Claims
- 1. A method for diagnosing glaucoma in a sample obtained from a cell or bodily fluid by detecting altered expression of a bone morphogenic family member gene, said method comprising the steps of:
g) obtaining a tissue or fluid sample from a patient suspected of having glaucoma; h) extracting DNA from said sample; i) obtaining a plurality of PCR primers, wherein said primers each comprise a sequence consisting of from 18 to 1547 contiguous nucleotides from SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:7, SEQ ID NO:37, SEQ ID NO:39, SEQ ID NO:41, SEQ ID NO:43, SEQ ID NO:45, SEQ ID NO:47, or SEQ ID NO:53; j) amplifying regions of the extracted DNA using said primers to obtain a PCR product; k) resolving the PCR product; and l) identifying differences between the sequence of the amplified extracted DNA and the sequence of the primer; where a difference between the amplified sequence and the primer is diagnostic of glaucoma.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said tissue or fluid sample is blood or buccal cells.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the primers comprise sequences consisting of from 20 to 100 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:7, SEQ ID NO:37, SEQ ID NO:39, SEQ ID NO:41, SEQ ID NO:43, SEQ ID NO:45, SEQ ID NO:47, or SEQ ID NO:53.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the primers comprise sequences consisting of from 20 to 50 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:3.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the PCR product is resolved by SSCP, DGGE, ASO or RFLP.
- 6. A method for treating glaucoma comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a composition comprising a sequence consisting of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a BMP2 agonist, a BMP4 agonist, a BMP5 agonist, a BMP7 agonist, a Smad 1/5 agonist, a chordin antagonist, a gremlin antagonist and a follistatin antagonist.
- 7. A method for identifying a therapeutic agent for the treatment of glaucoma, said method comprising:
d) obtaining a first composition comprising a population of recombinant cells expressing BMP-2A, BMP4, BMP-5, or BMP7; e) obtaining a candidate substance; f) incubating said composition and said candidate substance; g) testing said composition for its ability to turn on BMP-induced Smad signaling pathways or BMP-regulated gene expression; and h) identifying a candidate substance that inhibits, or stimulates, BMP-induced Smad signaling pathways or BMP-regulated gene expression.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/334,852 filed Oct. 31, 2001.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60334852 |
Oct 2001 |
US |