), or (i) above, the nucleotide coding sequence in SEQ ID NO:X or the complementary strand thereto, the nucleotide coding sequence of the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z or the complementary strand thereto, a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y, a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide sequence encoded by the nucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:X, a polypeptide sequence encoded by the complement of the polynucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:X, a nucleotide
• polypeptides are also provided (e.g., those fragments described herein).
• Further proteins encoded by polynucleotides which hybridize to the complement of the nucleic acid molecules encoding these amino acid sequences under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention, as are the polynucleotides encoding these proteins.
• deletions are internal deletions so that there are no bases on the 5' or 3' of the subject sequence which are not matched/aligned with the query.
• percent identity calculated by FASTDB is not manually corrected.
• bases 5' and 3' of the subject sequence which are not matched/aligned with the query sequence are manually corrected for. No other manual corrections are to made for the purposes of the present invention.
• a preferred method for determining the best overall match between a query sequence (a sequence of the present invention) and a subject sequence can be determined using the FASTDB computer program based on the algorithm of Brutlag et al. (Comp. App. Biosci.6:237-245 (1990)).
• the query and subject sequences are either both nucleotide sequences or both amino acid sequences.
• the result of said global sequence alignment is expressed as percent identity.
• a 90 amino acid residue subject sequence is aligned with a
• the polynucleotide variants of the invention may contain alterations in the coding regions, non-coding regions, or both. Especially preferred are polynucleotide variants containing alterations which produce silent substitutions, additions, or deletions, but do not alter the properties or activities of the encoded polypeptide. Nucleotide variants produced by silent substitutions due to the degeneracy of the genetic code are preferred. Moreover, polypeptide variants in which less than 50, less than 40, less than 30, less than 20, less than 10, or 5-50, 5-25, 5-10, 1-5, or 1-2 amino acids are substituted, deleted, or added in any combination are also preferred. Polynucleotide variants can be produced for a variety of reasons, e.g., to optimize codon expression for a particular host (change codons in the human mRNA to those preferred by a bacterial host such as E. coli).
• Naturally occurring variants are called "allelic variants," and refer to one of several alternate forms of a gene occupying a given locus on a chromosome of an organism. (Genes II, Lewin, B., ed., John Wiley & Sons, New York (1985).) These allelic variants can vary at either the polynucleotide and/or polypeptide level and are included in the present mvention. Alternatively, non-naturally occurring variants may be produced by mutagenesis techniques or by direct synthesis.
• the invention further includes polypeptide variants which show a functional activity (e.g., biological activity) of the polypeptides of the invention.
• a functional activity e.g., biological activity
• variants include deletions, insertions, inversions, repeats, and substitutions selected according to general rules known in the art so as have little effect on activity.
• nucleic acid molecules of the present invention that do not encode a polypeptide having functional activity include, inter alia, (1) isolating a gene or allelic or splice variants thereof in a cDNA library; (2) in situ hybridization (e.g., "FISH") to metaphase chromosomal spreads to provide precise chromosomal location of the gene, as described in Nerma et al., Human Chromosomes: A Manual of Basic Techniques, Pergamon Press, New York (1988); (3) Northern Blot analysis for detecting mRNA expression in specific tissues (e.g., normal ovarian tissues or diseased ovarian tissues); and (4) in situ hybridization (e.g., histochemistry) for detecting mRNA expression in specific tissues (e.g., normal ovarian tissues or diseased ovarian tissues).
• in situ hybridization e.g., histochemistry
• Such functional activities mclude, but are not limited to, biological activity, antigenicity [ability to bind (or compete with a polypeptide of the invention for binding) to an anti-polypeptide of the invention antibody], immunogenicity (ability to generate antibody which binds to a specific polypeptide of the mvention), ability to form multimers with polypeptides of the invention, and ability to bind to a receptor or ligand for a polypeptide of the invention.
• antibody binding is detected by detecting a label on the primary antibody.
• the primary antibody is detected by detecting binding of a secondary antibody or reagent to the primary antibody.
• the secondary antibody is labeled. Many means are known in the art for detecting binding in an immunoassay and are within the scope of the present invention.
• the first strategy exploits the tolerance of amino acid substitutions by natural selection during the process of evolution. By comparing amino acid sequences in different species, conserved amino acids can be identified. These conserved amino acids are likely important for protein function. In contrast, the amino acid positions where substitutions have been tolerated by natural selection indicates that these positions are not critical for protein function. Thus, positions tolerating amino acid substitution could be modified while still maintaining biological activity of the protein.
• tolerated conservative amino acid substitutions involve replacement of the aliphatic or hydrophobic amino acids Ala, Nal, Leu and He; replacement of the hydroxyl residues Ser and Thr; replacement of the acidic residues Asp and Glu; replacement of the amide residues Asn and Gin, replacement of the basic residues Lys, Arg, and His; replacement of the aromatic residues Phe, Tyr, and Tip, and replacement of the small-sized amino acids Ala, Ser, Thr, Met, and Gly.
• polypeptide variants containing amino acid substitutions of charged amino acids with other charged or neutral amino acids may produce proteins with improved characteristics, such as less aggregation. Aggregation of pharmaceutical formulations both reduces activity and increases clearance due to the aggregate's immunogenic activity. See Pinckard et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol. 2:331- 340 (1967); Robbins et al, Diabetes 36: 838-845 (1987); Cleland et al., Crit. Rev. Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems 10:307-377 (1993).
• a further embodiment of the invention relates to polypeptides which comprise the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence which contains at least one amino acid substitution, but not more than 50 amino acid substitutions, even more preferably, not more than 40 amino acid substitutions, still more preferably, not more than 30 amino acid substitutions, and still even more preferably, not more than 20 amino acid substitutions from a polypeptide sequence disclosed herein.
• a polypeptide prefferably has an amino acid sequence which comprises the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y, an amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO:X, an amino acid sequence encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2, an amino acid sequence encoded by the complement of SEQ ID NO:X, and/or the amino acid sequence encoded by cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z which contains, in order of ever-increasing preference, at least one, but not more than 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 amino acid substitutions.
• the polypeptides of the invention comprise, or alternatively, consist of, fragments or variants of a reference amino acid sequence selected from: (a) the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:Y or fragments thereof (e.g., the mature form and/or other fragments described herein); (b) the amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO:X or fragments thereof; (c) the amino acid sequence encoded by the complement of SEQ ID NO:X or fragments thereof; (d) the amino acid sequence encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2 or fragments thereof; and (e) the amino acid sequence encoded by cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z or fragments thereof; wherein the fragments or variants have 1-5, 5-10, 5-25, 5-50, 10-50 or 50-150, amino acid residue additions, substitutions, and/or deletions when compared to the reference amino acid sequence.
• the amino acid substitutions are conservative.
• polynucleotide fragment refers to a polynucleotide having a nucleic acid sequence which, for example: is a portion of the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z or the complementary strand thereto; is a portion of the polynucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z or the complementary strand thereto; is a portion of a polynucleotide sequence encoding the amino acid sequence encoded by the region of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2 or the complementary strand thereto; is a portion of the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2 or the complementary strand thereto; is a portion of the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2 or the complementary strand thereto; is a portion of the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X as
• polynucleotide fragments of the invention are preferably at least about
• polynucleotide fragments of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a sequence from about nucleotide number 1-50, 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, 201-250, 251-300, 301-350, 351-400, 401- 450, 451-500, 501-550, 551-600, 651-700, 701-750, 751-800, 800-850, 851-900, 901- 950, 951-1000, 1001-1050, 1051-1100, 1101-1150, 1151-1200, 1201-1250, 1251- 1300, 1301-1350, 1351-1400, 1401-1450, 1451-1500, 1501-1550, 1551-1600, 1601- 1650, 1651-1700, 1701-1750, 1751-1800, 1801-1850, 1851-1900, 1901-1950, 1951- 2000, 2001-2050, 2051-2100, 2101-2150, 2151-2200, 2201-2250, 2251-2300, 2
• polynucleotide fragments of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a sequence from about nucleotide number 1-50, 51-100, 101-150, 151-200, 201-250, 251-300, 301-350, 351-400, 401- 450, 451-500, 501-550, 551-600, 651-700, 701-750, 751-800, 800-850, 851-900, 901- 950, 951-1000, 1001-1050, 1051-1100, 1101-1150, 1151-1200, 1201-1250, ⁇ SI- OO, 1301-1350, 1351-1400, 1401-1450, 1451-1500, 1501-1550, 1551-1600, 1601- 1650, 1651-1700, 1701-1750, 1751-1800, 1801-1850, 1851-1900, 1901-1950, 1951- 2000, 2001-2050, 2051-2100, 2101-2150, 2151-2200, 2201-2250, 2251-2300, 2
• polynucleotide fragments of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, a nucleic acid sequence comprising one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more of the above described polynucleotide fragments of the invention in combination with a polynucleotide sequence delineated in Table IB column 6.
• the above- described polynucleotide fragments of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated in Table IB, column 6, and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that published for the BAC clone identified as BAC ID NO: A (see Table IB, column 4).
• the above-described polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, sequences delineated Table IB, column 6, and have a nucleic acid sequence which is different from that contained in the BAC clone identified as BAC ID NO:A (see Table IB, column 4).
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more fragments of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB, and the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X (e.g., as defined in Table IB, column 2) or fragments or variants thereof.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides, other polynucleotides that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more fragments of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB which correspond to the same Clone ID NO:Z (see Table IB, column 1), and the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X (e.g., as defined in Table 1A or IB) or fragments or variants thereof.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides, other polynucleotides that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, or more fragments of the sequences delineated in the same row of column 6 of Table IB, and the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X (e.g., as defined in Table 1A or IB) or fragments or variants thereof
• polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides, other polynucleotides that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:X are directly contiguous. Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids that encode these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above- described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of a fragment or variant of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:X (e.g., as described herein) are directly contiguous Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids encoding these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above-described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• polynucleotides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of a polynucleotide sequence in which the 3' 10 polynucleotides of a fragment or variant of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:X and the 5' 10 polynucleotides of the sequence of one of the sequences delineated in column 6 of Table IB are directly contiguous. Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions, are also encompassed by the invention.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids encoding these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above-described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• Nucleic acids which hybridize to the complement of these 20 contiguous polynucleotides under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency conditions are also encompassed by the mvention.
• Polypeptides encoded by these polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids, other polynucleotides and/or nucleic acids encoding these polypeptides, and antibodies that bind these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention. Additionally, fragments and variants of the above-described polynucleotides, nucleic acids, and polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• a "polypeptide fragment” refers to an amino acid sequence which is a portion of that contained in SEQ ID NO:Y, a portion of an amino acid sequence encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2, a portion of an amino acid sequence encoded by the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X, a portion of an amino acid sequence encoded by the complement of the polynucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:X, and/or a portion of an amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z.
• polypeptide fragments of the mvention include, for example, fragments comprising, or alternatively consisting of, from about amino acid number 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-100, 102-120, 121- 140, 141-160, 161-180, 181-200, 201-220, 221-240, 241-260, 261-280, 281-300, 301- 320, 321-340, 341-360, 361-380, 381-400, 401-420, 421-440, 441-460, 461-480, 481- 500, 501-520, 521-540, 541-560, 561-580, 581-600, 601-620, 621-640, 641-660, 661- 680, 681-700, 701-720, 721-740, 741-760, 761-780, 781-800, 801-820, 821-840, 841- 860, 861-880, 881-900, 901-920, 921-940, 9
• polypeptide fragments of the invention may be at least about 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, or 150 amino acids in length.
• “about” includes the particularly recited ranges or values, or ranges or values larger or smaller by several (5, 4, 3, 2, or 1) amino acids, at either extreme or at both extremes.
• Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptide fragments are also encompassed by the invention.
• polypeptide fragments mclude the secreted protein as well as the mature form.
• Further preferred polypeptide fragments include the secreted protein or the mature form having a continuous series of deleted residues from the amino or the carboxy terminus, or both.
• any number of amino acids, ranging from 1-60 can be deleted from the amino terminus of either the secreted polypeptide or the mature form.
• any number of amino acids, ranging from 1-30 can be deleted from the carboxy terminus of the secreted protein or mature form.
• any combination of the above amino and carboxy terminus deletions is preferred.
• polynucleotides encoding these polypeptide fragments are also preferred.
• the present invention further provides polypeptides having one or more residues deleted from the amino terminus of the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide disclosed herein (e.g., a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y, a polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:X or the complement thereof, a polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2, a polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:B as defined in column 6 of Table IB, and/or a polypeptide encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z).
• a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y e.g., a polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y, a polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:X or the complement thereof, a polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2, a
• N-terminal deletions may be described by the general formula m-q, where q is a whole integer representing the total number of amino acid residues in a polypeptide of the invention (e.g., the polypeptide disclosed in SEQ ID NO:Y, or the polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2), and m is defined as any integer ranging from 2 to q-6. Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• any of the above described N- or C-terminal deletions can be combined to produce a N- and C-terminal deleted polypeptide.
• the invention also provides polypeptides having one or more amino acids deleted from both the amino and the carboxyl termini, which may be described generally as having residues m-n of a polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:X (e.g., including, but not limited to, the preferred polypeptide disclosed as SEQ ID NO:Y and the polypeptide encoded by the portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2), the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z, and/or the complement thereof, where n and m are integers as described above. Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• the present application is also directed to proteins containing polypeptides at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to a polypeptide sequence set forth herein.
• the application is directed to proteins containing polypeptides at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99%o identical to polypeptides having the amino acid sequence of the specific N- and C-terminal deletions.
• Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• Polypeptide regions that may be routinely obtained using the DNASTAR computer algorithm include, but are not limited to, Garnier-Robson alpha-regions, beta-regions, turn-regions, and coil-regions; Chou-Fasman alpha-regions, beta-regions, and turn-regions; Kyte-Doolittle hydrophilic regions and hydrophobic regions; Eisenberg alpha- and beta-amphipathic regions; Karplus-Schulz flexible regions; Emini surface-forming regions; and Jameson- Wolf regions of high antigenic index.
• highly preferred polynucleotides of the invention in this regard are those that encode polypeptides comprising regions that combine several structural features, such as several (e.g., 1, 2, 3 or 4) of the features set out above.
• Emini surface-forming regions, and Jameson-Wolf regions of high antigenic index can routinely be used to determine polypeptide regions that exhibit a high degree of potential for antigenicity. Regions of high antigenicity are determmed from data by DNASTAR analysis by choosing values which represent regions of the polypeptide which are likely to be exposed on the surface of the polypeptide in an environment in which antigen recognition may occur in the process of initiation of an immune response.
• Preferred polypeptide fragments of the invention are fragments comprising, or alternatively, consisting of, an amino acid sequence that displays a functional activity (e.g. biological activity) of the polypeptide sequence of which the amino acid sequence is a fragment.
• a polypeptide displaying a "functional activity” is meant a polypeptide capable of one or more known functional activities associated with a full- length protein, such as, for example, biological activity, antigenicity, immunogenicity, and/or multimerization, as described herein.
• polypeptide fragments are biologically active fragments.
• Biologically active fragments are those exhibiting activity similar, but not necessarily identical, to an activity of the polypeptide of the present invention.
• the biological activity of the fragments may include an improved desired activity, or a decreased undesirable activity.
• polypeptides of the invention comprise, or alternatively consist of, one, two, three, four, five or more of the antigenic fragments of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:Y, or portions thereof.
• Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• the present invention further encompasses polynucleotide sequences encoding an epitope of a polypeptide sequence of the invention (such as, for example, the sequence disclosed in SEQ ID NO:X, or a fragment thereof), polynucleotide sequences of the complementary strand of a polynucleotide sequence encoding an epitope of the invention, and polynucleotide sequences which hybridize to the complementary strand under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency hybridization conditions defined supra.
• polypeptide sequence of the invention such as, for example, the sequence disclosed in SEQ ID NO:X, or a fragment thereof
• polynucleotide sequences of the complementary strand of a polynucleotide sequence encoding an epitope of the invention and polynucleotide sequences which hybridize to the complementary strand under stringent hybridization conditions or alternatively, under lower stringency hybridization conditions defined supra.
• epitopes refers to portions of a polypeptide having antigenic or immunogenic activity in an animal, preferably a mammal, and most preferably in a human.
• the present invention encompasses a polypeptide comprising an epitope, as well as the polynucleotide encoding this polypeptide.
• An "immunogenic epitope,” as used herein, is defined as a portion of a protein that elicits an antibody response in an animal, as determined by any method known in the art, for example, by the methods for generating antibodies described infra. (See, for example, Geysen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• Fragments which function as epitopes may be produced by any conventional means. (See, e.g., Houghten, R. A., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:5131- 5135 (1985) further described in U.S. Patent No. 4,631,211.)
• antigenic epitopes preferably contain a sequence of at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, more preferably at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, and, most preferably, between about 15 to about 30 amino acids.
• Preferred polypeptides comprising immunogenic or antigenic epitopes are at least 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100 amino acid residues in length.
• Additional non-exclusive preferred antigenic epitopes include the antigenic epitopes disclosed herein, as well as portions thereof.
• Antigenic epitopes are useful, for example, to raise antibodies, including monoclonal antibodies, that specifically bind the epitope.
• Preferred antigenic epitopes include the antigenic epitopes disclosed herein, as well as any combination of two, three, four, five or more of these antigenic epitopes.
• Antigenic epitopes can be used as the target molecules in immunoassays. (See, for instance, Wilson et al., Cell 37:767-778 (1984); Sutcliffe et al, Science 219:660-666 (1983)).
• Non-limiting examples of epitopes of polypeptides that can be used to generate antibodies of the invention include a polypeptide comprising, or alternatively consisting of, at least one, two, three, four, five, six or more of the portion(s) of SEQ ID NO:Y specified in column 6 of Table 1A. These polypeptide fragments have been determined to bear antigenic epitopes of the proteins of the invention by the analysis of the Jameson-Wolf antigenic index which is included in the DNAStar suite of computer programs.
• a polypeptide contains at least one, two, three, four, five, six or more of the portion(s) of SEQ ID NO:Y shown in column 6 of Table 1 A, but it may contain additional flanking residues on either the amino or carboxyl termini of the recited portion.
• additional flanking sequences are preferably sequences naturally found adjacent to the portion; i.e., contiguous sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:Y.
• the flanking sequence may, however, be sequences from a heterologous polypeptide, such as from another protem described herein or from a heterologous polypeptide not described herein.
• epitope portions of a polypeptide of the invention comprise one, two, three, or more of the portions of SEQ ID NO:Y shown in column 6 of Table 1A.
• Polynucleotides encoding these polypeptides are also encompassed by the invention.
• immunogenic epitopes can be used, for example, to induce antibodies according to methods well known in the art. See, for instance, Sutcliffe et al, supra; Wilson et al, supra; Chow et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:910-914; and Bittle et al., J. Gen. Virol. 66:2347-2354 (1985).
• Preferred immunogenic epitopes include the immunogenic epitopes disclosed herein, as well as any combination of two, three, four, five or more of these immunogenic epitopes.
• the polypeptides comprising one or more immunogenic epitopes may be presented for eliciting an antibody response together with a carrier protein, such as an albumin, to an animal system (such as rabbit or mouse), or, if the polypeptide is of sufficient length (at least about 25 amino acids), the polypeptide may be presented without a carrier.
• a carrier protein such as an albumin
• immunogenic epitopes comprising as few as 8 to 10 amino acids have been shown to be sufficient to raise antibodies capable of binding to, at the very least, linear epitopes in a denatured polypeptide (e.g., in Western blotting).
• Animals such as rabbits, rats and mice are immunized with either free or carrier- coupled peptides, for instance, by intraperitoneal and/or intradermal injection of emulsions containing about 100 ⁇ g of peptide or carrier protein and Freund's adjuvant or any other adjuvant known for stimulating an immune response.
• booster injections may be needed, for instance, at intervals of about two weeks, to provide a useful titer of anti-peptide antibody which can be detected, for example, by ELISA assay using free peptide adsorbed to a solid surface.
• the titer of anti-peptide antibodies in serum from an immunized animal may be increased by selection of anti-peptide antibodies, for instance, by adsorption to the peptide on a solid support and elution of the selected antibodies according to methods well known in the art.
• polypeptides of the present invention can be fused to heterologous polypeptide sequences.
• polypeptides of the present invention may be fused with the constant domain of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgE, IgG, IgM), or portions thereof (CHI, CH2, CH3, or any combination thereof and portions thereof, resulting in chimeric polypeptides.
• polypeptides and/or antibodies of the present invention may be fused with albumin (including but not limited to recombinant human serum albumin or fragments or variants thereof (see, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,876,969, issued March 2, 1999, EP Patent 0 413 622, and U.S. Patent No. 5,766,883, issued June 16, 1998, herein incorporated by reference in their entirety)).
• albumin including but not limited to recombinant human serum albumin or fragments or variants thereof (see, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,876,969, issued March 2, 1999, EP Patent 0 413 622, and U.S. Patent No. 5,766,883, issued June 16, 1998, herein incorporated by reference in their entirety).
• polypeptides and/or antibodies of the present invention are fused with the mature form of human serum albumin (i.e., amino acids 1 - 585 of human serum albumin as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of EP Patent 0 322 094) which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
• polypeptides and/or antibodies of the present invention are fused with polypeptide fragments comprising, or alternatively consisting of, amino acid residues 1-z of human serum albumin, where z is an integer from 369 to 419, as described in U.S. Patent 5,766,883 herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
• Polypeptides and/or antibodies of the present invention may be fused to either the N- or C- terminal end of the heterologous protein (e.g., immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide or human serum albumin polypeptide).
• heterologous protein e.g., immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide or human serum albumin polypeptide.
• Polynucleotides encoding fusion proteins of the invention are also encompassed by the invention. 9] Such fusion proteins as those described above may facilitate purification and may increase half-life in vivo. This has been shown for chimeric proteins consisting of the first two domains of the human CD4-polypeptide and various domains of the constant regions of the heavy or light chains of mammalian immunoglobulins.
• IgG Fusion proteins that have a disulfide-linked dimeric structure due to the IgG portion desulfide bonds have also been found to be more efficient in binding and neutralizing other molecules than monomeric polypeptides or fragments thereof alone.
• Nucleic acids encoding the above epitopes can also be recombined with a gene of interest as an epitope tag (e.g., the hemagglutinin (HA) tag or flag tag) to aid in detection and purification of the expressed polypeptide.
• an epitope tag e.g., the hemagglutinin (HA) tag or flag tag
• HA hemagglutinin
• a system described by Janknecht et al. allows for the ready purification of non-denatured fusion proteins expressed in human cell lines (Janknecht et al., 1991, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:8972- 897).
• the gene of interest is subcloned into a vaccinia recombination plasmid such that the open reading frame of the gene is translationally fused to an amino-terminal tag consisting of six histidine residues.
• the tag serves as a matrix binding domain for the fusion protein. Extracts from cells infected with the recombinant vaccinia virus are loaded onto Ni2+ nitriloacetic acid-agarose column and histidine-tagged proteins can be selectively eluted with imidazole-containing buffers.
• any polypeptide of the present invention can be used to generate fusion proteins.
• the polypeptide of the present invention when fused to a second protein, can be used as an antigenic tag.
• Antibodies raised against the polypeptide of the present mvention can be used to indirectly detect the second protein by binding to the polypeptide.
• secreted proteins target cellular locations based on trafficking signals
• polypeptides of the present invention which are shown to be secreted can be used as targeting molecules once fused to other proteins.
• domains that can be fused to polypeptides of the present invention include not only heterologous signal sequences, but also other heterologous functional regions.
• the fusion does not necessarily need to be direct, but may occur through linker sequences.
• proteins of the invention are fusion proteins comprising an amino acid sequence that is an N and/or C- terminal deletion of a polypeptide of the invention.
• the invention is directed to a fusion protein comprising an amino acid sequence that is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%o, 96%o, 97%), 98%o or 99% identical to a polypeptide sequence of the invention. Polynucleotides encoding these proteins are also encompassed by the invention.
• fusion proteins may also be engineered to improve characteristics of the polypeptide of the present invention. For instance, a region of additional amino acids, particularly charged amino acids, may be added to the N- terminus of the polypeptide to improve stability and persistence during purification from the host cell or subsequent handling and storage. Also, peptide moieties may be added to the polypeptide to facilitate purification. Such regions may be removed prior to final preparation of the polypeptide. The addition of peptide moieties to facilitate handling of polypeptides are familiar and routine techniques in the art.
• EP-A-O 464 533 (Canadian counterpart 2045869) discloses fusion proteins comprising various portions of constant region of immunoglobulin molecules together with another human protein or part thereof.
• the Fc part in a fusion protein is beneficial in therapy and diagnosis, and thus can result in, for example, improved pharmacokinetic properties (EP-A 0232 262).
• deleting the Fc part after the fusion protein has been expressed, detected, and purified, would be desired.
• the polypeptides of the present invention can be fused to marker sequences, such as a polypeptide which facilitates purification of the fused polypeptide.
• the marker amino acid sequence is a hexa- histidine peptide, such as the tag provided in a pQE vector (QIAGEN, Inc., 9259 Eton Avenue, Chatsworth, CA, 91311), among others, many of which are commercially available.
• hexa-histidine provides for convenient purification of the fusion protein.
• Another peptide tag useful for purification, the "HA" tag corresponds to an epitope derived from the influenza hemagglutinin protein (Wilson et al., Cell 37:767 (1984).)
• DNA shuffling may be employed to modulate the activities of polypeptides of the invention, such methods can be used to generate polypeptides with altered activity, as well as agonists and antagonists of the polypeptides. See, generally, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,605,793; 5,811,238; 5,830,721; 5,834,252; and 5,837,458, and Patten et al, Curr. Opinion Biotechnol.
• one or more components, motifs, sections, parts, domains, fragments, etc., of a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the invention may be recombined with one or more components, motifs, sections, parts, domains, fragments, etc., of one or more heterologous molecules encoding a heterologous polypeptide.
• the present invention also relates to vectors containing the polynucleotide of the present invention, host cells, and the production of polypeptides by synthetic and recombinant techniques.
• the vector may be, for example, a phage, plasmid, viral, or retroviral vector.
• Retroviral vectors may be replication competent or replication defective. In the latter case, viral propagation generally will occur only in complementing host cells.
• the polynucleotides of the invention may be joined to a vector containing a selectable marker for propagation in a host.
• a plasmid vector is introduced in a precipitate, such as a calcium phosphate precipitate, or in a complex with a charged lipid. If the vector is a virus, it may be packaged in vitro using an appropriate packaging cell line and then transduced into host cells.
• the polynucleotide insert should be operatively linked to an appropriate promoter, such as the phage lambda PL promoter, the E. coli lac, trp, phoA and tac promoters, the SN40 early and late promoters and promoters of retroviral LTRs, to name a few. Other suitable promoters will be known to the skilled artisan.
• the expression constructs will further contam sites for transcription initiation, termination, and, in the transcribed region, a ribosome binding site for translation.
• the coding portion of the transcripts expressed by the constructs will preferably include a translation initiating codon at the beginning and a termination codon (UAA, UGA or UAG) appropriately positioned at the end of the polypeptide to be translated.
• the expression vectors will preferably mclude at least one selectable marker.
• markers include dihydrofolate reductase, G418 or neomycin resistance, glutamine synthase, for eukaryotic cell culture and tetracycline, kanamycin or ampicillin resistance genes for culturing in E. coli and other bacteria.
• Representative examples of appropriate hosts include, but are not limited to, bacterial cells, such as E. coli, Streptomyces and Salmonella typhimurium cells; fungal cells, such as yeast cells (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Pichia pastoris (ATCC Accession No.
• insect cells such as Drosophila S2 and Spodoptera Sf9 cells
• animal cells such as CHO, COS, 293, NSO and Bowes melanoma cells
• plant cells Appropriate culture mediums and conditions for the above-described host cells are known in the art.
• vectors preferred for use in bacteria include pQE70, pQE60 and pQE-9, available from QIAGEN, Inc.; pBluescript vectors, Phagescript vectors, pNH8A, pNH16a, pNH18A, pNH46A, available from Stratagene Cloning Systems, Inc.; and ptrc99a, pKK223-3, pKK233-3, pDR540, pRIT5 available from Pharmacia Biotech, Inc.
• preferred eukaryotic vectors are pWLNEO, pSV2CAT, pOG44, pXTl and pSG available from Stratagene; and pSVK3, pBPV, pMSG and pSVL available from Pharmacia.
• Preferred expression vectors for use in yeast systems include, but are not limited to pYES2, pYDl, pTEFl/Zeo, pYES2/GS, pPICZ, pGAPZ, pGAPZalph, pPIC9, pPIC3.5, pHIL-D2, pHIL-Sl, pPIC3.5K, pPIC9K, and PAO815 (all available from Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA).
• Other suitable vectors will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan.
• Vectors which use glutamine synthase (GS) or DHFR as the selectable markers can be amplified in the presence of the drugs methionine sulphoximine or methotrexate, respectively.
• An advantage of glutamine synthase based vectors is the availabilty of cell lines (e.g., the murine myeloma cell line, NSO) which are glutamine synthase negative.
• Glutamine synthase expression systems can also function in glutamine synthase expressing cells (e.g., Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells) by providing additional inhibitor to prevent the functioning of the endogenous gene.
• glutamine synthase expression system and components thereof are detailed in PCT publications: WO87/04462; WO86/05807; WO89/01036; WO89/10404; and WO91/06657 which are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference herein. Additionally, glutamine synthase expression vectors can be obtained from Lonza Biologies, Inc. (Portsmouth, NH). Expression and production of monoclonal antibodies using a GS expression system in murine myeloma cells is described in Bebbington et al., Bio/technology 10: 169(1992) and in Biblia and Robinson Biotechnol. Prog. 11:1 (1995) which are herein incorporated by reference.
• the present invention also relates to host cells containing the above- described vector constructs described herein, and additionally encompasses host cells containing nucleotide sequences of the invention that are operably associated with one or more heterologous control regions (e.g., promoter and/or enhancer) using techniques known of in the art.
• the host cell can be a higher eukaryotic cell, such as a mammalian cell (e.g., a human derived cell), or a lower eukaryotic cell, such as a yeast cell, or the host cell can be a prokaryotic cell, such as a bacterial cell.
• a host strain may be chosen which modulates the expression of the inserted gene sequences, or modifies and processes the gene product in the specific fashion desired.
• Expression from certain promoters can be elevated in the presence of certain inducers; thus expression of the genetically engineered polypeptide may be controlled.
• different host cells have characteristics and specific mechanisms for the translational and post-translational processing and modification (e.g., phosphorylation, cleavage) of proteins. Appropriate cell lines can be chosen to ensure the desired modifications and processing of the foreign protein expressed.
• nucleic acids and nucleic acid constructs of the invention into the host cell can be effected by calcium phosphate transfection, DEAE- dextran mediated transfection, cationic lipid-mediated transfection, electroporation, transduction, infection, or other methods. Such methods are described in many standard laboratory manuals, such as Davis et al., Basic Methods In Molecular Biology (1986). It is specifically contemplated that the polypeptides of the present invention may in fact be expressed by a host cell lacking a recombinant vector.
• the invention also encompasses primary, secondary, and immortalized host cells of vertebrate origin, particularly mammalian origin, that have been engineered to delete or replace endogenous genetic material (e.g., ovarian antigen coding sequence), and/or to include genetic material (e.g., heterologous polynucleotide sequences) that is operably associated with ovarian associated polynucleotides of the invention, and which activates, alters, and/or amplifies endogenous ovarian associated polynucleotides.
• endogenous genetic material e.g., ovarian antigen coding sequence
• genetic material e.g., heterologous polynucleotide sequences
• Polypeptides of the present invention can also be recovered from: products purified from natural sources, including bodily fluids, tissues and cells, whether directly isolated or cultured; products of chemical synthetic procedures; and products produced by recombinant techniques from a prokaryotic or eukaryotic host, including, for example, bacterial, yeast, higher plant, insect, and mammalian cells. Depending upon the host employed in a recombinant production procedure, the polypeptides of the present mvention may be glycosylated or may be non-glycosylated. In addition, polypeptides of the invention may also include an initial modified methionine residue, in some cases as a result of host-mediated processes.
• N-terminal methionine encoded by the translation initiation codon generally is removed with high efficiency from any protein after translation in all eukaryotic cells. While the N-terminal methionine on most proteins also is efficiently removed in most prokaryotes, for some proteins, this prokaryotic removal process is inefficient, depending on the nature of the amino acid to which the N-terminal methionine is covalently linked.
• the yeast Pichia pastoris is used to express polypeptides of the invention in a eukaryotic system.
• Pichia pastoris is a methylotrophic yeast which can metabolize methanol as its sole carbon source.
• a main step in the methanol metabolization pathway is the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde using O 2 . This reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme alcohol oxidase.
• Pichia pastoris In order to metabolize methanol as its sole carbon source, Pichia pastoris must generate high levels of alcohol oxidase due, in part, to the relatively low affinity of alcohol oxidase for O .
• alcohol oxidase produced from the AOX1 gene comprises up to approximately 30%> of the total soluble protein in Pichia pastoris. See, Ellis, S.B., et al, Mol. Cell. Biol. 5:1111-21 (1985); Koutz, P.J, et al, Yeast 5:167-77 (1989); Tschopp, J.F., et al, Nucl. Acids Res. 15:3859-76 (1987).
• a heterologous coding sequence such as, for example, a polynucleotide of the present invention, under the transcriptional regulation of all or part of the AOX1 regulatory sequence is expressed at exceptionally high levels in Pichia yeast grown in the presence of methanol.
• the plasmid vector pPIC9K is used to express DNA encoding a polypeptide of the mvention, as set forth herein, in a Pichea yeast system essentially as described in "Pichia Protocols: Methods in Molecular Biology," D.R. Higgins and J. Cregg, eds. The Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, 1998.
• This expression vector allows expression and secretion of a polypeptide of the invention by virtue of the strong AOX1 promoter linked to the Pichia pastoris alkaline phosphatase (PHO) secretory signal peptide (i.e., leader) located upstream of a multiple cloning site.
• PHO alkaline phosphatase
• yeast vectors could be used in place of pPIC9K, such as, pYES2, pYDl, pTEFl/Zeo, pYES2/GS, pPICZ, pGAPZ, pGAPZalpha, pPIC9, pPIC3.5, pHIL-D2, pHIL-Sl, pPIC3.5K, and PAO815, as one skilled in the art would readily appreciate, as long as the proposed expression construct provides appropriately located signals for transcription, translation, secretion (if desired), and the like, including an in-frame AUG as required.
• high-level expression of a heterologous coding sequence such as, for example, a polynucleotide of the present invention
• a heterologous coding sequence such as, for example, a polynucleotide of the present invention
• an expression vector such as, for example, pGAPZ or pGAPZalpha
• the invention also encompasses primary, secondary, and immortalized host cells of vertebrate origin, particularly mammalian origin, that have been engineered to delete or replace endogenous genetic material (e.g., coding sequence), and/or to include genetic material (e.g., heterologous polynucleotide sequences) that is operably associated with polynucleotides of the invention, and which activates, alters, and/or amplifies endogenous polynucleotides.
• endogenous genetic material e.g., coding sequence
• genetic material e.g., heterologous polynucleotide sequences
• heterologous control regions e.g., promoter and/or enhancer
• endogenous polynucleotide sequences via homologous recombination
• heterologous control regions e.g., promoter and/or enhancer
• endogenous polynucleotide sequences via homologous recombination
• polypeptides of the invention can be chemically synthesized using techniques known in the art (e.g., see Creighton, 1983, Proteins: Structures and Molecular Principles, W.H. Freeman & Co., N.Y., and Hunkapiller et al., Nature, 310:105-111 (1984)).
• a polypeptide corresponding to a fragment of a polypeptide can be synthesized by use of a peptide synthesizer.
• nonclassical amino acids or chemical amino acid analogs can be introduced as a substitution or addition into the polypeptide sequence.
• Non-classical amino acids include, but are not limited to, to the D-isomers of the common amino acids, 2,4- diaminobutyric acid, a-amino isobutyric acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, Abu, 2-amino butyric acid, g-Abu, e-Ahx, 6-amino hexanoic acid, Aib, 2-amino isobutyric acid, 3 -amino propionic acid, ornithine, norleucine, norvaline, hydroxyproline, sarcosine, citrulline, homocitrulline, cysteic acid, t-butylglycine, t-butylalanine, phenylglycine, cyclohexylalanine, b-alanine, fluoro-amino acids, designer amino acids such as b- methyl amino acids, Ca-methyl amino acids, Na-methyl amino acids, and amino acid analogs in general. Furthermore, the
• the invention encompasses polypeptides of the present invention which are differentially modified during or after translation, e.g., by glycosylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, amidation, derivatization by known protecting/blocking groups, proteolytic cleavage, linkage to an antibody molecule or other cellular ligand, etc. Any of numerous chemical modifications may be carried out by known techniques, including but not limited, to specific chemical cleavage by cyanogen bromide, trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, V8 protease, NaBH 4 ; acetylation, formylation, oxidation, reduction; metabolic synthesis in the presence of tunicamycin; etc.
• Additional post-translational modifications encompassed by the invention include, for example, e.g., N-linked or O-linked carbohydrate chains, processmg of N-terminal or C-terminal ends), attachment of chemical moieties to the amino acid backbone, chemical modifications of N-linked or O-linked carbohydrate chains, and addition or deletion of an N-terminal methionine residue as a result of procaryotic host cell expression.
• the polypeptides may also be modified with a detectable label, such as an enzymatic, fluorescent, isotopic or affinity label to allow for detection and isolation of the protein.
• suitable enzymes include horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, or acetylcholinesterase;
• suitable prosthetic group complexes include streptavidin/biotin and avidin/biotin;
• suitable fluorescent materials include umbelliferone, fluorescein, fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, dichlorotriazinylamine fluorescein, dansyl chloride or phycoerythrin;
• an example of a luminescent material includes luminol;
• examples of bioluminescent materials include luciferase, luciferin, and aequorin; and examples of
• suitable radioactive material include iodine ( I, I, I, I), carbon ( C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( ⁇ In, 112 In, 1 13m In, 115n Tn), technetium ( 99 Tc, 99m Tc), thallium ( 201 Ti), gallium ( 68 Ga, 67 Ga), palladium ( 103 Pd), molybdenum ( 99 Mo), xenon ( 133 Xe), fluorine ( 18 F), 153 Sm, 177 Lu, 159 Gd, 149 Pm, 140 La, 175 Yb, 166 Ho, 90 Y, 47 Sc, 186 Re, 188 Re, 142 Pr, 105 Rh, and 97 Ru.
• a polypeptide of the present invention or fragment or variant thereof is attached to macrocyclic chelators that associate with radiometal ions, including but not limited to, 177 Lu, 90 Y, 166 Ho, and 153 Sm, to polypeptides.
• the radiometal ion associated with the macrocyclic chelators is ⁇ ⁇ In.
• the radiometal ion associated with the macrocyclic chelator is 90 Y.
• the macrocyclic chelator is 1,4,7, 10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N , ,N",N'"-tetraacetic acid (DOTA).
• the ovarian associated proteins of the invention may be modified by either natural processes, such as posttranslational processing, or by chemical modification techniques which are well known in the art. It will be appreciated that the same type of modification may be present in the same or varying degrees at several sites in a given ovarian associated polypeptide.
• Ovarian associated polypeptides may be branched, for example, as a result of ubiquitination, and they may be cyclic, with or without branching. Cyclic, branched, and branched cyclic ovarian associated polypeptides may result from posttranslation natural processes or may be made by synthetic methods.
• Modifications include acetylation, acylation, ADP- ribosylation, amidation, covalent attachment of flavin, covalent attachment of a heme moiety, covalent attachment of a nucleotide or nucleotide derivative, covalent attachment of a lipid or lipid derivative, covalent attachment of phosphotidylinositol, cross-linking, cyclization, disulfide bond formation, demethylation, formation of covalent cross-links, formation of cysteine, formation of pyroglutamate, formylation, gamma-carboxylation, glycosylation, GPI anchor formation, hydroxylation, iodination, methylation, myristoylation, oxidation, pegylation, proteolytic processing, phosphorylation, prenylation, racemization, selenoylation, sulfation, transfer-RNA mediated addition of amino acids to proteins such as arginylation, and ubiquitination.
• chemically modified derivatives of the polypeptides of the invention which may provide additional advantages such as increased solubility, stability and circulating time of the polypeptide, or decreased immunogenicity (see U.S. Patent No. 4,179,337).
• the chemical moieties for derivitization may be selected from water soluble polymers such as polyethylene glycol, ethylene glycol/propylene glycol copolymers, carboxymethylcellulose, dextran, polyvinyl alcohol and the like.
• the polypeptides may be modified at random positions within the molecule, or at predetermined positions within the molecule and may mclude one, two, three or more attached chemical moieties.
• the polyethylene glycol may have an average molecular weight of about 200, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7000, 7500, 8000, 8500, 9000, 9500, 10,000, 10,500, 11,000, 11,500, 12,000, 12,500, 13,000, 13,500, 14,000, 14,500, 15,000, 15,500, 16,000, 16,500, 17,000, 17,500, 18,000, 18,500, 19,000, 19,500, 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 35,000, 40,000, 50,000, 55,000, 60,000, 65,000, 70,000, 75,000, 80,000, 85,000, 90,000, 95,000, or 100,000 kDa.
• the polyethylene glycol may have a branched structure.
• Branched polyethylene glycols are described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 5,643,575; Morpurgo et al, Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 56:59-72 (1996); Vorobjev et al, Nucleosides Nucleotides 18:2745-2750 (1999); and Caliceti et al, Bioconjug. Chem. 10:638-646 (1999), the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
• polyethylene glycol molecules should be attached to the protein with consideration of effects on functional or antigenic domains of the protein.
• attachment methods available to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, the method disclosed in EP 0 401 384 (coupling PEG to G-CSF), herein incorporated by reference; see also Malik et al., Exp. Hematol. 20:1028-1035 (1992), reporting pegylation of GM-CSF using tresyl chloride.
• polyethylene glycol may be covalently bound through amino acid residues via a reactive group, such as a free amino or carboxyl group.
• polyethylene glycol may be attached to proteins via linkage to any of a number of amino acid residues.
• polyethylene glycol can be linked to proteins via covalent bonds to lysine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, or cysteine residues.
• One or more reaction chemistries may be employed to attach polyethylene glycol to specific amino acid residues (e.g., lysine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, or cysteine) of the protein or to more than one type of amino acid residue (e.g., lysine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, cysteine and combinations thereof) of the protein.
• N-terminus Using polyethylene glycol as an illustration of the present composition, one may select from a variety of polyethylene glycol molecules (by molecular weight, branching, etc.), the proportion of polyethylene glycol molecules to protein (polypeptide) molecules in the reaction mix, the type of pegylation reaction to be performed, and the method of obtaining the selected N-terminally pegylated protein.
• the method of obtaining the N-terminally pegylated preparation i.e., separating this moiety from other monopegylated moieties if necessary
• Selective proteins chemically modified at the N-terminus modification may be accomplished by reductive alkylation which exploits differential reactivity of different types of primary amino groups (lysine versus the N-terminal) available for derivatization in a particular protein. Under the appropriate reaction conditions, substantially selective derivatization of the protein at the N-terminus with a carbonyl group containing polymer is achieved.
• pegylation of the proteins of the invention may be accomplished by any number of means.
• polyethylene glycol may be attached to the protein either directly or by an intervening linker.
• Linkerless systems for attaching polyethylene glycol to proteins are described in Delgado et al., Crit. Rev. Thera. Drug Carrier Sys. 9:249-304 (1992); Francis et al., Intern. J. of Hematol. 68:1- 18 (1998); U.S. Patent No. 4,002,531; U.S. Patent No. 5,349,052; WO 95/06058; and WO 98/32466, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
• One system for attaching polyethylene glycol directly to amino acid residues of proteins without an intervening linker employs tresylated MPEG, which is produced by the modification of monmethoxy polyethylene glycol (MPEG) using tresylchloride (ClSO 2 CH 2 CF 3 ).
• MPEG monmethoxy polyethylene glycol
• ClSO 2 CH 2 CF 3 tresylchloride
• polyethylene glycol is directly attached to amine groups of the protein.
• the invention includes protein-polyethylene glycol conjugates produced by reacting proteins of the invention with a polyethylene glycol molecule having a 2,2,2-trifluoreothane sulphonyl group.
• Polyethylene glycol can also be attached to proteins using a number of different intervening linkers.
• U.S. Patent No. 5,612,460 discloses urethane linkers for connecting polyethylene glycol to proteins.
• Protein-polyethylene glycol conjugates wherein the polyethylene glycol is attached to the protein by a linker can also be produced by reaction of proteins with compounds such as MPEG- succinimidylsuccinate, MPEG activated with l,l'-carbonyldiimidazole, MPEG- 2,4,5-trichloropenylcarbonate, MPEG-p-nitrophenolcarbonate, and various MPEG- succinate derivatives.
• the ovarian associated polypeptides of the invention can be recovered and purified from chemical synthesis and recombinant cell cultures by standard methods which include, but are not limited to, ammonium sulfate or ethanol precipitation, acid extraction, anion or cation exchange chromatography, phosphocellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, affinity chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography and lectin chromatography. Most preferably, high performance liquid chromatography ("HPLC”) is employed for purification. Well known techniques for refolding protein may be employed to regenerate active conformation when the polypeptide is denatured during isolation and/or purification.
• HPLC high performance liquid chromatography
• Ovarian associated polynucleotides and polypeptides may be used in accordance with the present invention for a variety of applications, particularly those that make use of the chemical and biological properties of ovarian associated antigens.
• applications in the detection, prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment of diseases associated with the ovaries and/or breast, such as e.g., ovarian and/or breast cancer and tumors (e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hyperproliferative Disorders” below), infectious diseases (e.g., mastitis, oophoritis, and/or as described under "Infectious Diseases” below), and inflammatory diseases (e.g., abcesses and/or as described under "Immune Disorders” below), and as described under “Reproductive System Disorders” below. Additional applications relate to diagnosis and to treatment of disorders of cells, tissues and organisms. These aspects of the invention are discussed further below.
• Antibodies of the present invention may act as agonists or antagonists of the polypeptides of the present invention.
• the present invention includes antibodies which disrupt the receptor/ligand interactions with the polypeptides of the invention either partially or fully.
• antibodies of the present invention bind an antigenic epitope disclosed herein, or a portion thereof.
• the invention features both receptor-specific antibodies and ligand-specific antibodies.
• the invention also features receptor-specific antibodies which do not prevent ligand binding but prevent receptor activation. Receptor activation (i.e., signaling) may be determined by techniques described herein or otherwise known in the art.
• adjuvants may be used to increase the immunological response, depending on the host species, and include but are not limited to, Freund's (complete and incomplete), mineral gels such as aluminum hydroxide, surface active substances such as lysolecithin, pluronic polyols, polyanions, peptides, oil emulsions, keyhole limpet hemocyanins, dinitrophenol, and potentially useful human adjuvants such as BCG (bacille Calmette-Guerin) and corynebacterium parvum. Such adjuvants are also well known in the art.
• Monoclonal antibodies can be prepared using a wide variety of techniques known in the art including the use of hybridoma, recombinant, and phage display technologies, or a combination thereof
• monoclonal antibodies can be produced using hybridoma techniques including those known in the art and taught, for example, in Harlow et al., Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2nd ed. 1988); Hammerling, et al., in: Monoclonal Antibodies and T-Cell Hybridomas 563-681 (Elsevier, N.Y., 1981) (said references incorporated by reference in their entireties).
• hybridoma clones are then assayed by methods known in the art for cells that secrete antibodies capable of binding a polypeptide of the invention.
• Ascites fluid which generally contains high levels of antibodies, can be generated by immunizing mice with positive hybridoma clones.
• the present invention provides methods of generating monoclonal antibodies as well as antibodies produced by the method comprising culturing a hybridoma cell secreting an antibody of the invention wherem, preferably, the hybridoma is generated by fusing splenocytes isolated from a mouse immunized with an antigen of the invention with myeloma cells and then screening the hybridomas resulting from the fusion for hybridoma clones that secrete an antibody able to bind a polypeptide of the invention.
• the present invention also provides a method of generating polyclonal or monoclonal human antibodies against polypeptides of the invention or fragments thereof, comprising EBV-transformation of human B cells.
• Antibody fragments which recognize specific epitopes may be generated by known techniques.
• Fab and F(ab')2 fragments of the invention may be produced by proteolytic cleavage of immunoglobulin molecules, using enzymes such as papain (to produce Fab fragments) or pepsin (to produce F(ab')2 fragments).
• F(ab')2 fragments contain the variable region, the light chain constant region and the CHI domain of the heavy chain.
• a chimeric antibody is a molecule in which different portions of the antibody are derived from different animal species, such as antibodies having a variable region derived from a murine monoclonal antibody and a human immunoglobulin constant region.
• Methods for producing chimeric antibodies are known in the art. See e.g., Morrison, Science 229:1202 (1985); Oi et al, BioTechniques 4:214 (1986); Gillies et al, (1989) J. Immunol. Methods 125:191-202; U.S. Patent Nos. 5,807,715; 4,816,567; and 4,816397, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
• Humanized antibodies are antibody molecules from non-human species antibody that binds the desired antigen having one or more complementarity determining regions (CDRs) from the non- human species and a framework regions from a human immunoglobulin molecule.
• CDRs complementarity determining regions
• framework residues in the human framework regions will be substituted with the corresponding residue from the CDR donor antibody to alter, preferably improve, antigen binding.
• These framework substitutions are identified by methods well known in the art, e.g., by modeling of the interactions of the CDR and framework residues to identify framework residues important for antigen binding and sequence comparison to identify unusual framework residues at particular positions. (See, e.g., Queen et al., U.S. Patent No.
• Completely human antibodies which recognize a selected epitope can be generated using a technique referred to as "guided selection.”
• a selected non-human monoclonal antibody e.g., a mouse antibody, is used to guide the selection of a completely human antibody recognizing the same epitope. (Jespers et al, Bio/technology 12:899-903 (1988)).
• antibodies to the polypeptides of the invention can, in turn, be utilized to generate anti-idiotype antibodies that "mimic" polypeptides of the invention using techniques well known to those skilled in the art. (See, e.g., Greenspan & Bona, FASEB J. 7(5):437-444; (1989) and Nissinoff, J. Immunol. 147(8):2429-2438 (1991)).
• antibodies which bind to and competitively inhibit polypeptide multimerization and/or binding of a polypeptide of the invention to a ligand can be used to generate anti-idiotypes that "mimic" the polypeptide multimerization and/or binding domain and, as a consequence, bind to and neutralize polypeptide and/or its ligand.
• Such neutralizing anti-idiotypes or Fab fragments of such anti-idiotypes can be used in therapeutic regimens to neutralize polypeptide ligand/receptor.
• anti-idiotypic antibodies can be used to bind a polypeptide of the invention and/or to bind its ligand(s)/receptor(s), and thereby block its biological activity.
• antibodies which bind to and enhance polypeptide multimerization and/or binding, and/or receptor/ligand multimerization, binding and/or signaling can be used to generate anti-idiotypes that function as agonists of a polypeptide of the invention and/or its ligand/receptor.
• Such agonistic anti-idiotypes or Fab fragments of such anti-idiotypes can be used in therapeutic regimens as agonists of the polypeptides of the invention or its ligand(s)/receptor(s).
• anti- idiotypic antibodies can be used to bind a polypeptide of the invention and/or to bind its ligand(s)/receptor(s), and thereby promote or enhance its biological activity.
• Intrabodies of the invention can be produced using methods known in the art, such as those disclosed and reviewed in Chen et al., Hum. Gene Ther. 5:595-601 (1994); Marasco, W.A., Gene Ther. 4:11-15 (1997); Rondon and Marasco, Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 51:257-283 (1997); Proba et al., J. Mol. Biol. 275:245-253 (1998); Cohen et al, Oncogene 17:2445-2456 (1998); Ohage and Steipe, J. Mol. Biol. 291:1119-1128 (1999); Ohage et al, J. Mol. Biol. 291:1129-1134 (1999); Wirtz and Steipe, Protein Sci. 8:2245-2250 (1999); Zhu et al, J. Immunol. Methods 231:207-222 (1999); and references cited therein.
• the invention further provides polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding an antibody of the invention and fragments thereof.
• the invention also encompasses polynucleotides that hybridize under stringent or alternatively, under lower stringency hybridization conditions, e.g., as defined supra, to polynucleotides that encode an antibody, preferably, that specifically binds to a polypeptide of the invention, preferably, an antibody that binds to a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:Y, to a polypeptide encoded by a portion of SEQ ID NO:X as defined in columns 8 and 9 of Table 2, and/or to a polypeptide encoded by the cDNA contained in Clone ID NO:Z.
• the polynucleotides may be obtained, and the nucleotide sequence of the polynucleotides determined, by any method known in the art.
• a polynucleotide encoding the antibody may be assembled from chemically synthesized oligonucleotides (e.g., as described in Kutmeier et al., BioTechniques 17:242 (1994)), which, briefly, involves the synthesis of overlapping oligonucleotides containing portions of the sequence encoding the antibody, annealing and ligating of those oligonucleotides, and then amplification of the ligated oligonucleotides by PCR.
• a polynucleotide encoding an antibody may be generated from nucleic acid from a suitable source. If a clone containing a nucleic acid encoding a particular antibody is not available, but the sequence of the antibody molecule is known, a nucleic acid encoding the immunoglobulin may be chemically synthesized or obtained from a suitable source (e.g., an antibody cDNA library, or a cDNA library generated from, or nucleic acid, preferably poly A+ RNA, isolated from, any tissue or cells expressing the antibody, such as hybridoma cells selected to express an antibody of the invention) by PCR amplification using synthetic primers hybridizable to the 3' and 5' ends of the sequence or by cloning using an oligonucleotide probe specific for the particular gene sequence to identify, e.g., a cDNA clone from a cDNA library that encodes the antibody. Amplified nucleic acids generated by a suitable source (e.
• the amino acid sequence of the heavy and/or light chain variable domains may be inspected to identify the sequences of the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) by methods that are well know in the art, e.g., by comparison to known amino acid sequences of other heavy and light chain variable regions to determine the regions of sequence hypervariability.
• CDRs complementarity determining regions
• one or more of the CDRs may be inserted within framework regions, e.g., into human framework regions to humanize a non-human antibody, as described supra.
• the framework regions may be naturally occurring or consensus framework regions, and preferably human framework regions (see, e.g., Chothia et al., J. Mol. Biol.
• the antibodies of the invention can be produced by any method known in the art for the synthesis of antibodies, in particular, by chemical synthesis or preferably, by recombinant expression techniques. Methods of producing antibodies include, but are not limited to, hybridoma technology, ⁇ BV transformation, and other methods discussed herein as well as through the use recombinant DNA technology, as discussed below.
• host-expression vector systems may be utilized to express the antibody molecules of the invention.
• Such host-expression systems represent vehicles by which the coding sequences of interest may be produced and subsequently purified, but also represent cells which may, when transformed or transfected with the appropriate nucleotide coding sequences, express an antibody molecule of the invention in situ.
• These include but are not limited to microorganisms such as bacteria (e.g., E. coli, B.
• pGEX vectors may also be used to express foreign polypeptides as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST).
• GST glutathione S-transferase
• fusion proteins are soluble and can easily be purified from lysed cells by adsorption and binding to matrix glutathione-agarose beads followed by elution in the presence of free glutathione.
• the pGEX vectors are designed to include thrombin or factor Xa protease cleavage sites so that the cloned target gene product can be released from the GST moiety.
• Specific initiation signals may also be required for efficient translation of inserted antibody coding sequences. These signals include the ATG initiation codon and adjacent sequences. Furthermore, the initiation codon must be in phase with the reading frame of the desired coding sequence to ensure translation of the entire insert. These exogenous translational control signals and initiation codons can be of a variety of origins, both natural and synthetic. The efficiency of expression may be enhanced by the inclusion of appropriate transcription enhancer elements, transcription terminators, etc. (see Bittner et al., Methods in Enzymol. 153:51-544 (1987)).
• a host cell strain may be chosen which modulates the expression of the inserted sequences, or modifies and processes the gene product in the specific fashion desired. Such modifications (e.g., glycosylation) and processing (e.g., cleavage) of protein products may be important for the function of the protein.
• Different host cells have characteristic and specific mechanisms for the post- translational processing and modification of proteins and gene products. Appropriate cell lines or host systems can be chosen to ensure the correct modification and processing of the foreign protein expressed.
• eukaryotic host cells which possess the cellular machinery for proper processing of the primary transcript, glycosylation, and phosphorylation of the gene product may be used.
• Such mammalian host cells include but are not limited to CHO, VERY, BHK, Hela, COS, MDCK, 293, 3T3, WI38, and in particular, breast cancer cell lines such as, for example, BT483, Hs578T, HTB2, BT20 and T47D, and normal mammary gland cell line such as, for example, CRL7030 and Hs578Bst.
• a number of selection systems may be used, including but not limited to the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler et al., Cell 11:223 (1977)), hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (Szybalska & Szybalski, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 48:202 (1992)), and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (Lowy et al., Cell 22:817 (1980)) genes can be employed in tk-, hgprt- or aprt- cells, respectively.
• antimetabolite resistance can be used as the basis of selection for the following genes: dhfr, which confers resistance to methotrexate (Wigler et al., Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:357 (1980); O'Hare et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78:1527 (1981)); gpt, which confers resistance to mycophenolic acid (Mulligan & Berg, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• the expression levels of an antibody molecule can be increased by vector amplification (for a review, see Bebbington and Hentschel, The use of vectors based on gene amplification for the expression of cloned genes in mammalian cells in DNA cloning, Vol.3. (Academic Press, New York, 1987)).
• vector amplification for a review, see Bebbington and Hentschel, The use of vectors based on gene amplification for the expression of cloned genes in mammalian cells in DNA cloning, Vol.3. (Academic Press, New York, 1987)).
• a marker in the vector system expressing antibody is amplifiable
• increase in the level of inhibitor present in culture of host cell will increase the number of copies of the marker gene. Since the amplified region is associated with the antibody gene, production of the antibody will also increase (Crouse et al, Mol. Cell. Biol. 3:257 (1983)).
• Vectors which use glutamine synthase (GS) or DHFR as the selectable markers can be amplified in the presence of the drugs methionine sulphoximine or methotrexate, respectively.
• An advantage of glutamine synthase based vectors are the availabilty of cell lines (e.g., the murine myeloma cell line, NSO) which are glutamine synthase negative.
• Glutamine synthase expression systems can also function in glutamine synthase expressing cells (e.g., Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells) by providing additional inhibitor to prevent the functioning of the endogenous gene.
• glutamine synthase expression system and components thereof are detailed in PCT publications: WO87/04462; WO86/05807; WO89/01036; WO89/10404; and WO91/06657 which are incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.
• glutamine synthase expression vectors that may be used according to the present invention are commercially available from suplliers, including, for example Lonza Biologies, Inc. (Portsmouth, NH). Expression and production of monoclonal antibodies- using a GS expression system in murine myeloma cells is described in Bebbington et al., Bio/technology 10:169(1992) and in Biblia and Robinson Biotechnol. Prog. 11:1 (1995) which are incorporated in their entirities by reference herein.
• the host cell may be co-transfected with two expression vectors of the invention, the first vector encoding a heavy chain derived polypeptide and the second vector encoding a light chain derived polypeptide.
• the two vectors may contain identical selectable markers which enable equal expression of heavy and light chain polypeptides.
• a single vector may be used which encodes, and is capable of expressing, both heavy and light chain polypeptides. In such situations, the light chain should be placed before the heavy chain to avoid an excess of toxic free heavy chain (Proudfoot, Nature 322:52 (1986); Kohler, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:2197 (1980)).
• the coding sequences for the heavy and light chains may comprise cDNA or genomic DNA.
• an antibody molecule of the invention may be purified by any method known in the art for purification of an immunoglobulin molecule, for example, by chromatography (e.g., ion exchange, affinity, particularly by affinity for the specific antigen after Protein A, and sizing column chromatography), centrifugation, differential solubility, or by any other standard technique for the purification of proteins.
• chromatography e.g., ion exchange, affinity, particularly by affinity for the specific antigen after Protein A, and sizing column chromatography
• centrifugation e.g., ion exchange, affinity, particularly by affinity for the specific antigen after Protein A, and sizing column chromatography
• differential solubility e.g., differential solubility
• the antibodies of the present invention or fragments thereof can be fused to heterologous polypeptide sequences described herein or otherwise known in the art, to facilitate purification.
• the present invention further includes compositions comprising the polypeptides of the present mvention fused or conjugated to antibody domains other than the variable regions.
• the polypeptides of the present mvention may be fused or conjugated to an antibody Fc region, or portion thereof.
• the antibody portion fused to a polypeptide of the present invention may comprise the constant region, hinge region, CHI domain, CH2 domain, and CH3 domain or any combination of whole domains or portions thereof.
• the polypeptides may also be fused or conjugated to the above antibody portions to form multimers.
• Fc portions fused to the polypeptides of the present mvention can form dimers through disulfide bonding between the Fc portions.
• polypeptides corresponding to a polypeptide, polypeptide fragment, or a variant of SEQ ID NO:Y may be fused or conjugated to the above antibody portions to increase the in vivo half life of the polypeptides or for use in immunoassays using methods known in the art. Further, the polypeptides corresponding to SEQ ID NO:Y may be fused or conjugated to the above antibody portions to facilitate purification.
• One reported example describes chimeric proteins consisting of the first two domains of the human CD4-polypeptide and various domains of the constant regions of the heavy or light chains of mammalian immunoglobulins.
• polypeptides of the present invention fused or conjugated to an antibody having disulfide- linked dimeric structures may also be more efficient in binding and neutralizing other molecules, than, the monomeric secreted protein or protein fragment alone. See, for example, Fountoulakis et al., J. Biochem. 270:3958- 3964 (1995).
• the Fc part in a fusion protein is beneficial in therapy and diagnosis, and thus can result in, for example, improved pharmacokinetic properties. See, for example, EP A 232,262.
• peptide tags useful for purification include, but are not limited to, the "HA” tag, which corresponds to an epitope derived from the influenza hemagglutinin protein (Wilson et al, Cell 37:767 (1984)) and the "flag" tag.
• the present invention further encompasses antibodies or fragments thereof conjugated to a diagnostic or therapeutic agent.
• the antibodies can be used diagnostically to, for example, monitor the development or progression of a tumor as part of a clinical testing procedure to, e.g., determine the efficacy of a given treatment regimen. Detection can be facilitated by coupling the antibody to a detectable substance. Examples of detectable substances include various enzymes, prosthetic groups, fluorescent materials, luminescent materials, bioluminescent materials, radioactive materials, positron emitting metals using various positron emission tomographies, and nonradioactive paramagnetic metal ions.
• the detectable substance may be coupled or conjugated either directly to the antibody (or fragment thereof) or indirectly, through an intermediate (such as, for example, a linker known in the art) using techniques known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,741,900 for metal ions which can be conjugated to antibodies for use as diagnostics according to the present invention.
• an antibody or fragment thereof may be conjugated to a therapeutic moiety such as a cytotoxin, e.g., a cytostatic or cytocidal agent, a therapeutic agent or a radioactive metal ion, e.g., alpha-emitters such as, for example, 213Bi.
• a cytotoxin or cytotoxic agent includes any agent that is detrimental to cells.
• Examples include paclitaxol, cytochalasin B, gramicidin D, ethidium bromide, emetine, mitomycin, etoposide, tenoposide, vincristine, vinblastine, colchicin, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, dihydroxy anthracin dione, mitoxantrone, mithramycin, actinomycin D, 1-dehydrotestosterone, glucocorticoids, procaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, propranolol, and puromycin and analogs or homologs thereof.
• Therapeutic agents include, but are not limited to, antimetabolites (e.g., methotrexate, 6- mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine, cytarabine, 5-fluorouracil decarbazine), alkylating agents (e.g., mechlorethamine, thioepa chlorambucil, melphalan, carmustine (BSNU) and lomustine (CCNU), cyclothosphamide, busulfan, dibromomannitol, streptozotocin, mitomycin C, and cis- dichlorodiamine platinum (II) (DDP) cisplatin), anfhracyclines (e.g., daunorubicin (formerly daunomycin) and doxorubicin), antibiotics (e.g., dactinomycin (formerly actinomycin), bleomycin, mithramycin, and anthramycin (AMC)), and anti-mitotic agents (e.g
• the conjugates of the invention can be used for modifying a given biological response, the therapeutic agent or drug moiety is not to be construed as limited to classical chemical therapeutic agents.
• the drug moiety may be a protein or polypeptide possessing a desired biological activity.
• Such proteins may include, for example, a toxin such as abrin, ricin A, pseudomonas exotoxin, or diphtheria toxin; a protein such as tumor necrosis factor, a-interferon, ⁇ -interferon, nerve growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, tissue plasminogen activator, an apoptotic agent, e.g., TNF-alpha, TNF-beta, AIM I (See, International Publication No. WO 97/33899), AIM II (See, International Publication No. WO 97/34911), Fas Ligand (Takahashi et al, Int.
• a toxin such as abrin, ricin A, pseudomonas exotoxin, or diphtheria toxin
• a protein such as tumor necrosis factor, a-interferon, ⁇ -interferon, nerve growth factor, platelet derived growth factor, tissue plasminogen activator, an a
• VEGI See, International Publication No. WO 99/23105
• a thrombotic agent or an anti- angiogenic agent e.g., angiostatin or endostatin
• biological response modifiers such as, for example, lymphokines, interleukin-1 ("IL-1"), interleukin-2 (“IL-2”), interleukin-6 (“IL-6”), granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (“GM-CSF”), granulocyte colony stimulating factor (“G-CSF”), or other growth factors.
• IL-1 interleukin-1
• IL-2 interleukin-2
• IL-6 interleukin-6
• GM-CSF granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor
• G-CSF granulocyte colony stimulating factor
• Antibodies may also be attached to solid supports, which are particularly useful for immunoassays or purification of the target antigen.
• solid supports include, but are not limited to, glass, cellulose, polyacrylamide, nylon, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene.
• an antibody can be conjugated to a second antibody to form an antibody heteroconjugate as described by Segal in U.S. Patent No. 4,676,980, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• An antibody, with or without a therapeutic moiety conjugated to it, administered alone or in combination with cytotoxic factor(s) and/or cytokine(s) can be used as a therapeutic.
• the antibodies of the invention may be utilized for immunophenotyping of cell lines and biological samples. Translation products of the genes of the present invention may be useful as cell specific markers, or more specifically as cellular markers that are differentially expressed at various stages of differentiation and/or maturation of particular cell types. Monoclonal antibodies directed against a specific epitope, or combination of epitopes, will allow for the screening of cellular populations expressing the marker. Various techniques can be utilized using monoclonal antibodies to screen for cellular populations expressing the marker(s), and include magnetic separation using antibody-coated magnetic beads, "panning" with antibody attached to a solid matrix (i.e., plate), and flow cytometry (See, e.g., U.S. Patent 5,985,660; and Morrison et al., Cell, 96:737-49 (1999)).
• the antibodies of the invention may be assayed for immunospecific binding by any method known in the art.
• the immunoassays which can be used include but are not limited to competitive and non-competitive assay systems using techniques such as western blots, radioimmunoassays, ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay), "sandwich” immunoassays, immunoprecipitation assays, precipitin reactions, gel diffusion precipitin reactions, immunodiffusion assays, agglutination assays, complement-fixation assays, immunoradiometric assays, fluorescent immunoassays, and protein A immunoassays, to name but a few.
• Immunoprecipitation protocols generally comprise lysing a population of cells in a lysis buffer such as RIPA buffer (1% NP-40 or Triton X- 100, 1% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 0.15 M NaCl, 0.01 M sodium phosphate at pH 7.2, 1% Trasylol) supplemented with protein phosphatase and/or protease inhibitors (e.g., EDTA, PMSF, aprotinin, sodium vanadate), adding the antibody of interest to the cell lysate, incubating for a period of time (e.g., 1-4 hours) at 4° C, adding protein A and/or protein G sepharose beads to the cell lysate, incubating for about an hour or more at 4° C, washing the beads in lysis buffer and resuspending the beads in SDS/sample buffer.
• a lysis buffer such as RIPA buffer (1% NP-40 or Triton X- 100, 1% sodium deoxy
• the ability of the antibody of interest to immunoprecipitate a particular antigen can be assessed by, e.g., western blot analysis.
• One of skill in the art would be knowledgeable as to the parameters that can be modified to increase the binding of the antibody to an antigen and decrease the background (e.g., pre-clearing the cell lysate with sepharose beads).
• immunoprecipitation protocols see, e.g., Ausubel et al., eds., (1994), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, section 10.16.1.
• Western blot analysis generally comprises preparing protein samples, electrophoresis of the protein samples in a polyacrylamide gel (e.g., 8%- 20% SDS- PAGE depending on the molecular weight of the antigen), transferring the protein sample from the polyacrylamide gel to a membrane such as nitrocellulose, PVDF or nylon, blocking the membrane in blocking solution (e.g., PBS with 3%> BSA or non-fat milk), washing the membrane in washing buffer (e.g., PBS-Tween 20), blocking the membrane with primary antibody (the antibody of interest) diluted in blocking buffer, washing the membrane in washing buffer, blocking the membrane with a secondary antibody (which recognizes the primary antibody, e.g., an anti-human antibody) conjugated to an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase) or radioactive molecule (e.g., 32P or 1251) diluted in blocking buffer, washing the membrane in wash buffer, and detecting the presence of the anti
• ELISAs comprise preparing antigen, coating the well of a 96 well microtiter plate with the antigen, adding the antibody of interest conjugated to a detectable compound such as an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase) to the well and incubating for a period of time, and detecting the presence of the antigen.
• a detectable compound such as an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase)
• a detectable compound such as an enzymatic substrate (e.g., horseradish peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase)
• a second antibody conjugated to a detectable compound may be added following the addition of the antigen of interest to the coated well.
• ELISAs See, e.g., Ausubel et al., eds., (1994), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, section 11.2.1.
• the binding affinity of an antibody to an antigen and the off-rate of an antibody-antigen interaction can be determined by competitive binding assays.
• a competitive binding assay is a radioimmunoassay comprising the incubation of labeled antigen (e.g., 3H or 1251) with the antibody of interest in the presence of increasing amounts of unlabeled antigen, and the detection of the antibody bound to the labeled antigen.
• labeled antigen e.g., 3H or 1251
• the affinity of the antibody of interest for a particular antigen and the binding off-rates can be determined from the data by scatchard plot analysis. Competition with a second antibody can also be determined using radioimmunoassays.
• Antibodies of the invention may be characterized using immunocytochemisty methods on cells (e.g., mammalian cells, such as CHO cells) transfected with a vector enabling the expression of an ovarian antigen or with vector alone using techniques commonly known in the art.
• Antibodies that bind ovarian antigen transfected cells, but not vector-only transfected cells, are ovarian antigen specific.
• the present invention is further directed to antibody-based therapies which involve administering antibodies of the invention to an animal, preferably a mammal, and most preferably a human, patient for treating one or more of the disclosed diseases, disorders, or conditions.
• Therapeutic compounds of the invention mclude, but are not limited to, antibodies of the invention (including fragments, analogs and derivatives thereof as described herein) and nucleic acids encoding antibodies of the invention (including fragments, analogs and derivatives thereof and anti-idiotypic antibodies as described herein).
• the antibodies of the mvention can be used to treat, inhibit or prevent diseases, disorders or conditions associated with aberrant expression and/or activity of a polypeptide of the invention, including, but not limited to, any one or more of the diseases, disorders, or conditions described herein.
• the treatment and/or prevention of diseases, disorders, or conditions associated with aberrant expression and/or activity of a polypeptide of the invention includes, but is not limited to, alleviating symptoms associated with those diseases, disorders or conditions.
• Antibodies of the invention may be provided in pharmaceutically acceptable compositions as known in the art or as described herein.
• the present invention is directed to antibody-based therapies which involve administering antibodies of the mvention to an animal, preferably a mammal, and most preferably a human, patient for treating one or more of the diseases, disorders, or conditions of the ovarian and/or breast, including, but not limited to, neoplastic disorders (e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hyperproliferative Disorders” below), infectious diseases (e.g., mastitis, oophoritis, and/or as described under "Infectious Diseases” below), and inflammatory diseases (e.g., abcesses and/or as described under "Immune Disorders” below), and as described under "Reproductive System Disorders” below.
• neoplastic disorders e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hyperproliferative Disorders” below
• infectious diseases e.g.,
• Therapeutic compounds of the mvention include, but are not limited to, antibodies of the invention (e.g., antibodies directed to the full length protein expressed on the cell surface of a mammalian cell; antibodies directed to an epitope of an ovarian associated polypeptide of the invention (such as, a linear epitope (shown in Table 1A, column 6) or a conformational epitope), including fragments, analogs and derivatives thereof as described herein) and nucleic acids encoding antibodies of the invention (including fragments, analogs and derivatives thereof and anti-idiotypic antibodies as described herein).
• antibodies of the invention e.g., antibodies directed to the full length protein expressed on the cell surface of a mammalian cell
• antibodies directed to an epitope of an ovarian associated polypeptide of the invention such as, a linear epitope (shown in Table 1A, column 6) or a conformational epitope), including fragments, analogs and derivatives thereof as described herein
• a summary of the ways in which the antibodies of the present invention may be used therapeutically includes binding polynucleotides or polypeptides of the present invention locally or systemically in the body or by direct cytotoxicity of the antibody, e.g. as mediated by complement (CDC) or by effector cells (ADCC). Some of these approaches are described in more detail below.
• the antibodies of this invention may be advantageously utilized in combination with other monoclonal or chimeric antibodies, or with lymphokines or hematopoietic growth factors (such as, e.g., IL-2, IL-3 and IL-7), for example, which serve to increase the number or activity of effector cells which interact with the antibodies.
• lymphokines or hematopoietic growth factors such as, e.g., IL-2, IL-3 and IL-7
• the antibodies of the invention may be administered alone or in combination with other types of treatments (e.g., radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy and anti-rumor agents). Generally, admmistration of products of a species origin or species reactivity (in the case of antibodies) that is the same species as that of the patient is preferred. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, human antibodies, fragments derivatives, analogs, or nucleic acids, are administered to a human patient for therapy or prophylaxis.
• treatments e.g., radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy and anti-rumor agents.
• admmistration of products of a species origin or species reactivity in the case of antibodies
• human antibodies, fragments derivatives, analogs, or nucleic acids are administered to a human patient for therapy or prophylaxis.
• Preferred binding affinities include those with a dissociation constant or Kd less than 5 X 10 ⁇ 2 M, 10 "2 M, 5 X 10 "3 M, 10 "3 M, 5 X 10 "4 M, 10 '4 M, 5 X 10 '5 M, 10 '5 M, 5 X 10 "6 M, 10 '6 M, 5 X 10 '7 M, 10 '7 M, 5 X 10 '8 M, 10 "8 M, 5 X 10 "9 M, 10 '9 M, 5 X 10 '10 M, 10 '10 M, 5 X 10 '11 M, 10 '11 M, 5 X 10 '12 M, 10 "12 M, 5 X 10 '13 M, 10 ' 13 M, 5 X 10 "14 M, 10 '14 M, 5 X 10 "15 M, and 10 '15 M.
• nucleic acids comprising sequences encoding antibodies or functional derivatives thereof, are administered to treat, inhibit or prevent a disease or disorder associated with aberrant expression and/or activity of a polypeptide of the invention, by way of gene therapy.
• Gene therapy refers to therapy performed by the administration to a subject of an expressed or expressible nucleic acid.
• the nucleic acids produce their encoded protein that mediates a therapeutic effect.
• Adenoviruses are especially attractive vehicles for delivering genes to respiratory epithelia. Adenoviruses naturally infect respiratory epithelia where they cause a mild disease. Other targets for adenovirus-based delivery systems are liver, the central nervous system, endothelial cells, and muscle. Adenoviruses have the advantage of being capable of infecting non-dividing cells. Kozarsky and Wilson, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 3:499-503 (1993) present a review of adenovirus-based gene therapy. Bout et al., Human Gene Therapy 5:3-10 (1994) demonstrated the use of adenovirus vectors to transfer genes to the respiratory epithelia of rhesus monkeys.
• composition can be formulated as a suppository, with traditional binders and carriers such as triglycerides.
• Oral formulation can include standard carriers such as pharmaceutical grades of mannitol, lactose, starch, magnesium stearate, sodium saccharine, cellulose, magnesium carbonate, etc. Examples of suitable pharmaceutical carriers are described in "Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” by E.W. Martin.
• Such compositions will contain a therapeutically effective amount of the compound, preferably in purified form, together with a suitable amount of carrier so as to provide the form for proper administration to the patient.
• the formulation should suit the mode of administration.
• the composition is formulated in accordance with routine procedures as a pharmaceutical composition adapted for intravenous administration to human beings.
• Labeled antibodies, and derivatives and analogs thereof, which specifically bind to a polypeptide of interest can be used for diagnostic purposes to detect, diagnose, or monitor diseases, disorders, and/or conditions associated with the aberrant expression and/or activity of a polypeptide of the invention.
• the invention provides for the detection of aberrant expression of a polypeptide of interest, comprising (a) assaying the expression of the polypeptide of interest in cells or body fluid of an individual using one or more antibodies specific to the polypeptide interest and (b) comparing the level of gene expression with a standard gene expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the assayed polypeptide gene expression level compared to the standard expression level is indicative of aberrant expression.
• the time interval followmg the administration for permitting the labeled molecule to preferentially concentrate at sites in the subject and for unbound labeled molecule to be cleared to background level is 6 to 48 hours or 6 to 24 hours or 6 to 12 hours. In another embodiment the time interval following administration is 5 to 20 days or 5 to 10 days.
• sequences can be mapped to chromosomes by preparing PCR primers (preferably at least 15 bp (e.g., 15-25 bp) from the sequences shown in SEQ ID NO:X. Primers can optionally be selected using computer analysis so that primers do not span more than one predicted exon in the genomic DNA. These primers are then used for PCR screening of somatic cell hybrids containing individual human chromosomes. Only those hybrids containing the human gene corresponding to SEQ ID NO:X will yield an amplified fragment.
• the polynucleotides of the present invention would likewise be useful for radiation hybrid mapping, HAPPY mapping, and long range restriction mapping.
• HAPPY mapping high range restriction mapping
• the invention includes a kit for analyzing samples for the presence of proliferative and/or cancerous polynucleotides derived from a test subject, as further described herein.
• the kit includes at least one polynucleotide probe containing a nucleotide sequence that will specifically hybridize with a polynucleotide of the invention and a suitable container.
• the kit includes two polynucleotide probes defining an internal region of the polynucleotide of the invention, where each probe has one strand containing a 31 'mer-end internal to the region.
• the probes may be useful as primers for polymerase chain reaction amplification.
• the present mvention is useful as a prognostic indicator, whereby patients exhibiting enhanced or depressed polynucleotide of the invention expression will experience a worse clinical outcome relative to patients expressing the gene at a level nearer the standard level.
• the polypeptide level or mRNA level in the first biological sample is measured or estimated and compared to a standard polypeptide level or mRNA level, the standard being taken from a second biological sample obtained from an individual not having the related disorder or being determined by averaging levels from a population of individuals not having a related disorder.
• a standard polypeptide level or mRNA level is known, it can be used repeatedly as a standard for comparison.
• biological sample any biological sample obtained from an individual, body fluid, cell line, tissue culture, or other source which contains polypeptide of the present invention or the corresponding mRNA.
• biological samples include body fluids (such as semen, lymph, vaginal pool, sera, plasma, urine, synovial fluid and spinal fluid) which contain the polypeptide of the present invention, and tissue sources found to express the polypeptide of the present invention. Methods for obtaining tissue biopsies and body fluids from mammals are well known in the art. Where the biological sample is to include mRNA, a tissue biopsy is the preferred source.
• the method(s) provided above may preferably be applied in a diagnostic method and/or kits in which polynucleotides and/or polypeptides of the invention are attached to a solid support.
• the support may be a "gene chip” or a "biological chip” as described in U.S. Patents 5,837,832, 5,874,219, and 5,856,174.
• a gene chip with polynucleotides of the invention attached may be used to identify polymo ⁇ hisms between the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention, with polynucleotides isolated from a test subject.
• the present invention encompasses polynucleotides of the present invention that are chemically synthesized, or reproduced as peptide nucleic acids (PNA), or according to other methods known in the art.
• PNA peptide nucleic acids
• the use of PNAs would serve as the preferred form if the polynucleotides of the invention are inco ⁇ orated onto a solid support, or gene chip.
• a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a polyamide type of DNA analog and the monomeric units for adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine are available commercially (Perceptive Biosystems).
• the compounds of the present invention have uses which include, but are not limited to, detecting cancer in mammals.
• the invention is useful during diagnosis of pathological cell proliferative neoplasias which include, but are not limited to: acute myelogenous leukemias including acute monocytic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute promyelocytic leukemia, acute myelomonocytic leukemia, acute erythroleukemia, acute megakaryocytic leukemia, and acute undifferentiated leukemia, etc.; and chronic myelogenous leukemias including chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, chronic granulocytic leukemia, etc.
• Preferred mammals include monkeys, apes, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, horses, rabbits and humans. Particularly preferred are humans.
• the compounds of the present invention have preferred uses which include, but are not limited to, detecting ovarian and/or breast cancer in mammals.
• the invention is useful during diagnosis of pathological cell proliferative neoplasias which include, but are not limited to: ovarian epithelial cancer, ovarian germ cell tumors, ovarian papillary serous adenocarcinoma, ovarian mucinous adenocarcinoma, ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, ovarian low malignant tumors, ductal carcinoma in situ, Paget's disease, lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, pipillary carcinoma, secretory carcinoma, and apocrine carcinoma.
• Preferred mammals include monkeys, apes, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, horses, rabbits and humans. Particularly preferred are humans.
• Neoplasias are now believed to result from the qualitative alteration of a normal cellular gene product, or from the quantitative modification of gene expression by insertion into the chromosome of a viral sequence, by chromosomal translocation of a gene to a more actively transcribed region, or by some other mechanism.
• c-myc expression is highly amplified in the non-lymphocytic leukemia cell line HL-60.
• HL-60 cells When HL-60 cells are chemically induced to stop proliferation, the level of c-myc is found to be downregulated.
• International Publication Number WO 91/15580 International Publication Number WO 91/15580.
• exposure of HL- 60 cells to a DNA construct that is complementary to the 5' end of c-myc or c-myb blocks translation of the corresponding mRNAs which downregulates expression of the c-myc or c-myb proteins and causes arrest of cell proliferation and differentiation of the treated cells.
• International Publication Number WO 91/15580 Wickstrom et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• the present invention's usefulness is not be limited to treatment, prevention, diagnosis and/or prognosis, of proliferative disorders of cells and tissues of hematopoietic origin, in light of the numerous cells and cell types of varying origins which are known to exhibit proliferative phenotypes.
• the compounds and/or methods of the invention are used to treat, prevent, diagnose, and/or prognose, proliferative disorders of ovarian and/or breast cells and tissues.
• oligonucleotide as Antisense Inhibitors of Gene Expression, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL (1988).
• Triple helix formation optimally results in a shut-off of RNA transcription from DNA, while antisense RNA hybridization blocks translation of an mRNA molecule into polypeptide.
• the oligonucleotide described above can also be delivered to cells such that the antisense RNA or DNA may be expressed in vivo to inhibit production of polypeptide of the present invention antigens.
• Non-limiting antisense and triple helix methods encompassed by the present mvention are more thoroughly described elsewhere herein (see, e.g., the section labeled "Antisense and Ribozyme (Antagonists)").
• Polynucleotides of the present invention are also useful in gene therapy.
• One goal of gene therapy is to insert a normal gene into an organism having a defective gene, in an effort to correct the genetic defect.
• the polynucleotides disclosed in the present invention offer a means of targeting such genetic defects in a highly accurate manner.
• Another goal is to insert a new gene that was not present in the host genome, thereby producing a new trait in the host cell. Additional non- limiting examples of gene therapy methods encompassed by the present invention are more thoroughly described elsewhere herein (see, e.g., the sections labeled "Gene Therapy Methods" and Examples 16, 17 and 18).
• the polynucleotides are also useful for identifying individuals from minute biological samples.
• the United States military for example, is considering the use of restriction fragment length polymo ⁇ hism (RFLP) for identification of its personnel.
• RFLP restriction fragment length polymo ⁇ hism
• an individual's genomic DNA is digested with one or more restriction enzymes, and probed on a Southern blot to yield unique bands for identifying personnel.
• This method does not suffer from the current limitations of "Dog Tags" which can be lost, switched, or stolen, making positive identification difficult.
• the polynucleotides of the present invention can be used as additional DNA markers for RFLP.
• the polynucleotides of the present invention can also be used as an alternative to RFLP, by determining the actual base-by-base DNA sequence of selected portions of an individual's genome. These sequences can be used to prepare PCR primers for amplifying and isolating such selected DNA, which can then be sequenced. Using this technique, individuals can be identified because each individual will have a unique set of DNA sequences. Once an unique ID database is established for an individual, positive identification of that individual, living or dead, can be made from extremely small tissue samples.
• DNA sequences taken from very small biological samples such as tissues, e.g., hair or skin, or body fluids, e.g., blood, saliva, semen, synovial fluid, amniotic fluid, breast milk, lymph, pulmonary sputum or surfactant, urine, fecal matter, etc.
• body fluids e.g., blood, saliva, semen, synovial fluid, amniotic fluid, breast milk, lymph, pulmonary sputum or surfactant, urine, fecal matter, etc.
• gene sequences amplified from polymo ⁇ hic loci such as DQa class II HLA gene, are used in forensic biology to identify individuals.
• polynucleotides of the present invention can be used as polymo ⁇ hic markers for forensic pu ⁇ oses.
• reagents capable of identifying the source of a particular tissue. Such need arises, for example, in forensics when presented with tissue of unknown origin.
• Appropriate reagents can comprise, for example, DNA probes or primers prepared from the sequences of the present invention, specific to tissues, including but not limited to, those sequences referred to in Table 1A. Panels of such reagents can identify tissue by species and/or by organ type. In a similar fashion, these reagents can be used to screen tissue cultures for contamination. Additional non-limiting examples of such uses are further described herein.
• tissues e.g., tissues expressing polypeptides and/or polynucleotides of the present invention, for example, normal ovarian tissues or diseased ovarian tissues, and/or those tissues/cells corresponding to the library source relating to a polynucleotide sequence of the invention as disclosed in column 7 of Table 1 A, and/or cancerous and/or wounded tissues
• bodily fluids e.g., semen, lymph, vaginal pool, serum, plasma, urine, synovial fluid or spinal fluid
• the invention provides a diagnostic method of a disorder, which involves: (a) assaying gene expression level in cells or body fluid of an individual; (b) comparing the gene expression level with a standard gene expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the assayed gene expression level compared to the standard expression level is indicative of a disorder.
• the polynucleotides of the present invention can be used as molecular weight markers on Southern gels, as diagnostic probes for the presence of a specific mRNA in a particular cell type, as a probe to "subtract-out" known sequences in the process of discovering novel polynucleotides, for selecting and making oligomers for attachment to a "gene chip” or other support, to raise anti-DNA antibodies using DNA immunization techniques, and as an antigen to elicit an immune response.
• Antibodies can be used to assay levels of polypeptides encoded by polynucleotides of the invention in a biological sample using classical immunohistological methods known to those of skill in the art (see, e.g., Jalkanen, et al, J. Cell. Biol. 101:976-985 (1985); Jalkanen, et al, J. Cell. Biol. 105:3087-3096 (1987)).
• Other antibody-based methods useful for detecting protem gene expression include immunoassays, such as the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the radioimmunoassay (RIA).
• ELISA enzyme linked immunosorbent assay
• RIA radioimmunoassay
• Suitable antibody assay labels include enzyme labels, such as, glucose oxidase; radioisotopes, such as iodine ( 131 I, 125 I, 123 I, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 115 ⁇ Tn, 113m In, 112 In, ⁇ ⁇ In), and technetium ( 99 Tc, 99m Tc), thallium ( 201 Ti), gallium ( 68 Ga, 67 Ga), palladium ( 103 Pd), molybdenum ( 99 Mo), xenon ( 133 Xe), fluorine ( 18 F), 153 Sm, 177 Lu, 159 Gd, 149 Pm, 140 La, 175 Yb, 166 Ho, 90 Y, 47 Sc, 186 Re, 188 Re, 142 Pr, 105 Rh, 97 Ru; luminescent labels, such as luminol; and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhod
• proteins can also be detected in vivo by imaging.
• Antibody labels or markers for in vivo imaging of protein include those detectable by X-radiography, NMR or ESR.
• suitable labels include radioisotopes such as barium or cesium, which emit detectable radiation but are not overtly harmful to the subject.
• suitable markers for NMR and ESR include those with a detectable characteristic spin, such as deuterium, which may be inco ⁇ orated into the antibody by labeling of nutrients for the relevant hybridoma.
• An ovarian antigen-specific antibody or antibody fragment which has been labeled with an appropriate detectable imaging moiety such as a radioisotope (for example, 131 1, 112 In, 99m Tc, ( 131 I, 125 I, 123 1, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 115m In, 113m In, 112 In, In), and technetium ( 99 Tc, 99m Tc), thallium ( 201 Ti), gallium ( 68 Ga, 67 Ga), palladium ( 103 Pd), molybdenum ( 99 Mo), xenon ( 133 Xe), fluorine ( 18 F, 153 Sm, 177 Lu, 159 Gd, 149 Pm, 140 La, 175 Yb, 166 Ho, 90 Y, 47 Sc, 186 Re, 188 Re, 142 Pr, 105 Rh, 97 Ru), a radio-opaque substance, or a material detectable by nuclear
• the size of the subject and the imaging system used will determine the quantity of imaging moiety needed to produce diagnostic images.
• the quantity of radioactivity injected will normally range from about 5 to 20 milli curies of 99m Tc.
• the labeled antibody or antibody fragment will then preferentially accumulate at the location of cells which express the polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide of the invention.
• In vivo tumor imaging is described in S.W. Burchiel et al., "Immunopharmacokinetics of Radiolabeled Antibodies and Their Fragments" (Chapter 13 in Tumor Imaging: The Radiochemical Detection of Cancer, S.W. Burchiel and B. A. Rhodes, eds., Masson Publishing Inc. (1982)).
• the invention provides a method for the specific delivery of compositions of the invention to cells by administering polypeptides of the invention (e.g., polypeptides encoded by polynucleotides of the invention and/or antibodies) that are associated with heterologous polypeptides or nucleic acids.
• the mvention provides a method for delivering a therapeutic protein into the targeted cell.
• the invention provides a method for delivering a single stranded nucleic acid (e.g., antisense or ribozymes) or double stranded nucleic acid (e.g., DNA that can integrate into the cell's genome or replicate episomally and that can be transcribed) into the targeted cell.
• the invention provides a method for the specific destruction of cells (e.g., the destruction of tumor cells) by administering polypeptides of the invention in association with toxins or cytotoxic prodrugs.
• the invention provides a method for the specific destruction of ovarian and/or breast cells (e.g., aberrant ovarian and/or breast cells, ovarian and/or breast neoplasm) by administering polypeptides of the invention (e.g., polypeptides encoded by polynucleotides of the invention and/or antibodies) in association with toxins or cytotoxic prodrugs.
• polypeptides of the invention e.g., polypeptides encoded by polynucleotides of the invention and/or antibodies
• the invention provides a method for the specific destraction of tissues/cells corresponding to the library source relating to a polynucleotide sequence of the invention as disclosed in column 7 of Table 1A by administering polypeptides of the invention in association with toxins or cytotoxic prodrugs.
• toxin is meant one or more compounds that bind and activate endogenous cytotoxic effector systems, radioisotopes, holotoxins, modified toxins, catalytic subunits of toxins, or any molecules or enzymes not normally present in or on the surface of a cell that under defined conditions cause the cell's death.
• Toxins that may be used according to the methods of the invention include, but are not limited to, radioisotopes known in the art, compounds such as, for example, antibodies (or complement fixing containing portions thereof) that bind an inherent or induced endogenous cytotoxic effector system, thymidine kinase, endonuclease, RNfAse, alpha toxin, ricin, abrin, Pseudomonas exotoxin A, diphtheria toxin, saporin, momordin, gelonin, pokeweed antiviral protein, alpha-sarcin and cholera toxin.
• radioisotopes known in the art
• compounds such as, for example, antibodies (or complement fixing containing portions thereof) that bind an inherent or induced endogenous cytotoxic effector system, thymidine kinase, endonuclease, RNfAse, alpha toxin, ricin, abrin,
• Toxin also includes a cytostatic or cytocidal agent, a therapeutic agent or a radioactive metal ion, e.g., alpha-emitters such as, for example, Bi, or other radioisotopes such as, for example, 103 Pd, 133 Xe, 131 I, ⁇ In, 68 Ge, 57 Co, 65 Zn, 85 Sr, 32 P, 35 S, 90 Y, 153 Sm, 153 Gd, 169 Yb, 51 Cr, 54 Mn, 75 Se, 113 Sn, 90 Yttrium, 117 Tin, 186 Rhenium, 166 Holmium, and 188 Rhenium; luminescent labels, such as luminol; and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.
• alpha-emitters such as, for example, Bi
• radioisotopes such as, for example, 103 Pd, 133 Xe, 131 I, ⁇ In,
• the mvention provides a method for the specific destraction of cells (e.g., the destraction of tumor cells) by administering polypeptides of the invention or antibodies of the invention in association with the radioisotope 90 Y.
• the invention provides a method for the specific destruction of cells (e.g., the destraction of tumor cells) by administering polypeptides of the invention or antibodies of the invention in association with the radioisotope 11 'in.
• the mvention provides a method for the specific destruction of cells (e.g., the destruction of tumor cells) by administering polypeptides of the invention or antibodies of the invention in association with the radioisotope 131 I.
• the invention provides a diagnostic method of a disorder, which involves (a) assaying the expression level of a polypeptide of the present invention in cells or body fluid of an individual; and (b) comparing the assayed polypeptide expression level with a standard polypeptide expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the assayed polypeptide expression level compared to the standard expression level is indicative of a disorder.
• a diagnostic method of a disorder which involves (a) assaying the expression level of a polypeptide of the present invention in cells or body fluid of an individual; and (b) comparing the assayed polypeptide expression level with a standard polypeptide expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the assayed polypeptide expression level compared to the standard expression level is indicative of a disorder.
• the presence of a relatively high amount of transcript in biopsied tissue from an individual may indicate a predisposition for the development of the disease, or may provide a means for detecting the disease prior to the appearance of actual clinical symptoms.
• polypeptides of the present mvention can be used to treat or prevent diseases or conditions of the ovaries and/or breast such as, for example, neoplastic disorders (e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hype ⁇ roliferative Disorders” below), infectious diseases (e.g., mastitis, oophoritis, and/or as described under "Infectious Diseases” below), and inflammatory diseases (e.g., abcesses and/or as described under "Immune Disorders” below), and as described under “Reproductive System Disorders” below.
• neoplastic disorders e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hype ⁇ roliferative Disorders” below
• infectious diseases e.g., mastitis, oophoritis, and/or as described under "Infectious Diseases” below
• inflammatory diseases e.
• polynucleotides expressed in a particular tissue type are used to diagnose, detect, prevent, treat and/or prognose disorders associated with the tissue type.
• patients can be administered a polypeptide of the present mvention in an effort to replace absent or decreased levels of the polypeptide (e.g., insulin), to supplement absent or decreased levels of a different polypeptide (e.g., hemoglobin S for hemoglobin B, SOD, catalase, DNA repair proteins), to inhibit the activity of a polypeptide (e.g., an oncogene or tumor supressor), to activate the activity of a polypeptide (e.g., by binding to a receptor), to reduce the activity of a membrane bound receptor by competing with it for free ligand (e.g., soluble TNF receptors used in reducing inflammation), or to bring about a desired response (e.g., blood vessel growth inhibition, enhancement of the immune response to proliferative cells
• a desired response e.g., blood vessel growth inhibition, enhancement of the immune
• antibodies directed to a polypeptide of the present invention can also be used to treat disease (as described supra, and elsewhere herein).
• administration of an antibody directed to a polypeptide of the present invention can bind, and/or neutralize the polypeptide, and/or reduce overproduction of the polypeptide.
• administration of an antibody can activate the polypeptide, such as by binding to a polypeptide bound to a membrane (receptor).
• the polypeptides of the present invention can be used as molecular weight markers on SDS-PAGE gels or on molecular sieve gel filtration columns using methods well known to those of skill in the art.
• Polypeptides can also be used to raise antibodies, which in turn are used to measure protein expression from a recombinant cell, as a way of assessing transformation of the host cell. Moreover, the polypeptides of the present invention can be used to test the biological activities described herein.
• the compounds of the present invention are useful for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and/or prognosis of various ovary related disorders in mammals, preferably humans.
• Such disorders include, but are not limited to, neoplastic disorders (e.g., ovarian Krukenberg tumor, malignant mixed Mullerian tumors, and/or as described under "Hype ⁇ roliferative Disorders” below), infectious diseases (e.g., mastitis, oophoritis, and/or as described under "Infectious Diseases” below), and inflammatory diseases (e.g., abcesses and/or as described under "Immune Disorders” below), and as described under "Reproductive System Disorders” below.
• polynucleotides expressed in a particular tissue type are used to diagnose, detect, prevent, treat and/or prognose disorders associated with the tissue type.
• Ovarian antigens are expressed in reproductive tissues, with an increased expression level in the ovaries.
• substantially altered (increased or decreased) levels of ovarian antigen gene expression can be detected in ovarian tissue or other cells or bodily fluids (e.g., sera, plasma, urine, semen, synovial fluid or spinal fluid) taken from an individual having such a disorder, relative to a "standard" ovarian antigen gene expression level, that is, the ovarian antigen expression level in ovarian tissues or bodily fluids from an individual not having the ovarian disorder.
• bodily fluids e.g., sera, plasma, urine, semen, synovial fluid or spinal fluid
• the invention provides a diagnostic method useful during diagnosis of an ovarian disorder, which involves measuring the expression level of the gene encoding the ovarian associated polypeptide in ovarian tissue or other cells or body fluid from an individual and comparing the measured gene expression level with a standard ovarian antigens gene expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the gene expression level(s) compared to the standard is indicative of an ovarian disorder.
• the invention provides a diagnostic method useful during diagnosis of a disorder of a normal or diseased tissue/cell source corresponding to column 7 of Table 1A, which involves measuring the expression level of the coding sequence of a polynucleotide sequence associated with this tissue/cell source as disclosed in Table 1A in the tissue/cell source or other cells or body fluid from an individual and comparing the expression level of the coding sequence with a standard expression level of the coding sequence of a polynucleotide sequence, whereby an increase or decrease in the gene expression level(s) compared to the standard is indicative of a disorder of a normal or diseased tissue/cell source corresponding to column 7 of Table 1 A.
• tissue in mammals with cancer of cells or tissue of the ovaries and/or breast express significantly enhanced or reduced levels of normal or altered ovarian antigen expression and mRNA encoding the ovarian associated polypeptide when compared to a corresponding "standard" level.
• enhanced or depressed levels of the ovarian associated polypeptide can be detected in certain body fluids (e.g., sera, plasma, urine, and spinal fluid) or cells or tissue from mammals with such a cancer when compared to sera from mammals of the same species not having the cancer.
• ovarian associated polypeptides of the invention are expressed in the ovaries.
• polynucleotides of the invention e.g., polynucleotide sequences complementary to all or a portion of an ovarian antigen mRNA nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:X, nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:Y, nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide encoded by SEQ ID NO:X and/or a nucleotide sequence delineated by columns 8 and 9 of Table 2
• antibodies (and antibody fragments) directed against the polypeptides of the invention may be used to quantitate or qualitate concentrations of cells of the ovaries expressing ovarian antigens, preferrably on their cell surfaces.
• polynucleotides and antibodies additionally have diagnostic applications in detecting abnormalities in the level of ovarian antigens gene expression, or abnormalities in the structure and/or temporal, tissue, cellular, or subcellular location of ovarian antigens.
• diagnostic assays may be performed in vivo or in vitro, such as, for example, on blood samples, biopsy tissue or autopsy tissue.
• polynucleotides and antibodies of the invention are used to quantitate or qualitate tissues/cells corresponding to the library source disclosed in column 7 of Table 1A expressing the corresponding ovarian sequence disclosed in the same row of Table 1A, preferrably on their cell surface.
• the invention provides a diagnostic method useful during diagnosis of an ovarian disorder, including cancers, which involves measuring the expression level of the gene encoding the ovarian antigen polypeptide in ovarian tissue or other cells or body fluid from an individual and comparing the measured gene expression level with a standard ovarian antigen gene expression level, whereby an increase or decrease in the gene expression level compared to the standard is indicative of an ovarian disorder.
• polynucleotides and antibodies of the invention are used to quantitate or qualitate tissues/cells corresponding to the library source disclosed in column 7 of Table 1A expressing the corresponding ovarian sequence disclosed in the same row of Table 1A, preferably on their cell surface.
• the present invention is useful as a prognostic indicator, whereby patients exhibiting enhanced or depressed ovarian antigen gene expression will experience a worse clinical outcome relative to patients expressing the gene at a level nearer the standard level.
• test the expression level of the gene encoding the ovarian associated polypeptide is intended qualitatively or quantitatively measuring or estimating the level of the ovarian antigen polypeptide or the level of the mRNA encoding the ovarian antigen polypeptide in a first biological sample either directly (e.g., by determining or estimating absolute protein level or mRNA level) or relatively (e.g., by comparing to the ovarian associated polypeptide level or mRNA level in a second biological sample).
• the ovarian antigen polypeptide expression level or mRNA level in the first biological sample is measured or estimated and compared to a standard ovarian antigen polypeptide level or mRNA level, the standard being taken from a second biological sample obtained from an individual not having the disorder or being determined by averaging levels from a population of individuals not having a disorder of the ovaries.
• a standard ovarian antigen polypeptide level or mRNA level is known, it can be used repeatedly as a standard for comparison.
• Total cellular RNA can be isolated from a biological sample using any suitable technique such as the single-step guanidinium-thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform method described in Chomczynski and Sacchi, Anal. Biochem. 162:156-159 (1987). Levels of mRNA encoding the ovarian antigen polypeptides are then assayed using any appropriate method. These include Northern blot analysis, SI nuclease mapping, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription in combination with the polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and reverse transcription in combination with the ligase chain reaction (RT-LCR).
• PCR polymerase chain reaction
• RT-PCR reverse transcription in combination with the polymerase chain reaction
• RT-LCR reverse transcription in combination with the ligase chain reaction
• Suitable antibody assay labels are known in the art and mclude enzyme labels, such as, glucose oxidase, and radioisotopes, such as iodine ( 125 I, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 112 In), and technetium ( 99m Tc), and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.
• enzyme labels such as, glucose oxidase, and radioisotopes, such as iodine ( 125 I, 121 I), carbon ( 14 C), sulfur ( 35 S), tritium ( 3 H), indium ( 112 In), and technetium ( 99m Tc)
• fluorescent labels such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.
• antibodies, or fragments of antibodies, such as those described herein may be used to quantitatively or qualitatively detect the presence of ovarian antigen gene products or conserved variants or peptide fragments thereof. This can be accomplished, for example, by immunofluorescence techniques employing a fluorescently labeled antibody coupled with light microscopic, flow cytometric, or fluorimetric detection.
• antibodies, or fragments of antibodies directed to any one or all of the predicted epitope domains of the ovarian antigen polypeptides may be used to quantitatively or qualitatively detect the presence of ovarian antigen gene products or conserved variants or peptide fragments thereof. This can be accomplished, for example, by immunofluorescence techniques employing a fluorescently labeled antibody coupled with light microscopic, flow cytometric, or fluorimetric detection.
• antibodies, or fragments of antibodies directed to a conformational epitope of an ovarian antigen may be used to quantitatively or qualitatively detect the presence of ovarian antigen gene products or conserved variants or peptide fragments thereof. This can be accomplished, for example, by immunofluorescence techniques employing a fluorescently labeled antibody coupled with light microscopic, flow cytometric, or fluorimetric detection.
• the antibodies (or fragments thereof), and/or ovarian antigen polypeptides of the present invention may, additionally, be employed histologically, as in immunofluorescence, immunoelectron microscopy or non-immunological assays, for in situ detection of ovarian antigen gene products or conserved variants or peptide fragments thereof.
• In situ detection may be accomplished by removing a histological specimen from a patient, and applying thereto a labeled antibody or ovarian antigen polypeptide of the present invention.
• the antibody (or fragment thereof) or ovarian antigen polypeptide is preferably applied by overlaying the labeled antibody (or fragment) onto a biological sample.
• the biological sample may be brought in contact with and immobilized onto a solid phase support or carrier such as nitrocellulose, or other solid support which is capable of immobilizing cells, cell particles or soluble proteins.
• a solid phase support or carrier such as nitrocellulose, or other solid support which is capable of immobilizing cells, cell particles or soluble proteins.
• the support may then be washed with suitable buffers followed by treatment with the detectably labeled anti- ovarian antigen antibody or detectable ovarian antigen polypeptide.
• the solid phase support may then be washed with the buffer a second time to remove unbound antibody or polypeptide.
• the antibody is subsequently labeled.
• the amount of bound label on solid support may then be detected by conventional means.
• solid phase support or carrier any support capable of binding an antigen or an antibody.
• supports or carriers include glass, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, dextran, nylon, amylases, natural and modified celluloses, polyacrylamides, gabbros, and magnetite.
• the nature of the carrier can be either soluble to some extent or insoluble for the pu ⁇ oses of the present invention.
• the support material may have virtually any possible structural configuration so long as the coupled molecule is capable of binding to an antigen or antibody.
• the support configuration may be spherical, as in a bead, or cylindrical, as in the inside surface of a test tube, or the external surface of a rod.
• the surface may be flat such as a sheet, test strip, etc.
• Preferred supports include polystyrene beads. Those skilled in the art will know many other suitable carriers for binding antibody or antigen, or will be able to ascertain the same by use of routine experimentation.
• binding activity of a given lot of anti-ovarian antigen antibody or ovarian antigen polypeptide may be determined according to well known methods. Those skilled in the art will be able to determine operative and optimal assay conditions for each determination by employing routine experimentation.
• ovarian antigen polypeptide or polynucleotide can also be detected in vivo by imaging.
• ovarian antigen polypeptide and/or anti- ovarian antigen antibodies are used to image ovarian diseased cells, such as neoplasms.
• ovarian antigen polynucleotides of the invention e.g., polynucleotides complementary to all or a portion of ovarian antigen mRNA
• anti- ovarian antigen antibodies e.g., antibodies directed to any one or a combination of the epitopes of ovarian antigens, antibodies directed to a conformational epitope of ovarian antigens, antibodies directed to the full length polypeptide expressed on the cell surface of a mammalian cell
• Antibody labels or markers for in vivo imaging of ovarian antigen polypeptides include those detectable by X-radiography, NMR, MRI, CAT-scans or ESR.
• suitable labels include radioisotopes such as barium or cesium, which emit detectable radiation but are not overtly harmful to the subject.
• Suitable markers for NMR and ESR include those with a detectable characteristic spin, such as deuterium, which may be inco ⁇ orated into the antibody by labeling of nutrients for the relevant hybridoma.
• Wliere in vivo imaging is used to detect enhanced levels of ovarian antigen polypeptides for diagnosis in humans, it may be preferable to use human antibodies or "humanized" chimeric monoclonal antibodies.
• Such antibodies can be produced using techniques described herein or otherwise known in the art. For example methods for producing chimeric antibodies are known in the art. See, for review, Morrison, Science 229:1202 (1985); Oi et al, BioTechniques 4:214 (1986); Cabilly et al, U.S. Patent No.
• any ovarian antigen polypeptides whose presence can be detected can be administered.
• ovarian antigen polypeptides labeled with a radio-opaque or other appropriate compound can be administered and visualized in vivo, as discussed, above for labeled antibodies. Further such ovarian antigen polypeptides can be utilized for in vitro diagnostic procedures.
• An ovarian antigen polypeptide-specific antibody or antibody fragment which has been labeled with an appropriate detectable imaging moiety such as a radioisotope (for example, 131 I, 112 In, 99m Tc), a radio-opaque substance, or a material detectable by nuclear magnetic resonance, is introduced (for example, parenterally, subcutaneously or intraperitoneally) into the mammal to be examined for an ovarian and/or breast disorder.
• an appropriate detectable imaging moiety such as a radioisotope (for example, 131 I, 112 In, 99m Tc), a radio-opaque substance, or a material detectable by nuclear magnetic resonance.
• the quantity of radioactivity injected will normally range from about 5 to 20 millicuries of 99 Tc.
• the labeled antibody or antibody fragment will then preferentially accumulate at the location of cells which contain ovarian antigen protein.
• In vivo tumor imaging is described in S.W. Burchiel et al., "Immunopharmacokinetics of Radiolabeled Antibodies and Their Fragments" (Chapter 13 in Tumor Imaging: The Radiochemical Detection of Cancer, S.W. Burchiel and B. A. Rhodes, eds., Masson Publishing Inc. (1982)).
• the enzyme which is bound to the antibody will react with an appropriate substrate, preferably a chromogenic substrate, in such a manner as to produce a chemical moiety which can be detected, for example, by spectrophotometric, fluorimetric or by visual means.
• Enzymes which can be used to detectably label the antibody include, but are not limited to, malate dehydrogenase, staphylococcal nuclease, delta- 5 -steroid isomerase, yeast alcohol dehydrogenase, alpha-glycerophosphate, dehydrogenase, triose phosphate isomerase, horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, asparaginase, glucose oxidase, beta-galactosidase, ribonuclease, . urease, catalase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glucoamylase and acetylcholinesterase. Additionally, the detection can be accomplished by colorimetric methods which employ a chromogenic substrate for the enzyme. Detection may also be accomplished by visual comparison of the extent of enzymatic reaction of a substrate in comparison with similarly prepared standards.
• Detection may also be accomplished using any of a variety of other immunoassays.
• a radioimmunoassay RIA
• the radioactive isotope can be detected by means including, but not limited to, a gamma counter, a scintillation counter, or autoradiography.
• fluorescent labeling compounds fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, phycoerythrin, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, ophthaldehyde and ffuorescamine.
• the antibody can also be detectably labeled using fluorescence emitting metals such as 152 Eu, or others of the lanthanide series. These metals can be attached to the antibody using such metal chelating groups as diethylenetriaminepentacetic acid (DTPA) or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA).
• DTPA diethylenetriaminepentacetic acid
• EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
• the antibody also can be detectably labeled by coupling it to a chemiluminescent compound.
• the presence of the chemiluminescent-tagged antibody is then determined by detecting the presence of luminescence that arises during the course of a chemical reaction.
• chemiluminescent labeling compounds are luminol, isoluminol, theromatic acridinium ester, imidazole, acridinium salt and oxalate ester.
• an ovarian and/or breast disease or cancer may be detected in a patient based on the presence of one or more ovarian antigen proteins of the invention and/or polynucleotides encoding such proteins in a biological sample (for example, blood, sera, urine, and/or tumor biopsies) obtained from the patient.
• a biological sample for example, blood, sera, urine, and/or tumor biopsies
• proteins and/or polynucleotides may be used as markers to indicate the presence or absence of an ovarian and/or breast disease or disorder, including cancer.
• Cancers that may be diagnosed, and/or prognosed using the compositions of the invention include but are not limited to, ovarian and/or breast cancer.
• such proteins and/or polynucleotidse may be useful for the detection of other diseases and cancers, including cancers of tissues/cells corresponding to the library source disclosed in column 7 of Table 1A expressing the corresponding ovarian sequence disclosed in the same row of Table 1A.
• the binding agents provided herein generally permit detection of the level of antigen that binds to the agent in the biological sample.
• Polynucleotide primers and probes may be used to detect the level of mRNA encoding ovarian antigen polypeptides, which is also indicative of the presence or absence of an ovarian and/or breast disease or disorder, including cancer.
• ovarian antigen polypeptides should be present at a level that is at least three fold higher in diseased tissue than in normal tissue.
• the presence or absence of an ovarian and/or breast disease in a patient may be determined by (a) contacting a biological sample obtained from a patient with a binding agent; (b) detecting in the sample a level of polypeptide that binds to the binding agent; and (c) comparing the level of polypeptide with a predetermined cut-off value.
• the assay involves the use of binding agent immobilized on a solid support to bind to and remove the ovarian antigen polypeptide of the invention from the remainder of the sample.
• the bound polypeptide may then be detected using a detection reagent that contains a reporter group and specifically binds to the binding agent/polypeptide complex.
• detection reagents may comprise, for example, a binding agent that specifically binds to the polypeptide or an antibody or other agent that specifically binds to the binding agent, such as an anti- immunoglobulin, protein G, protein A or a lectin.
• a competitive assay may be utilized, in which a polypeptide is labeled with a reporter group and allowed to bind to the immobilized binding agent after incubation of the binding agent with the sample.
• the extent to which components of the sample inhibit the binding of the labeled polypeptide to the binding agent is indicative of the reactivity of the sample with the immobilized binding agent.
• Suitable polypeptides for use within such assays include ovarian antigen polypeptides and portions thereof, or antibodies, to which the binding agent binds, as described above.
• immobilization refers to both noncovalent association, such as adso ⁇ tion, and covalent attachment (which may be a direct linkage between the agent and functional groups on the support or may be a linkage by way of a cross-linking agent). Immobilization by adso ⁇ tion to a well in a microtiter plate or to a membrane is preferred. In such cases, adso ⁇ tion may be achieved by contacting the binding agent, in a suitable buffer, with the solid support for the suitable amount of time. The contact time varies with temperature, but is typically between about 1 hour and about 1 day.
• binding agent ranging from about 10 ng to about 10 ug, and preferably about 100 ng to about 1 ug, is sufficient to immobilize an adequate amount of binding agent.
• Covalent attachment of binding agent to a solid support may generally be achieved by first reacting the support with a bifunctional reagent that will react with both the support and a functional group, such as a hydroxyl or amino group, on the binding agent.
• the binding agent may be covalently attached to supports having an appropriate polymer coating using benzoquinone or by condensation of an aldehyde group on the support with an amine and an active hydrogen on the binding partner (see, e.g., Pierce Immunotechnology Catalog and Handbook, 1991, at A12- A13).
• gene therapy methods for treating or preventing disorders, diseases and conditions.
• the gene therapy methods relate to the introduction of nucleic acid (DNA, RNA and antisense DNA or RNA) sequences into an animal to achieve expression of an ovarian antigen of the present invention.
• This method requires a polynucleotide, which codes for a polypeptide of the present invention operatively linked to a promoter and any other genetic elements necessary for the expression of the polypeptide by the target tissue.
• Such gene therapy and delivery techniques are known in the art, see, for example, WO90/11092, which is herein inco ⁇ orated by reference.
• cells from a patient may be engineered with a polynucleotide (DNA or RNA) comprising a promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide of the present invention ex vivo, with the engineered cells then being provided to a patient to be treated with the polypeptide of the present invention.
• a polynucleotide DNA or RNA
• Such methods are well-known in the art. For example, see Belldegrun, A., et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 85: 207-216 (1993); Ferrantini, M. et al, Cancer Research 53: 1107-1112 (1993); Ferrantini, M. et al., J.
• the cells which are engineered are arterial cells.
• the arterial cells may be reintroduced into the patient through direct injection to the artery, the tissues surrounding the artery, or through catheter injection.
• the polynucleotide constructs can be delivered by any method that delivers injectable materials to the cells of an animal, such as, injection into the interstitial space of tissues (heart, muscle, skin, lung, liver, and the like).
• the polynucleotide constracts may be delivered in a pharmaceutically acceptable liquid or aqueous carrier.
• the polynucleotide of the present invention is delivered as a naked polynucleotide.
• naked polynucleotide, DNA or RNA refers to sequences that are free from any delivery vehicle that acts to assist, promote or facilitate entry into the cell, including viral sequences, viral particles, liposome formulations, lipofectin or precipitating agents and the like.
• the polynucleotide of the present invention can also be delivered in liposome formulations and lipofectin formulations and the like can be prepared by methods well known to those skilled in the art. Such methods are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,593,972, 5,589,466, and 5,580,859, which are herein inco ⁇ orated by reference.
• the polynucleotide vector constructs used in the gene therapy method are preferably constructs that will not integrate into the host genome nor will they contain sequences that allow for replication.
• Appropriate vectors include pWLNEO, pSV2CAT, pOG44, pXTl and pSG available from Stratagene; pSVK3, pBPV, pMSG and pSVL available from Pharmacia; and pEFl/V5, pcDNA3.1, and pRc/CMV2 available from Invitrogen.
• Other suitable vectors will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan.
• Suitable promoters include adenoviral promoters, such as the adenoviral major late promoter; or heterologous promoters, such as the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter; the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) promoter; inducible promoters, such as the MMT promoter, the metallothionein promoter; heat shock promoters; the albumin promoter; the ApoAI promoter; human globin promoters; viral thymidine kinase promoters, such as the He ⁇ es Simplex thymidine kinase promoter; retroviral LTRs; the b-actin promoter; and human growth hormone promoters.
• the promoter also may be the native promoter for the polynucleotide of the present invention.
• one major advantage of introducing naked nucleic acid sequences into target cells is the transitory nature of the polynucleotide synthesis in the cells. Studies have shown that non-replicating DNA sequences can be introduced into cells to provide production of the desired polypeptide for periods of up to six months.
• the polynucleotide constract can be delivered to the interstitial space of tissues within the an animal, including of muscle, skin, brain, lung, liver, spleen, bone marrow, thymus, heart, lymph, blood, bone, cartilage, pancreas, kidney, gall bladder, stomach, intestine, testis, ovary, uterus, rectum, nervous system, eye, gland, and connective tissue.
• Interstitial space of the tissues comprises the intercellular, fluid, mucopolysaccharide matrix among the reticular fibers of organ tissues, elastic fibers in the walls of vessels or chambers, collagen fibers of fibrous tissues, or that same matrix within connective tissue ensheathing muscle cells or in the lacunae of bone.
• the space occupied by the plasma of the circulation and the lymph fluid of the lymphatic channels Delivery to the interstitial space of muscle tissue is preferred for the reasons discussed below. They may be conveniently delivered by injection into the tissues comprising these cells. They are preferably delivered to and expressed in persistent, non-dividing cells which are differentiated, although delivery and expression may be achieved in non-differentiated or less completely differentiated cells, such as, for example, stem cells of blood or skin fibroblasts. In vivo muscle cells are particularly competent in their ability to take up and express polynucleotides.
• an effective dosage amount of DNA or RNA will be in the range of from about 0.05 mg/kg body weight to about 50 mg/kg body weight. Preferably the dosage will be from about 0.005 mg/kg to about 20 mg/kg and more preferably from about 0.05 mg kg to about 5 mg/kg. Of course, as the artisan of ordinary skill will appreciate, this dosage will vary according to the tissue site of injection. The appropriate and effective dosage of nucleic acid sequence can readily be determined by those of ordinary skill in the art and may depend on the condition being treated and the route of administration.
• the preferred route of administration is by the parenteral route of injection into the interstitial space of tissues.
• parenteral routes may also be used, such as, inhalation of an aerosol formulation particularly for delivery to lungs or bronchial tissues, throat or mucous membranes of the nose.
• naked DNA constracts can be delivered to arteries during angioplasty by the catheter used in the procedure.
• cells are engineered, ex vivo or in vivo, using a retroviral particle containing RNA which comprises a sequence encoding a polypeptide of the present invention.
• Retroviruses from which the retroviral plasmid vectors may be derived mclude, but are not limited to, Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus, spleen necrosis virus, Rous sarcoma Virus, Harvey Sarcoma Virus, avian leukosis virus, gibbon ape leukemia virus, human immunodeficiency virus, Myeloproliferative Sarcoma Viras, and mammary tumor viras.
• the retroviral plasmid vector is employed to transduce packaging cell lines to form producer cell lines.
• packaging cells which may be transfected include, but are not limited to, the PE501, PA317, R-2, R-AM, PA12, T19-14X, VT- 19-17-H2, RCRE, RCRIP, GP+E-86, GP+envAml2, and DAN cell lines as described in Miller, Human Gene Therapy 1:5-14 (1990), which is inco ⁇ orated herein by reference in its entirety.
• the vector may transduce the packaging cells through any means known in the art. Such means include, but are not limited to, electroporation, the use of liposomes, and CaPO 4 precipitation.
• the retroviral plasmid vector may be encapsulated into a liposome, or coupled to a lipid, and then administered to a host.
• the producer cell line generates infectious retroviral vector particles which include polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention. Such retroviral vector particles then may be employed, to transduce eukaryotic cells, either in vitro or in vivo. The transduced eukaryotic cells will express a polypeptide of the present mvention.
• cells are engineered, ex vivo or in vivo, with polynucleotide contained in an adenovirus vector. Adenoviras can be manipulated such that it encodes and expresses a polypeptide of the present invention, and at the same time is inactivated in terms of its ability to replicate in a normal lytic viral life cycle.
• Adenovirus expression is achieved without integration of the viral DNA into the host cell chromosome, thereby alleviating concerns about insertional mutagenesis.
• adenoviruses have been used as live enteric vaccines for many years with an excellent safety profile (Schwartz, et al., Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.109:233-238 (1974)).
• adenovirus mediated gene transfer has been demonstrated in a number of instances including transfer of alpha- 1-antitrypsin and CFTR to the lungs of cotton rats (Rosenfeld et al., Science 252:431-434 (1991); Rosenfeld et al., Cell 68:143-155 (1991)).
• extensive studies to attempt to establish adenoviras as a causative agent in human cancer were uniformly negative (Green et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76:6606 (1979)).
• adenoviral vectors useful in the present invention are described, for example, in Kozarsky and Wilson, Curr. Opin. Genet. Devel. 3:499-503 (1993); Rosenfeld et al., Cell 68:143-155 (1992); Engelhardt et al., Human Genet. Ther. 4:759-769 (1993); Yang et al, Nature Genet. 7:362-369 (1994); Wilson et al., Nature 365:691-692 (1993); and U.S. Patent No. 5,652,224, which are herein inco ⁇ orated by reference.
• the adenoviras vector Ad2 is useful and can be grown in human 293 cells.
• the adenoviruses used in the present invention are replication deficient.
• Replication deficient adenoviruses require the aid of a helper virus and/or packaging cell line to form infectious particles.
• the resulting viras is capable of infecting cells and can express a polynucleotide of interest which is operably linked to a promoter, but cannot replicate in most cells.
• Replication deficient adenoviruses may be deleted in one or more of all or a portion of the following genes: Ela, Elb, E3, E4, E2a, or LI through L5.
• the cells are engineered, ex vivo or in vivo, using an adeno-associated virus (AAV).
• AAV adeno-associated virus
• AAVs are naturally occurring defective viruses that require helper viruses to produce infectious particles (Muzyczka, N., Curr. Topics in Microbiol. Immunol. 158:97 (1992)). It is also one of the few viruses that may integrate its DNA into non-dividing cells. Vectors containing as little as 300 base pairs of AAV can be packaged and can integrate, but space for exogenous DNA is limited to about 4.5 kb. Methods for producing and using such AAVs are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,139,941, 5,173,414, 5,354,678, 5,436,146, 5,474,935, 5,478,745, and 5,589,377.
• an appropriate AAV vector for use in the present invention will include all the sequences necessary for DNA replication, encapsidation, and host- cell integration.
• the polynucleotide constract is inserted into the AAV vector using standard cloning methods, such as those found in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press (1989).
• the recombinant AAV vector is then transfected into packaging cells which are infected with a helper viras, using any standard technique, including lipofection, electroporation, calcium phosphate precipitation, etc.
• helper viruses include adenoviruses, cytomegalovirases, vaccinia viruses, or he ⁇ es viruses.
• packaging cells Once the packaging cells are transfected and infected, they will produce infectious AAV viral particles which contain the polynucleotide constract. These viral particles are then used to transduce eukaryotic cells, either ex vivo or in vivo. The transduced cells will contain the polynucleotide constract integrated into its genome, and will express a polypeptide of the invention.
• Another method of gene therapy involves operably associating heterologous control regions and endogenous ovarian antigen polynucleotide sequences (e.g., encoding an ovarian antigen polypeptide of the present invention) via homologous recombination (see, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 5,641,670, issued June 24, 1997; International Publication No. WO 96/29411, published September 26, 1996; International Publication No. WO 94/12650, published August 4, 1994; Koller et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
• This method involves the activation of a gene which is present in the target cells, but which is not normally expressed in the cells, or is expressed at a lower level than desired.
• the promoter and the targeting sequences can be amplified using PCR.
• the amplified promoter contains distinct restriction enzyme sites on the 5' and 3' ends.
• the 3' end of the first targeting sequence contains the same restriction enzyme site as the 5' end of the amplified promoter and the 5' end of the second targeting sequence contains the same restriction site as the 3' end of the amplified promoter.
• the amplified promoter and targeting sequences are digested and ligated together.
• the promoter-targeting sequence construct is delivered to the cells, either as naked polynucleotide, or in conjunction with transfection-facilitating agents, such as liposomes, viral sequences, viral particles, whole viruses, lipofection, precipitating agents, etc., described in more detail above.
• transfection-facilitating agents such as liposomes, viral sequences, viral particles, whole viruses, lipofection, precipitating agents, etc.
• the P promoter-targeting sequence can be delivered by any method, included direct needle injection, intravenous injection, topical administration, catheter infusion, particle accelerators, etc. The methods are described in more detail below.
• the promoter-targeting sequence construct is taken up by cells.
• the polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention may contain a secretory signal sequence that facilitates secretion of the protein.
• the signal sequence is positioned in the coding region of the polynucleotide to be expressed towards or at the 5' end of the coding region.
• the signal sequence may be homologous or heterologous to the ovarian antigen polynucleotide of interest and may be homologous or heterologous to the cells to be transfected. Additionally, the signal sequence may be chemically synthesized using methods known in the art.
• a recombinant molecule of the present invention complexed with a delivery vehicle is administered by direct injection into or locally within the area of arteries.
• Administration of a composition locally within the area of arteries refers to injecting the composition centimeters and preferably, millimeters within arteries.
• Another method of local administration is to contact a polynucleotide constract of the present invention in or around a surgical wound.
• a patient can undergo surgery and the polynucleotide construct can be coated on the surface of tissue inside the wound or the construct can be injected into areas of tissue inside the wound.
• Preferred methods of systemic admmistration include intravenous injection, aerosol, oral and percutaneous (topical) delivery.
• Intravenous injections can be performed using methods standard in the art. Aerosol delivery can also be performed using methods standard in the art (see, for example, Stribling et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 189:11277-11281, 1992, which is incorporated herein by reference).
• Oral delivery can be performed by complexing a polynucleotide construct of the present invention to a carrier capable of withstanding degradation by digestive enzymes in the gut of an animal. Examples of such carriers, include plastic capsules or tablets, such as those known in the art.
• Topical delivery can be performed by mixing a polynucleotide construct of the present invention with a lipophilic reagent (e.g., DMSO) that is capable of passing into the skin.
• a lipophilic reagent e.g., DMSO
• compositions of the present invention can be administered to any animal, preferably to mammals and birds.
• Preferred mammals include humans, dogs, cats, mice, rats, rabbits sheep, cattle, horses and pigs, with humans being particularly preferred.
• Polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists of the present invention can be used in assays to test for one or more biological activities. If these polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists of the present invention, do exhibit activity in a particular assay, it is likely that these molecules may be involved in the diseases associated with the biological activity. Thus, the polynucleotides and polypeptides, and agonists or antagonists could be used to treat, prevent diagnose and/or prognose the associated disease.
• ovarian antigen polynucleotides and polypeptides of the invention are predicted to have predominant expression in ovarian tissues.
• polynucleotides of the invention e.g., a nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:X or the complement thereof; or the cDNA sequence contained in Clone ID NO:Z, or fragments or variants thereof
• polypeptides of the invention e.g., an amino acid sequence contained in SEQ ID NO:Y, an amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO:X, or the complement threof, an amino acid sequence encoded by the cDNA sequence contained in Clone ID NO:Z and fragments or variants thereof as described herein
• a polypeptide of the invention may be used to diagnose and/or prognose diseases and/or disorders associated with the tissue(s) in which the polypeptide of the invention is expressed, including one, two, three, four, five, or more tissues disclosed in Table 1A, column 7 (Tissue Distribution Library Code).
• the ovarian antigens may be a useful therapeutic for ovarian and/or breast cancer.
• Treatment, diagnosis, detection, and/or prevention of ovarian and/or breast disorders could be carried out using an ovarian antigen or soluble form of an ovarian antigen, an ovarian antigen ligand, gene therapy, or ex vivo applications.
• inhibitors of an ovarian antigen either blocking antibodies or mutant forms, could modulate the expression of the ovarian antigen. These inhibitors may be useful to treat, diagnose, detect, and/or prevent diseases associated with the misregulation of an ovarian antigen.
• the invention provides a method for delivering a single stranded nucleic acid (e.g., antisense or ribozymes) or double stranded nucleic acid (e.g., DNA that can integrate into the cell's genome or replicate episomally and that can be transcribed) into the targeted cell.
• a single stranded nucleic acid e.g., antisense or ribozymes
• double stranded nucleic acid e.g., DNA that can integrate into the cell's genome or replicate episomally and that can be transcribed
• Toxins that may be used according to the methods of the invention include, but are not limited to, radioisotopes known in the art, compounds such as, for example, antibodies (or complement fixing containing portions thereof) that bind an inherent or induced endogenous cytotoxic effector system, thymidine kinase, endonuclease, RNAse, alpha toxin, ricin, abrin, Pseudomonas exotoxin A, diphtheria toxin, saporin, momordin, gelonin, pokeweed antiviral protein, alpha-sarcin and cholera toxin.
• radioisotopes known in the art
• compounds such as, for example, antibodies (or complement fixing containing portions thereof) that bind an inherent or induced endogenous cytotoxic effector system, thymidine kinase, endonuclease, RNAse, alpha toxin, ricin, abrin, Pseu
• Toxin also includes a cytostatic or cytocidal agent, a therapeutic agent or a radioactive metal ion, e.g., alpha-emitters such as, for example, 213 Bi, or other radioisotopes such as, for example, 103 Pd, 133 Xe, 131 I, 68 Ge, 57 Co, 65 Zn, 85 Sr, 32 P, 35 S, 90 Y, 153 Sm, 153 Gd, 169 Yb, 51 Cr, 54 Mn, 75 Se, 113 Sn, 90 Yttrium, 1 17 Tin, 186 Rhenium, 166 Holmium, and 188 Rhenium; luminescent labels, such as luminol; and fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, and biotin.
• alpha-emitters such as, for example, 213 Bi
• radioisotopes such as, for example, 103 Pd, 133 Xe, 131 I, 68 Ge,
• Examples include paclitaxol, cytochalasin B, gramicidin D, ethidium bromide, emetine, mitomycin, etoposide, tenoposide, vincristine, vinblastine, colchicin, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, dihydroxy anthracin dione, mitoxantrone, mithramycin, actinomycin D, 1 -dehydrotestosterone, glucocorticoids, procaine, tetracaine, lidocaine, propranolol, and puromycin and analogs or homologs thereof.
• Therapeutic agents include, but are not limited to, antimetabolites (e.g., methotrexate, 6-mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine, cytarabine, 5-fluorouracil decarbazine), alkylating agents (e.g., mechlorethamine, thioepa chlorambucil, melphalan, carmustine (BSNU) and lomustine (CCNU), cyclothosphamide, busulfan, dibromomannitol, streptozotocin, mitomycin C, and cis- dichlorodiamine platinum (II) (DDP) cisplatin), anthracyclines (e.g., daunorubicin (formerly daunomycin) and doxorubicin), antibiotics (e.g., dactinomycin (formerly actinomycin), bleomycin, mithramycin, and anthramycin (AMC)), and anti-mitotic agents (e.g.,
• cytotoxic prodrug is meant a non-toxic compound that is converted by an enzyme, normally present in the cell, into a cytotoxic compound.
• Cytotoxic prodrugs that may be used according to the methods of the invention include, but are not limited to, glutamyl derivatives of benzoic acid mustard alkylating agent, phosphate derivatives of etoposide or mitomycin C, cytosine arabinoside, daunorubisin, and phenoxyacetamide derivatives of doxorubicin.
• the invention also provides a method of treatment of an individual in need of an increased level of ovarian antigen activity comprising administering to such an individual a pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of an isolated ovarian antigen polypeptide of the invention, or agonist thereof (e.g., an agonistic anti- ovarian antigen antibody), effective to increase the ovarian antigen activity level in such an individual.
• a pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of an isolated ovarian antigen polypeptide of the invention, or agonist thereof (e.g., an agonistic anti- ovarian antigen antibody), effective to increase the ovarian antigen activity level in such an individual.
• ovarian antigen polypeptides e.g., such as, for example, the complete ovarian antigen polypeptide, the soluble form of the extracellular domain of an ovarian antigen polypeptide, or cells expressing the complete protein
• antagonist e.g., an antagonistic ovarian antigen antibody
• the invention also provides a method of treatment of an individual in need of an decreased level of ovarian antigen activity comprising administering to such an individual a pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of an isolated ovarian antigen polypeptide of the invention, or antagonist thereof (e.g., an antagonistic anti- ovarian antigen antibody), effective to decrease the ovarian antigen activity level in such an individual.
• a pharmaceutical composition comprising an amount of an isolated ovarian antigen polypeptide of the invention, or antagonist thereof (e.g., an antagonistic anti- ovarian antigen antibody), effective to decrease the ovarian antigen activity level in such an individual.
• polynucleotides, translation products and antibodies corresponding to this gene may be useful for the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, and/or treatment of diseases and/or disorders associated with the following systems.
• Reproductive system disorders and/or diseases include diseases and/or disorders of the testes, including, but not limited to, testicular atrophy, testicular feminization, cryptorchism (unilateral and bilateral), anorchia, ectopic testis, epididymitis and orchitis (typically resulting from infections such as, for example, gonorrhea, mumps, tuberculosis, and syphilis), testicular torsion, vasitis nodosa, germ cell tumors (e.g., seminomas, embryonal cell carcinomas, teratocarcinomas, choriocarcinomas, yolk sac tumors, and teratomas), stromal tumors (e.g., Leydig cell tumors), hydrocele, hematocele, varicocele, spermatocele, inguinal hernia, and disorders of sperm production (e.g., immotile cilia syndrome, as
• Reproductive system disorders also include, but are not limited to, disorders of the prostate gland, such as acute non-bacterial prostatitis, chronic non- bacterial prostatitis, acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, prostatodystonia, prostatosis, granulomatous prostatitis, malacoplakia, benign prostatic hypertrophy or hyperplasia, and prostate neoplastic disorders, including adenocarcinomas, transitional cell carcinomas, ductal carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinomas.
• disorders of the prostate gland such as acute non-bacterial prostatitis, chronic non- bacterial prostatitis, acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, prostatodystonia, prostatosis, granulomatous prostatitis, malacoplakia, benign prostatic hypertrophy or hyperplasia, and prostate neoplastic disorders, including adenocarcinomas, transitional cell carcinomas, ductal carcinomas,
• compositions of the invention may be useful in the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prevention of disorders or diseases of the penis and urethra, including, but not limited to, inflammatory disorders, such as balanoposthitis, balanitis xerotica obliterans, phimosis, paraphimosis, syphilis, he ⁇ es simplex virus, gonorrhea, non-gonococcal urethritis, chlamydia, mycoplasma, trichomonas, HIV, AIDS, Reiter's syndrome, condyloma acuminatum, condyloma latum, and pearly penile papules; urethral abnormalities, such as hypospadias, epispadias, and phimosis; premalignant lesions, including Erythroplasia of Queyrat, Bowen's disease, Bowenoid paplosis, giant condyloma of Buscke
• diseases and/or disorders of the vas deferens include, but are not limited to, vasculititis and CBAVD (congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens); additionally, the polynucleotides, polypeptides, and agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used in the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prevention of diseases and/or disorders of the seminal vesicles, including but not limited to, hydatid disease, congenital chloride diarrhea, and polycystic kidney disease.
• polypeptides, polynucleotides, or agonists or antagonists of the invention may be useful as a marker or detector of, as well as in the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prevention of congenital uterine abnormalities, such as bicornuate uterus, septate uterus, simple unicornuate uterus, unicornuate uterus with a noncavitary radimentary horn, unicornuate uterus with a non-communicating cavitary rudimentary horn, unicornuate uterus with a communicating cavitary horn, arcuate uterus, uterine didelfus, and T-shaped uteras.
• congenital uterine abnormalities such as bicornuate uterus, septate uterus, simple unicornuate uterus, unicornuate uterus with a noncavitary radimentary horn, unicornuate uterus with a non-communicating cavitary rudimentary horn, unicornuate uterus with a communicating
• Cervical diseases and/or disorders that may be diagnosed, treated, and/or prevented with the compositions of the invention mclude, but are not limited to, cervicitis, chronic cervicitis, mucopurulent cervicitis, cervical dysplasia, cervical polyps, Nabothian cysts, cervical erosion, cervical incompetence, and cervical neoplasms (including, for example, cervical carcinoma, squamous metaplasia, squamous cell carcinoma, adenosquamous cell neoplasia, and columnar cell neoplasia).
• diseases and/or disorders of the reproductive system that may be diagnosed, treated, and/or prevented with the compositions of the invention include, but are not limited to, disorders and/or diseases of pregnancy, including miscarriage and stillbirth, such as early abortion, late abortion, spontaneous abortion, induced abortion, therapeutic abortion, threatened abortion, missed abortion, incomplete abortion, complete abortion, habitual abortion, missed abortion, and septic abortion; ectopic pregnancy, anemia, Rh incompatibility, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth retardation, polyhydramnios, HELLP syndrome, abruptio placentae, placenta previa, hyperemesis, preeclampsia, eclampsia, he ⁇ es gestationis, and urticaria of pregnancy.
• disorders and/or diseases of pregnancy including miscarriage and stillbirth, such as early abortion, late abortion, spontaneous abortion, induced abortion, therapeutic abortion, threatened abortion, missed abortion, incomplete abortion, complete abortion, habitual abortion, missed abortion, and
• a polypeptide of the invention may be used to treat diseases and disorders of the immune system and/or to inhibit or enhance an immune response generated by cells associated with the tissue(s) in which the polypeptide of the invention is expressed, including one, two, three, four, five, or more tissues disclosed in Table 1 A, column 7 (Tissue Distribution Library Code).
• Ataxia-telangiectasia or conditions associated with ataxia-telangiectasia are treated, prevented, diagnosed, and/or prognosing using the polypeptides or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof
• Examples of congenital immunodeficiencies in which T cell and/or B cell function and/or number is decreased include, but are not limited to: DiGeorge anomaly, severe combined immunodeficiencies (SCID) (including, but not limited to, X-linked SCID, autosomal recessive SCID, adenosine deaminase deficiency, purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency, Class II MHC deficiency (Bare lymphocyte syndrome), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and ataxia telangiectasia), thymic hypoplasia, third and fourth pharyngeal pouch syndrome, 22ql l.2 deletion, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, natural killer cell deficiency (NK), idiopathic CD4+ T- lymphocytopenia, immunodeficiency with predominant T cell defect (unspecified), and unspecified immunodeficiency of cell mediated immunity.
• SCID severe combined immunodefic
• immunodeficiencies that may be treated, prevented, diagnosed, and/or prognosed using polypeptides or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof, include, but are not limited to, chronic granulomatous disease, Chediak-Higashi syndrome, myeloperoxidase deficiency, leukocyte glucose- 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP), leukocyte adhesion deficiency, complement component deficiencies (including Cl, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8 and/or C9 deficiencies), reticular dysgenesis, thymic alymphoplasia-aplasia, immunodeficiency with thymoma, severe congenital leukopenia, dysplasia with immunodeficiency, neonatal neutropenia, short limbed dwarfism, and Nezelof syndrome-combined immunodeficiency with I
• Autoimmune diseases or disorders that may be treated, prevented, diagnosed and/or prognosed by polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune thyroiditis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, autoimmune thrombocytopenia purpura, autoimmune neonatal thrombocytopenia, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, purpura (e.g., Henloch-Scoenlein purpura), autoimmunocytopenia, Goodpasture's syndrome, Pemphigus vulgaris, myasthenia gravis, Grave's disease (hyperthyroidism), and insulin-resistant diabetes mell
• Additional disorders that are likely to have an autoimmune component that may be treated, prevented, and/or diagnosed with the compositions of the invention include, but are not limited to, type II collagen-induced arthritis, antiphospholipid syndrome, dermatitis, allergic encephalomyelitis, myocarditis, relapsing polychondritis, rheumatic heart disease, neuritis, uveitis ophthalmia, polyendocrinopathies, Reiter's Disease, Stiff-Man Syndrome, autoimmune pulmonary inflammation, autism, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, and autoimmune inflammatory eye disorders.
• Additional disorders that are likely to have an autoimmune component that may be treated, prevented, diagnosed and/or prognosed with the compositions of the invention include, but are not limited to, scleroderma with anti-collagen antibodies (often characterized, e.g., by nucleolar and other nuclear antibodies), mixed connective tissue disease (often characterized, e.g., by antibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (e.g., ribonucleoprotein)), polymyositis (often characterized, e.g., by nonhistone ANA), pernicious anemia (often characterized, e.g., by antiparietal cell, microsomes, and intrinsic factor antibodies), idiopathic Addison's disease (often characterized, e.g., by humoral and cell-mediated adrenal cytotoxicity, infertility (often characterized, e.g., by antispermatozoal antibodies), glomerulonephritis (often characterized, e.g.,
• Additional disorders that may have an autoimmune component that may be treated, prevented, diagnosed and/or prognosed with the compositions of the invention include, but are not limited to, chronic active hepatitis (often characterized, e.g., by smooth muscle antibodies), primary biliary cirrhosis (often characterized, e.g., by mitochondria antibodies), other endocrine gland failure (often characterized, e.g., by specific tissue antibodies in some cases), vitiligo (often characterized, e.g., by melanocyte antibodies), vasculitis (often characterized, e.g., by lg and complement in vessel walls and/or low serum complement), post-MI (often characterized, e.g., by myocardial antibodies), cardiotomy syndrome (often characterized, e.g., by myocardial antibodies), urticaria (often characterized, e.g., by IgG and IgM antibodies to IgE), atopic dermatiti
• the autoimmune diseases and disorders and/or conditions associated with the diseases and disorders recited above are treated, prevented, diagnosed and/or prognosed using for example, antagonists or agonists, polypeptides or polynucleotides, or antibodies of the present invention.
• rheumatoid arthritis is treated, prevented, and/or diagnosed using polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention.
• systemic lupus erythematosus is treated, prevented, and/or diagnosed using polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention.
• idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura is treated, prevented, and/or diagnosed using polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention.
• Polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in treating, preventing, prognosing, and/or diagnosing diseases, disorders, and/or conditions of hematopoietic cells.
• Polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention could be used to increase differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic cells, including the pluripotent stem cells, in an effort to treat or prevent those diseases, disorders, and/or conditions associated with a decrease in certain (or many) types hematopoietic cells, including but not limited to, leukopenia, neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia.
• Polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention could be used to increase differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic cells, including the pluripotent stem cells, in an effort to treat or prevent those diseases, disorders, and/or conditions associated with an increase in certam (or many) types of hematopoietic cells, including but not limited to, histiocytosis.
• Allergic reactions and conditions such as asthma (particularly allergic asthma) or other respiratory problems, may also be treated, prevented, diagnosed and/or prognosed using polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof.
• these molecules can be used to treat, prevent, prognose, and/or diagnose anaphylaxis, hyper sensitivity to an antigenic molecule, or blood group incompatibility.
• polypeptides or polynucleotides of the invention may be used to treat, prevent, diagnose and/or prognose IgE-mediated allergic reactions.
• allergic reactions include, but are not limited to, asthma, rhinitis, and eczema.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to modulate IgE concentrations in vitro or in vivo.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention have uses in the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, and/or treatment of inflammatory conditions.
• polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists of the invention may inhibit the activation, proliferation and/or differentiation of cells involved in an inflammatory response, these molecules can be used to prevent and/or treat chronic and acute inflammatory conditions.
• tissue-specific inflammatory disorders including, but not limited to, adrenalitis, alveolitis, angiocholecystitis, appendicitis, balanitis, blepharitis, bronchitis, bursitis, carditis, cellulitis, cervicitis, cholecystitis, chorditis, cochlitis, colitis, conjunctivitis, cystitis, dermatitis, diverticulitis, encephalitis, endocarditis, esophagitis, eustachitis, fibrositis, folliculitis, gastritis, gastroenteritis, gingivitis, glossitis, hepatosplenitis, keratitis, laby
• polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof are useful to diagnose, prognose, prevent, and/or treat organ transplant rejections and graft- versus-host disease.
• Organ rejection occurs by host immune cell destruction of the transplanted tissue through an immune response.
• an immune response is also involved in GVHD, but, in this case, the foreign transplanted immune cells destroy the host tissues.
• Polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof, that inhibit an immune response, particularly the activation, proliferation, differentiation, or chemotaxis of T-cells, may be an effective therapy in preventing organ rejection or GVHD.
• polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the invention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof, that inhibit an immune response, particularly the activation, proliferation, differentiation, or chemotaxis of T-cells, may be an effective therapy in preventing experimental allergic and hyperacute xenograft rejection.
• polypeptides, antibodies, or polynucleotides of the mvention, and/or agonists or antagonists thereof are useful to diagnose, prognose, prevent, and/or treat immune complex diseases, including, but not limited to, serum sickness, post streptococcal glomerulonephritis, polyarteritis nodosa, and immune complex-induced vasculitis.
• Polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the invention can be used to treat, detect, and/or prevent infectious agents. For example, by increasing the immune response, particularly increasing the proliferation activation and/or differentiation of B and/or T cells, infectious diseases may be treated, detected, and/or prevented.
• the immune response may be increased by either enhancing an existing immune response, or by initiating a new immune response.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may also -directly inhibit the infectious agent (refer to section of application listing infectious agents, etc), without necessarily eliciting an immune response.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a vaccine adjuvant that enhances immune responsiveness to an antigen.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance tumor-specific immune responses.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance anti -viral immune responses.
• Anti -viral immune responses that may be enhanced using the compositions of the invention as an adjuvant include virus and viras associated diseases or symptoms described herein or otherwise known in the art.
• the compositions of the invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance an immune response to a virus, disease, or symptom selected from the group consisting of: AIDS, meningitis, Dengue, EBV, and hepatitis (e.g., hepatitis B).
• compositions of the invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance an immune response to a virus, disease, or symptom selected from the group consisting of: HIV/AIDS, respiratory syncytial viras, Dengue, rotavirus, Japanese B encephalitis, influenza A and B, parainfluenza, measles, cytomegalovirus, rabies, Junin, Chikungunya, Rift Valley Fever, he ⁇ es simplex, and yellow fever.
• a virus, disease, or symptom selected from the group consisting of: HIV/AIDS, respiratory syncytial viras, Dengue, rotavirus, Japanese B encephalitis, influenza A and B, parainfluenza, measles, cytomegalovirus, rabies, Junin, Chikungunya, Rift Valley Fever, he ⁇ es simplex, and yellow fever.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance anti-bacterial or anti-fungal immune responses.
• Anti-bacterial or anti-fungal immune responses that may be enhanced using the compositions of the invention as an adjuvant include bacteria or fungus and bacteria or fungus associated diseases or symptoms described herein or otherwise known in the art.
• the compositions of the invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance an immune response to a bacteria or fungus, disease, or symptom selected from the group consisting of: tetanus, Diphtheria, botulism, and meningitis type B.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance anti-parasitic immune responses.
• Anti-parasitic immune responses that may be enhanced using the compositions of the invention as an adjuvant include parasite and parasite associated diseases or symptoms described herein or otherwise known in the art.
• the compositions of the invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance an immune response to a parasite.
• the compositions of the invention are used as an adjuvant to enhance an immune response to Plasmodium (malaria) or Leishmania.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may also be employed to treat infectious diseases including silicosis, sarcoidosis, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; for example, by preventing the recruitment and activation of mononuclear phagocytes.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an antigen for the generation of antibodies to inhibit or enhance immune mediated responses against polypeptides of the invention.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention are administered to an animal (e.g., mouse, rat, rabbit, hamster, guinea pig, pigs, micro-pig, chicken, camel, goat, horse, cow, sheep, dog, cat, non-human primate, and human, most preferably human) to boost the immune system to produce increased quantities of one or more antibodies (e.g., IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE), to induce higher affinity antibody production and immunoglobulin class switching (e.g., IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE), and/or to increase an immune response.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a stimulator of B cell responsiveness to pathogens.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an agent that elevates the immune status of an individual prior to their receipt of immunosuppressive therapies.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an agent to induce higher affinity antibodies.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an agent to boost immunoresponsiveness among aged populations and/or neonates.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an immune system enhancer prior to, during, or after bone marrow transplant and/or other transplants (e.g., allogeneic or xenogeneic organ transplantation).
• compositions of the invention may be administered prior to, concomitant with, and/or after transplantation.
• compositions of the invention are administered after transplantation, prior to the beginning of recovery of T-cell populations.
• compositions of the invention are first administered after transplantation after the beginning of recovery of T cell populations, but prior to full recovery of B cell populations.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as an agent to boost immunoresponsiveness among individuals having a temporary immune deficiency.
• Conditions resulting in a temporary immune deficiency that may be ameliorated or treated by administering the polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists thereof, include, but are not limited to, recovery from viral infections (e.g., influenza), conditions associated with malnutrition, recovery from infectious mononucleosis, or conditions associated with stress, recovery from measles, recovery from blood transfusion, and recovery from surgery.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention are used as an agent to direct an individual's immune system towards development of a humoral response (i.e. TH2) as opposed to a TH1 cellular response.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a means to induce tumor proliferation and thus make it more susceptible to anti-neoplastic agents. For example, multiple myeloma is a slowly dividing disease and is thus refractory to virtually all anti-neoplastic regimens. If these cells were forced to proliferate more rapidly their susceptibility profile would likely change.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a stimulator of B cell production in pathologies such as AIDS, chronic lymphocyte disorder and/or Common Variable Immunodificiency.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a therapy for generation and/or regeneration of lymphoid tissues following surgery, trauma or genetic defect.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used in the pretreatment of bone marrow samples prior to transplant.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a gene-based therapy for genetically inherited disorders resulting in immuno- incompetence/immunodeficiency such as observed among SCID patients.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a means of regulating secreted cytokines that are elicited by polypeptides of the invention.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used in one or more of the applications decribed herein, as they may apply to veterinary medicine.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a means of blocking various aspects of immune responses to foreign agents or self Examples of diseases or conditions in which blocking of certain aspects of immune responses may be desired include autoimmune disorders such as lupus, and arthritis, as well as immunoresponsiveness to skin allergies, inflammation, bowel disease, injury and diseases/disorders associated with pathogens.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a therapy for preventing the B cell proliferation and lg secretion associated with autoimmune diseases such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic pu ⁇ ura, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention are used as a inhibitor of B and/or T cell migration in endothelial cells. This activity disrupts tissue architecture or cognate responses and is useful, for example in disrupting immune responses, and blocking sepsis.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may also be employed to treat idiopathic hyper- eosinophilic syndrome by, for example, preventing eosinophil production and migration.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used to enhance or inhibit antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be employed to treat adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
• ARDS adult respiratory distress syndrome
• polynucleotides or polypeptides, and/or agonists thereof may be used to treat or prevent infections of the joints, bones, skin, and/or parotid glands, blood-borne infections (e.g., sepsis, meningitis, septic arthritis, and/or osteomyelitis), autoimmune diseases (e.g., those disclosed herein), inflammatory disorders, and malignancies, and/or any disease or disorder or condition associated with these infections, diseases, disorders and/or malignancies) including, but not limited to, CVID, other primary immune deficiencies, HIV disease, CLL, recurrent bronchitis, sinusitis, otitis media, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, meningitis, he ⁇ es zoster (e.g., severe he ⁇ es zoster), and/or pneumocystis caniii.
• blood-borne infections e.g., sepsis, meningitis, septic arthritis
• diseases and disorders that may be prevented, diagnosed, prognosed, and/or treated with polynucleotides or polypeptides, and/or agonists of the present invention include, but are not limited to, HIV infection, HTLV-BLV infection, lymphopenia, phagocyte bactericidal dysfunction anemia, thrombocytopenia, and hemoglobinuria.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used to treat, and/or diagnose an individual having common variable immunodeficiency disease ("CVID"; also known as “acquired agammaglobulinemia” and “acquired hypogammaglobulinemia”) or a subset of this disease.
• CVID common variable immunodeficiency disease
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to diagnose, prognose, prevent, and/or treat cancers or neoplasms including immune cell or immune tissue- related cancers or neoplasms.
• cancers or neoplasms that may be prevented, diagnosed, or treated by polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention mclude, but are not limited to, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute lymphocytic anemia (ALL) Chronic lymphocyte leukemia, plasmacytomas, multiple myeloma, Burkitt's lymphoma, EBV- transformed diseases, and/or diseases and disorders described in the section entitled "Hype ⁇ roliferative Disorders" elsewhere herein.
• ALL acute lymphocytic anemia
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a therapy for decreasing cellular proliferation of Large B-cell Lymphomas.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are used as a means of decreasing the involvement of B cells and lg associated with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.
• compositions of the invention are used as an agent to boost immunoresponsiveness among B cell immunodeficient individuals, such as, for example, an individual who has undergone a partial or complete splenectomy.
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are administered to an animal (including, but not limited to, those listed above, and also including transgenic animals) incapable of producing functional endogenous antibody molecules or having an otherwise compromised endogenous immune system, but which is capable of producing human immunoglobulin molecules by means of a reconstituted or partially reconstituted immune system from another animal (see, e.g., published PCT Application Nos. WO98/24893, WO/9634096, WO/9633735, and WO/9110741).
• polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention are useful for the generation of monoclonal antibodies against the polypeptides, antibodies, polynucleotides and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to modulate hemostatic (the stopping of bleeding) or thrombolytic (clot dissolving) activity.
• hemostatic or thrombolytic activity polynucleotides or polypeptides, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention could be used to treat or prevent blood coagulation diseases, disorders, and/or conditions (e.g., afibrinogenemia, factor deficiencies, hemophilia), blood platelet diseases, disorders, and/or conditions (e.g., thrombocytopenia), or wounds resulting from trauma, surgery, or other causes.
• blood coagulation diseases, disorders, and/or conditions e.g., afibrinogenemia, factor deficiencies, hemophilia
• blood platelet diseases, disorders, and/or conditions e.g., thrombocytopenia
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention that can decrease hemostatic or thrombolytic activity could be used to inhibit or dissolve clotting. These molecules could be important in the treatment or prevention of heart attacks (infarction), strokes, or scarring.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to prevent, diagnose, prognose, and/or treat thrombosis, arterial thrombosis, venous thrombosis, thromboembolism, pulmonary embolism, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, transient ischemic attack, unstable angina.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the prevention of occlusions in extrco ⁇ oreal devices (e.g., mtravascular canulas, vascular access shunts in hemodialysis patients, hemodialysis machines, and cardiopulmonary bypass machines).
• extrco ⁇ oreal devices e.g., mtravascular canulas, vascular access shunts in hemodialysis patients, hemodialysis machines, and cardiopulmonary bypass machines.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to modulate hematopoietic activity (the formation of blood cells).
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be used to increase the quantity of all or subsets of blood cells, such as, for example, erythrocytes, lymphocytes (B or T cells), myeloid cells (e.g., basophils, eosinophils, neutrophils, mast cells, macrophages) and platelets.
• Anemias that may be treated prevented or diagnosed by the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention include iron deficiency anemia, hypochromic anemia, microcytic anemia, chlorosis, hereditary siderob;astic anemia, idiopathic acquired sideroblastic anemia, red cell aplasia, megaloblastic anemia (e.g., pernicious anemia, (vitamin B12 deficiency) and folic acid deficiency anemia), aplastic anemia, hemolytic anemias (e.g., autoimmune helolytic anemia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria).
• iron deficiency anemia e.g., hypochromic anemia, microcytic anemia, chlorosis, hereditary siderob;astic anemia, idiopathic acquired sideroblastic anemia, red cell aplasia, mega
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing anemias associated with diseases including but not limited to, anemias associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, cancers, lymphomas, chronic renal disease, and enlarged spleens.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing anemias arising from drug treatments such as anemias associated with methyldopa, dapsone, and/or sulfadrugs.
• rhe polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention may be useful in treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing anemias associated with abnormal red blood cell architecture including but not limited to, hereditary spherocytosis, hereditary elliptocytosis, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and sickle cell anemia.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing hemoglobin abnormalities, (e.g., those associated with sickle cell anemia, hemoglobin C disease, hemoglobin S-C disease, and hemoglobin E disease). Additionally, the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating thalassemias, including, but not limited to major and minor forms of alpha-thalassemia and beta-thalassemia.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating bleeding disorders including, but not limited to, thrombocytopenia (e.g., idiopathic thrombocytopenic pu ⁇ ura, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic pu ⁇ ura), Von Willebrand's disease, hereditary platelet disorders (e.g., storage pool disease such as Chediak-Higashi and Hermansky-Pudlak syndromes, thromboxane A2 dysfunction, thromboasthenia, and Bernard-Soulier syndrome), hemolytic-uremic syndrome, hemophelias such as hemophelia A or Factor VII deficiency and Christmas disease or Factor IX deficiency, Hereditary Hemorhhagic Telangiectsia, also known as Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome, allergic pu ⁇ ura (
• the effect of the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention on the clotting time of blood may be monitored using any of the clotting tests known in the art including, but not limited to, whole blood partial thromboplastin time (PTT), the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), the activated clotting time (ACT), the recalcified activated clotting time, or the Lee-White Clotting time.
• PTT whole blood partial thromboplastin time
• aPTT activated partial thromboplastin time
• ACT activated clotting time
• Lee-White Clotting time the Lee-White Clotting time.
• leukocytosis may be an indicator of injury or other disease such as cancer.
• Leokocytoses include but are not limited to, eosinophilia, and accumulations of macrophages.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating leukopenia.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating leukocytosis
• Leukopenia may be a generalized decreased in all types of white blood cells, or may be a specific depletion of particular types of white blood cells.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating decreases in neutrophil numbers, known as neutropenia.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating lymphocytopenias (decreased numbers of B and/or T lymphocytes), including, but not limited lymphocytopenias resulting from or associated with stress, drug treatments (e.g., drug treatment with corticosteroids, cancer chemotherapies, and/or radiation therapies), AIDS infection and/or other diseases such as, for example, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic infections, some viral infections and/or hereditary disorders (e.g., DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndome, severe combined immunodeficiency, ataxia telangiectsia).
• lymphocytopenias decreased numbers of B and/or T lymphocytes
• drug treatments e.g., drug treatment with corticosteroids
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating leukemias and lymphomas including, but not limited to, acute lymphocytic (lymphpblastic) leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid (myelocytic, myelogenous, myeloblastic, or myelomonocytic) leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (e.g., B cell leukemias, T cell leukemias, Sezary syndrome, and Hairy cell leukenia), chronic myelocytic (myeloid, myelogenous, or granulocytic) leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and mycosis fungoides.
• ALL acute lymphocytic leukemia
• acute myeloid my
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in diagnosing, prognosing, preventing, and/or treating diseases and disorders of plasma cells including, but not limited to, plasma cell dyscrasias, monoclonal gammaopathies, monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance, multiple myeloma, macroglobulinemia, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, cryoglobulinemia, and Raynaud's phenomenon.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing myeloproliferative disorders, including but not limited to, polycythemia vera, relative polycythemia, secondary polycythemia, myelofibrosis, acute myelofibrosis, agnogenic myelod metaplasia, thrombocythemia, (including both primary and seconday thrombocythemia) and chronic myelocytic leukemia.
• myeloproliferative disorders including but not limited to, polycythemia vera, relative polycythemia, secondary polycythemia, myelofibrosis, acute myelofibrosis, agnogenic myelod metaplasia, thrombocythemia, (including both primary and seconday thrombocythemia) and chronic myelocytic leukemia.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful as an agent to increase the number of stem cells in circulation prior to platelet pheresis.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful as an agent to increase cytokine production.
• the polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention may be useful in preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating primary hematopoietic disorders.
• Ovarian associated polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists thereof can be used to treat, prevent, diagnose and/or prognose hype ⁇ roliferative diseases, disorders, and/or conditions, including neoplasms.
• ovarian associated polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists thereof can be used to treat, prevent, and/or diagnose hype ⁇ roliferative diseases, disorders, and/or conditions of the breast and ovaries.
• ovarian associated polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists thereof can be used to treat, prevent, and/or diagnose breast and ovarian neoplasms.
• Ovarian associated polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists of the invention may inhibit the proliferation of the disorder through direct or indirect interactions.
• ovarian associated polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists thereof may proliferate other cells, which can inhibit the hype ⁇ roliferative disorder.
• hype ⁇ roliferative diseases, disorders, and/or conditions can be treated, prevented, and/or diagnosed.
• This immune response may be increased by either enhancing an existing immune response, or by initiating a new immune response.
• decreasing an immune response may also be a method of treating, preventing, and/or diagnosing hyperproliferative diseases, disorders, and/or conditions, such as a chemotherapeutic agent.
• polynucleotides or polypeptides, or agonists or antagonists of the present mvention are used to diagnose, prognose, prevent, and/or treat premalignant conditions and to prevent progression to a neoplastic or malignant state, including but not limited to those disorders described above.
• Such uses are indicated in conditions known or suspected of preceding progression to neoplasia or cancer, in particular, where non-neoplastic cell growth consisting of hype ⁇ lasia, metaplasia, or most particularly, dysplasia has occurred (for review of such abnormal growth conditions, see Robbins and Angell, 1976, Basic Pathology, 2d Ed., W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, pp. 68-79.)
• Hype ⁇ lasia is a form of controlled cell proliferation, involving an increase in cell number in a tissue or organ, without significant alteration in structure or function.
• Hype ⁇ lastic disorders which can be diagnosed, prognosed, prevented, and/or treated with compositions of the invention (including polynucleotides, polypeptides, agonists or antagonists) include, but are not limited to, angiofollicular mediastinal lymph node hyperplasia, angiolymphoid hype ⁇ lasia with eosinophilia, atypical melanocytic hype ⁇ lasia, basal cell hype ⁇ lasia, benign giant lymph node hype ⁇ lasia, cementum hyperplasia, congenital adrenal hype ⁇ lasia, congenital sebaceous hype ⁇ lasia, cystic hype ⁇ lasia, cystic hype ⁇ lasia of the breast, denture hype ⁇ lasia, ductal hyperplasia, endometrial hype ⁇ lasia, fibromuscular hype ⁇ lasia, focal epithelial hyperplasia
• Metaplasia is a form of controlled cell growth in which one type of adult or fully differentiated cell substitutes for another type of adult cell.
• Metaplastic disorders which can be diagnosed, prognosed, prevented, and/or treated with compositions of the invention (including polynucleotides, polypeptides, agonists or antagonists) include, but are not limited to, agnogenic myeloid metaplasia, apocrine metaplasia, atypical metaplasia, autoparenchymatous metaplasia, connective tissue metaplasia, epithelial metaplasia, intestinal metaplasia, metaplastic anemia, metaplastic ossification, metaplastic polyps, myeloid metaplasia, primary myeloid metaplasia, secondary myeloid metaplasia, squamous metaplasia, squamous metaplasia of amnion, and symptomatic myeloid metaplasia.
• Dysplasia is frequently a forerunner of cancer, and is found mainly in the epithelia; it is the most disorderly form of non-neoplastic cell growth, involving a loss in individual cell uniformity and in the architectural orientation of cells. Dysplastic cells often have abnormally large, deeply stained nuclei, and exhibit pleomo ⁇ hism. Dysplasia characteristically occurs where there exists chronic irritation or inflammation.
• Dysplastic disorders which can be diagnosed, prognosed, prevented, and/or treated with compositions of the invention (including polynucleotides, polypeptides, agonists or antagonists) mclude, but are not limited to, anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, anterofacial dysplasia, asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia, atriodigital dysplasia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cerebral dysplasia, cervical dysplasia, chondro ectodermal dysplasia, cleidocranial dysplasia, congenital ectodermal dysplasia, craniodiaphysial dysplasia, craniocarpotarsal dysplasia, craniometaphysial dysplasia, dentin dysplasia, diaphysial dysplasia, ectodermal dysplasia, enamel dysplasia, encephalo-ophthalmic dysplasia, dys
• Additional pre-neoplastic disorders which can be diagnosed, prognosed, prevented, and/or treated with compositions of the invention (including polynucleotides, polypeptides, agonists or antagonists) include, but are not limited to, benign dysproliferative disorders (e.g., benign tumors, fibrocystic conditions, tissue hypertrophy, intestinal polyps, colon polyps, and esophageal dysplasia), leukoplakia, keratoses, Bowen's disease, Fanner's Skin, solar cheilitis, and solar keratosis.
• benign dysproliferative disorders e.g., benign tumors, fibrocystic conditions, tissue hypertrophy, intestinal polyps, colon polyps, and esophageal dysplasia
• leukoplakia keratoses
• Bowen's disease Fanner's Skin
• solar cheilitis solar cheilitis
• a polypeptide of the invention may be used to diagnose and/or prognose disorders associated with the tissue(s) in which the polypeptide of the invention is expressed, including one, two, three, four, five, or more tissues disclosed in Table 1 A, 7 (Tissue Distribution Library Code).
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention conjugated to a toxin or a radioactive isotope may be used to treat cancers and neoplasms, including, but not limited to those described herein.
• polynucleotides, polypeptides, antibodies, and/or agonists or antagonists of the present invention conjugated to a toxin or a radioactive isotope, as described herein may be used to treat acute myelogenous leukemia.

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