Cloning and expression of biologically active .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase

Abstract

The present invention involves the production of human .alpha.-GalNAc by cloning and expressing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence in eukaryotic host cell expressions systems. The eukaryotic expression systems, and in particular the mammalian host cell expression systems described herein provide for the appropriate co-translational and post-translation modifications required or proper processing, e.g., glycosylation, phosphorylation, etc. and sorting of the expression product so that an active enzyme is produced.The .alpha.-GalNAc produced in accordance with the invention may be used in the treatment of Schindler disease or for the hydrolysis of .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties in various glycoconjugates.

Description

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction 2. Background of the Invention 2.1. .alpha.-GalNAc And Schindler Disease 2.2. Lysosomal Enzymes: Biosynthesis And Targeting 3. Summary of the Invention 3.1. Definition 4. Description of the Figures 5. Detailed Description of the Invention 5.1. The .alpha.-GalNAc Coding Sequence 5.2. Expression Of .alpha.-GalNAc 5.2.1. Construction Of Expression Vectors And Preparation of Transfectants 5.2.2. Identification Of Transfectants Or Transformants Expressing The .alpha.-GalNAc Gene Product 5.2.3. Purification Of The .alpha.-GalNAc Gene Product 5.2.4. Modified Glycoforms Of Recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc 5.3. Uses Of The Recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc 6. Example: Cloning And Expression Of Biologically Active a-GalNAc 6.1. Materials And Methods 6.1.1. Affinity Purification, Microsequencing And Antibody Production 6.1.2. Construction Of Synthetic Oligonucleotide Probes 6.1.3. Isolation And Characterization Of cDNA and Genomic Clones 6.1.4. DNA Sequencing And Computer-Assisted Analyses 6.1.5. Transient Expression Assays 6.1.6. Northern Hybridization And Cap Site Analyses 6.1.7. Construction Of p91.alpha.-GalA6/.alpha.-GalNAc7 6.1.8. Primer Extension And PCR Amplification Of cDNA And Genomic Sequences 6.2. Results 6.2.1. Purification And Characterization Of Human .alpha.-GalNAc 6.2.2. Isolation, Characterization And Expression Of A Full-Length cDNA 6.2.3. Northern Hybridization And Cap-Site Analyses 6.2.4. Sequence Homology Between .alpha.-GalNAc And .alpha.-Gal A 6.2.5. Primer Extension And PCR And Sequence Analyses Of cDNA And Genomic Sequences 7. Deposit Of Microorganisms

This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and a grant from the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

1. INTRODUCTION

The present invention relates to the production of biologically active human .alpha.-GalNAc, involving cloning and expression of the genetic coding sequence of .alpha.-GalNAc in eukaryotic expression systems which provide for proper post-translational modifications and processing of the expression product.

The .alpha.-GalNAc so produced may be used in enzyme replacement therapy for Schindler Disease, or in the hydrolysis of .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties from various glycoconjugates, such as the conversion of blood Group A erythrocytes to cells with the O blood group antigen.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the early 1970's, several investigators demonstrated the existence of two .alpha.-Galactosidase isozymes designated A and B, which hydrolyzed the .alpha.-galactosidic linkages in 4-MU- and/or .rho.-NP-.alpha.-D-galactopyranosides (Kint, 1971, Arch. Int. Physiol. Biochem. 79:633-644; Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, Amer. J. Hum. Genet. 24:237-249; Romeo, et al., 1972, FEBS Lett. 27:161-166; Wood & Nadler, 1972, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 24:250-255; Ho, et al., 1972, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 24:256-266; Desnick, et al., 1973, J. Lab. Clin. Med. 81:157-171; and Desnick, et al., 1989, in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L. Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., eds, pp. 1751-1796, McGraw Hill, New York). In tissues, about 80%-90% of total .alpha.-Galactosidase (.alpha.-Gal) activity was due to a thermolabile, myoinositol-inhibitable .alpha.-Gal A isozyme, while a relatively thermostable, .alpha.-Gal B, accounted for the remainder. The two "isozymes" were separable by electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and ion exchange chromatography. After neuraminidase treatment, the electrophoretic migrations and pI value of .alpha.-Gal A and B were similar (Kint, 1971; Arch. Int. Physiol. Biochem. 79:633-644), initially suggesting that the two enzymes were the differentially glycosylated products of the same gene. The finding that the purified glycoprotein enzymes had similar physical properties including subunit molecular weight (-46 kDa), homodimeric structures, and amino acid compositions also indicated their structural relatedness (Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247:7195-7200; Callahan, et al., 1973, Biochem. Med. 7:424-431; Dean, et al., 1977, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 77:1411-1417; Schram, et al., 1977, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 482:138-144; Kusiak, et al., 1978, J. Biol. Chem. 253:184-190; Dean, et al., 1979, J. Biol. Chem. 254:10001-10005; and Bishop, et al., 1980, in Enzyme Therapy in Genetic Disease:2, Desnick, R. J., ed., pp. 17-32, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York). However, the subsequent demonstration that polyclonal antibodies against .alpha.-Gal A or B did not cross-react with the other enzyme (Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247:7195-7200; and Schram, et al., 1977, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 482:138-144), that only .alpha.-Gal A activity was deficient in hemizygotes with Fabry disease (Kint, 1971, Arch. Int. Physiol. Biochem. 79:633-644; Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, Amer. J. Hum. Genet. 24:237-249; Romeo, et al., 1972, FEBS Lett. 27:161-166; Wood & Nadler, 1972, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 24:250-255; Ho, et al., 1972, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 24:256-266; Desnick, et al., 1973, J. Lab. Clin. Med. 81:157-171; Desnick, et al., 1989, in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L. Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., eds, pp. 1751-1796, McGraw Hill, New York; and, Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247:7195-7200); and that the genes for .alpha.-Gal A and B mapped to different chromosomes (Desnick, et al., 1989, in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L. Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., eds, pp. 1751-1796, McGraw Hill, New York; deGroot, et al., 1978, Hum. Genet. 44:305-312), clearly demonstrated that these enzymes were genetically distinct.

2.1. .alpha.-GalNAc AND SCHINDLER DISEASE

In 1977 .alpha.-Gal B was shown to be an acetylgalactosaminidase (.alpha.-GalNAc), a homodimeric glycoprotein which hydrolyzed artificial and natural substrates with terminal .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties (Dean, et al., 1977, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 77:1411-1417; Schram, et al., 1977, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 482:138-144; and, Bishop, et al., 1980, in Enzyme Therapy in Genetic Disease:2, Desnick, R. J., ed., pp. 17-32, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York) including various O- and N-linked glycopeptides and glycoproteins, glycosphingolipids, and the proteoglycan, cartilage keratin sulfate II (Desnick, et al., 1989, in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L. Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., eds, pp. 1751-1796, McGraw Hill, New York).

Purified .alpha.-GalNAc has reported native and subunit molecular weights of 90 to 117 kDa and 46 to 48 kDa, respectively (Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247:7195-7200; Callahan, et al., 1973, Biochem. Med. 7:424-431; Dean, et al., 1977, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 77:1411-1417; Schram, et al., 1977, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 482:138-144; Kusiak, et al., 1978, J. Biol. Chem. 253:184-190; Dean, et al., 1979, J. Biol. Chem. 254:10001-10005; and, Bishop, et al., 1980, in Enzyme Therapy in Genetic Disease:2, Desnick, R. J., ed., pp. 17-32, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York). Kinetic studies demonstrated that the enzyme was inhibited by .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosamine (K.sub.i .about.2.1 mM) and hydrolyzed synthetic substrates with either terminal .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminide (K.sub.m .about.1-2 mM) or .alpha.-D-galactoside moieties (K.sub.m .about.7-10 mM) (Beutler & Kuhl, 1972, J. Biol. Chem. 247:7195-7200; Callahan, et al., 1973, Biochem. Med. 7:424-431; Dean, et al., 1977, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 77:1411-1417; Schram, et al., 1977, Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 482:138-144; Kusiak, et al., 1978, J. Biol. Chem. 253:184-190; Dean, et al., 1979, J. Biol. Chem. 254:10001-10005; and, Bishop, et al., 1980, in Enzyme Therapy in Genetic Disease:2, Desnick, R. J., ed., pp. 17-32, Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York). Biosynthetic studies performed with cultured fibroblasts indicated that the human enzyme was synthesized as a 65 kDa glycosylated precursor which was processed to a mature 48 kDa lysosomal form; both the precursor and mature forms had high-mannose type oligosaccharide chains, but only the precuror's mannose residues were phosphorylated (Sweeley, et al., 1983, Arch. Biochim. Biophys. 223:158-165).

The deficient activity of .alpha.-GalNAc was demonstrated in two brothers with Schindler disease (van Diggelen, et al., 1988, J. Inher. Met. Dis. 11:349-357; Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740), a newly recognized form of infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740). The affected brothers excreted increased amounts of O-linked glycopeptides and oligosaccharides containing .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties which were detectable in urinary screening profiles (van Diggelen, et al., 1988, J. Inher. Met. Dis. 11:349-357; Schindler, et al., 1990, Clin. Chim. Acta 190:81-92; Schindler, et al. 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740). Biochemical and immunologic studies revealed that neither .alpha.-GalNAc activity or enzyme protein was present in fibroblast lysates from the affected sibs (Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740). Thus, efforts were undertaken to isolate and express a full-length .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA in order to determine the nature of the molecular lesions in patients with Schindler disease, and to characterize the genomic organization and expression of the human gene encoding this lysosomal hydrolase.

While expression studies of a hybrid .alpha.-GalNAc sequence were in progress, Tsuji, S., et al. (1989, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1498-1504), reported the isolation of a human .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA. Unlike the full-length pAGB-3 .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA sequence reported herein, the Tsuji et al. clone, pcD-HS1204, contained a 70 bp insertion after pAGB-3 nt 957 which altered the reading frame for pAGB-3 residues 330 to 411 and resulted in a truncated polypeptide of only 358 residues. Although their predicted amino acid sequence did not include the tryptic peptide described herein containing residues 335 to 344, we investigated whether the 70 bp insertion may have resulted from alternative splicing. The results reported herein demonstrate the isolation, nucleotide sequence and transient expression of a full-length cDNA encoding .alpha.GalNAc. Genomic sequencing did not reveal the presence of the putative 70 bp insertion, thereby affirming that the expressible pAGB-3 transcript is authentic. In addition, remarkable homology between the predicted .alpha.-GalNAc and .alpha.-Gal A amino acid sequences was identified, suggesting the evolutionary relatedness of the autosomal and X-linked genes encoding these lysosomal hydrolases.

2.2. LYSOSOMAL ENZYMES: BIOSYNTHESIS AND TARGETING

Lysosomal enzymes are synthesized on membrane-bound polysomes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Each protein is synthesized as a larger precursor containing a hydrophobic amino terminal signal peptide. This peptide interacts with a signal recognition particle, an 11S ribonucleoprotein, and thereby initiates the vectoral transport of the nascent protein across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane into the lumen (Erickson, et al., 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:11224; Erickson, et al., 1983, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 115:275; Rosenfeld, et al., 1982, J. Cell Biol. 93:135). Lysosomal enzymes are cotranslationaly glycosylated by the en bloc transfer of a large preformed oligosaccharide, glucose-3, mannose-9, N-acetylglucosamine-2, from a lipid-linked intermediate to the Asn residue of a consensus sequence Asn-X-Ser/Thr in the nascent polypeptide (Kornfeld, R. & Kornfeld, S., 1985, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 54:631). In the endoplasmic reticulum, the signal peptide is cleaved, and the processing of the Asn-linked oligosaccharide begins by the excision of three glucose residues and one mannose from the oligosaccharide chain.

The proteins move via vesicular transport to the Golgi stack, where they undergo a variety of post-translational modifications, and are sorted for proper targeting to specific destinations:lysosomes, secretion, plasma membrane. During movement through the Golgi, the oligosaccharide chain on secretory and membrane glycoproteins is processed to the sialic acid-containing complex-type. While some of the oligosaccharide chains on lysosomal enzymes undergo similar processing, most undergo a different series of modifications. The most important modification is the acquisition of phosphomannosyl residues which serve as an essential component in the process of targeting these enzymes to the lysosome (Kaplan, et al., 1977, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74:2026). This recognition marker is generated by the sequential action of two Golgi enzymes. First, N-acetylglucosaminylphosphotransferase transfers N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate from the nucleotide sugar uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine to selected mannose residues on lysosomal enzymes to give rise to a phosphodiester intermediate (Reitman & Kornfeld, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:4275; Waheed, et al., 1982, J. Biol. Chem. 257:12322). Then, N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester .alpha.-N-acetylglucosaminidase removes the N-acetylglucosamine residue to expose the recognition signal, mannose-6-phosphate (Varki & Kornfeld, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:9937; Waheed, et al., 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:5717).

Following the generation of the phosphomannosyl residues, the lysosomal enzymes bind to mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P) receptors in the Golgi. In this way the lysosomal enzymes remain intracellular and segregate from the proteins which are destined for secretion. The ligand-receptor complex then exits the Golgi via a coated vesicle and is delivered to a prelysosomal staging area where dissociation of the ligand occurs by acidification of the compartment (Gonzalez-Noriega, et al., 1980, J. Cell Biol. 85:839). The receptor recycles back to the Golgi while the lysosomal enzymes are packaged into vesicles to form primary lysosomes. Approximately, 5-20% of the lysosomal enzymes do not traffic to the lysosomes and are secreted, presumably, by default. A portion of these secreted enzymes may be recaptured by the M-6-P receptor found on the cell surface and be internalized and delivered to the lysosomes (Willingham, et al., 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78:6967).

Two mannose-6-phosphate receptors have been identified. A 215 kDa glycoprotein has been purified from a variety of tissues (Sahagian, et al., 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 78:4289; Steiner & Rome, 1982, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 214:681). The binding of this receptor is divalent cation independent. A second M-6-P receptor also has been isolated which differs from the 215 kDa receptor in that it has a requirement for divalent cations. Therefore, this receptor is called the cation-dependent (M-6-P.sup.CD) while the 215 kDa one is called cation-independent (M-6-PCI). The M-6-P.sup.CD receptor appears to be an oligomer with three subunits with a subunit molecular weight of 46 kDa.

3. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves the production of human .alpha.-GalNAc by cloning and expressing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence in eukaryotic host cell expression systems. The eukaryotic expression systems, and in particular the mammalian host cell expression systems described herein, provide for stable and high level expression of .alpha.-GalNAc, as well as appropriate co-translational and post-translational modifications required for proper processing, e.g., glycosylation, phosphorylation, etc. and sorting of the expression product so that an active enzyme is produced. Also described is the engineering of .alpha.-GalNAc fusion proteins which are readily purified. These fusion proteins are engineered so that the .alpha.-GalNAc moiety is readily cleaved from the fusion protein and recovered.

The .alpha.-GalNAc produced in accordance with the invention may be used for a variety of ends, including but not limited to the treatment of Schindler disease; the hydrolyses of .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl moieties from glycoproteins, glycopeptides, glycolipids and other glycoconjugates; and for the conversion of the human A blood group determinant on erythrocytes to the O-blood group antigen.

3.1. DEFINITIONS

As used herein, the following terms and abbreviations will have the indicated meaning:

______________________________________Galactosidase A .alpha.-Gal A.alpha.-N-Acetylgalactosaminidase .alpha.-GalNAcbase pair(s) bpChinese hamster ovary CHOcomplementary DNA cDNAcounts per minute cpmdeoxyribonucleic acid DNADulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium DMEMfetal calf serum FCShour(s) hrkilobase pairs kbkilodalton kDamannose-6-phosphate M-6-Pmethotrexate MTX4-methylumbelliferyl-.alpha.-D-galactoside 4-MU-.alpha.-Gal4-methyl-umbelliferyl- 4-MU-.alpha.-GalNAc.alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidemicrograms .mu.gnanograms ngnucleotide ntp-nitrophenyl-.alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminide pNP-.alpha.-GalNAcpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis PAGEpolymerase chain reaction PCRribonucleic acid RNAriboprobe for .alpha.-GalNAc rb-AGB-3sodium dodecyl sulfate SDS;NaDodSO.sub.4units U______________________________________

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIGS. 1A-C Reversed-phase HPLC separation of tryptic peptides from electroeluted 117 kDa (FIG. 1A) and 48 kDa (FIG. 1B) species of purified human .alpha.-GalNAc. The indicated peptides were microsequenced. FIG. 1C NaDodSO.sub.4 /PAGE of purified .alpha.-GalNAc.

FIGS. 2A-D Nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences of the pAGB-3 cDNA insert containing the complete coding region for human .alpha.-GalNAc [SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2]. The A of the initiation ATG is nt 1 and the N-terminal Met of the signal peptide is amino acid 1. Bold underlines indicate colinear amino acid sequence obtained by microsequencing the N-terminal (N-ter) and tryptic peptides (T) of the purified enzyme. CHO indicates potential sites of N-glycosylation. Overlines indicate the polyadenylation signal (AATAAA) and the pentanucleotide sequence (CACTG) recognized by the U4 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein.

FIG. 3 Immunoblot of human .alpha.-GalNAc expressed in COS-1 cells. Lanes: 1, mock-transfection; 2, p91-AGB-3 transfection; 3, purified human lung .alpha.-GalNAc.

FIGS. 4A-C Alignment of amino acid sequences deduced from the full-length cDNAs encoding human .alpha.-GalNAc (.alpha.-Gal B) [SEQ ID NO: 2], .alpha.-Gal A[SEQ ID NO: 3], yeast Mel 1 [SEQ ID NO: 4], and E. coli Mel A [SEQ ID NOS: 5-7]. Colons, identical residues; single dots, isofunctional amino acids; and boxes, identical residues in .alpha.-GalNAc, .alpha.-Gal A, Mel 1 and/or Mel A. Gaps were introduced for optimal alignment. Numbered vertical lines indicate exon boundaries for .alpha.-Gal A (Bishop, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:3903-3907).

FIGS. 5A-B Partial genomic sequence of human .alpha.-GalNAc including an intron between coding nt 957 and 958. FIG. 5A:rb-AGB-3:partial .alpha.-GalNAc RNA sequence (nt 909 to 969) corresponding to the 3' end of .alpha.-Gal A exon 6 [SEQ ID NO: 8] (Bishop, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:3903-3907). The indicated stem and loop structure between nt 918 and 937 had a .DELTA.G of -11.6 (Zuker, 1989, Methods Enzymol. 180:262-288). The overlapped antisense [SEQ ID NO: 9] and sense [SEQ ID NO: 1] sequences shown in bold are inverted and direct repeats derived from nt 919 to 957 of pAGB-3 that are in the 70 bp insertion of pcD-HS1204 [SEQ ID NO: 10] (Tsuji, S., et al., 1989, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1498-1504). The 45 bp deletion in clone pAGB-13 is indicated in italics. FIGS. 6A-B: The genomic .alpha.-GalNAc sequence from coding nt 760 to 1053 (upper case) includes a 1754 nt intron between nt 959 and 958 which corresponds in position to the .alpha.-Gal A exon 6 and 7 boundaries [SEQ ID NO: 11]. Dashed line, the 5' splice donor sequence; solid underlines, putative branch point sequences; dotted underlines, putative polypyrimidine tracts at the 3' acceptor sites for the normal gene and mutant pAGB-13; and asterisks, differences from the consensus sequence (Reed & Maniatis, 1988, Genes Dev. 2:1268-1276).

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the production of biologically active human .alpha.-GalNAc involving cloning and expressing the nucleotide coding sequences for the enzyme in eukaryotic expression systems. Successful expression and production of this purified, biologically activeenzyme as described and exemplified herein is particularly significant for a number of reasons. For example, past efforts to express the full-length cDNA encoding .alpha.-Gal A using various prokaryotic expression vectors resulted in expression of the enzyme, as evidenced by enzyme assays of intact microbial host cells and growth on melibiose as the carbon source; however, the human enzyme was expressed at low levels and could not be purified from the bacteria. These results indicate that the recombinant enzyme expressed in microbial systems was unstable due to the lack of normal glycosylation and/or the presence of endogenous cytoplasmic or periplasmic proteases. These studies also suggest that the homologous .alpha.-GalNAc glycoprotein also would not be expressable in bacteria.

The expression of these enzymes in eukaryotic expression systems are equally difficult for different reasons. The .alpha.-Gal A and .alpha.-GalNAc are lysosomal enzymes encoded by "housekeeping" genes. The primary translation product is highly modified and processed involving a complex series of events including cleavage of a signal sequence, glycosylation, and phosphorylation which can be properly effected only by appropriate host cells. Moreover, since the expression product is destinedfor the lysosome, which remains intracellular, it is quite surprising that the methods described herein allow for the secretion of a properly processed, biologically active molecule.

The biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc produced in accordance with the invention has a variety of uses, probably the most significant being its use in enzyme replacement therapy for the lysosomal storage disorder Schindler's disease. However, large quantities of biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc which do not induce an immune response are required for replacement therapy. Such quantities of active enzyme have not heretofore been obtained. In addition, the enzyme can be used for hydrolysis of the .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl residues from various glycoconjugates, and for the modification of the A-blood group on erythrocytes to the O-blood group antigenic type.

The invention is divided into the following sections solely for the purposeof description: (a) the coding sequence for .alpha.-GalNAc; (b) construction of an expression vector which will direct the expression of the enzyme coding sequences; (c) transfection of appropriate host cells which are capable of replicating, translating and properly processing the primary transcripts in order to express a biologically active gene product; and (d) identification and/or purification of the enzyme so produced. Once a transformant is identified that expresses high levels of biologically active enzyme, the practice of the invention involves the expansion and use of that clone in the production of purified, biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc.

The invention is demonstrated herein, by way of examples in which cDNAs of .alpha.-GalNAc were cloned and expressed in a mammalian expression system.Modifications to the cDNA coding sequences which improve yield, and simplify purification without detracting from biological activity are alsodescribed.

Various aspects of the invention are described in more detail in the subsections below and in the examples that follow.

5.1. The .alpha.-GalNAc CODING SEQUENCE

The nucleotide coding sequence and deduced amino acid sequence for .alpha.-GalNAc is depicted in FIG. 2 [SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2]. This nucleotide sequence, or fragments or functional equivalents thereof, may be used to generate recombinant DNA molecules that direct the expression of the enzyme products, or functionally active peptides or functional equivalents thereof, in appropriate host cells.

Due to the degeneracy of the nucleotide coding sequences, other DNA sequences which encode substantially the same amino acid sequence as depicted in FIG. 2 may be used in the practice of the invention for the cloning and expression of .alpha.-GalNAc. Such alterations include deletions, additions or substitutions of different nucleotide residues resulting in a sequence that encodes the same or a functionally equivalentgene product. The gene product may contain deletions, additions or substitutions of amino acid residues within the sequence, which result in a silent change thus producing a bioactive product. Such amino acid substitutions may be made on the basis of similarity in polarity, charge, solubility, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, the amphipathic nature of the residues involved, and/or on the basis of crystallographic data. For example, negatively charged amino acids include aspartic acid and glutamicacid; positively charged amino acids include lysine and arginine; amino acids with uncharged polar head groups having similar hydrophilicity values include the following: leucine, isoleucine, valine; glycine, alanine; asparagine, glutamine; serine, threonine; and phenylalanine, tyrosine.

The coding sequence for .alpha.-GalNAc may be conveniently obtained from genetically engineered microorganisms or cell lines containing the enzyme coding sequences, such as the deposited embodiments described herein. Alternatively, genomic sequences or cDNA coding sequences for these enzymes may be obtained from human genomic or cDNA libraries. Either genomic or cDNA libraries may be prepared from DNA fragments generated from human cell sources. The fragments which encode .alpha.-GalNAc may be identified by screening such libraries with a nucleotide probe that is substantially complementary to any portion of the sequences depicted in FIG. 2. Indeed, sequences generated by polymerase chain reaction can be ligated to form the full-length sequence. Although portions of the coding sequences may be utilized, full length clones, i.e., those containing the entire coding region for .alpha.-GalNAc, may be preferable for expression.Alternatively, the coding sequences depicted in FIG. 2 may be altered by the addition of sequences that can be used to increase levels of expression and/or to facilitate purification. For example, the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence could be modified by the addition of the nucleotide sequence encoding the cleavage site for collagenase followed bythe Staphylococcal Protein A sequence. Expression of this chimeric gene construct would result in a fusion protein consisting of .alpha.-GalNAc, the collagenase substrate and Protein A. This fusion protein may be readily purified using an IgG column which binds to the Protein A moiety. Unfused .alpha.-GalNAc may be released from the column by treatment with collagenase which cleaves the .alpha.-GalNAc from the Protein A moiety bound to the column. Other enzyme cleavage substrates and binding proteinscan be engineered into similar constructs for the production of .alpha.-GalNAc which can be readily purified and released in its biologically active form.

Techniques well-known to those skilled in the art for the isolation of DNA,generation of appropriate restriction fragments, construction of clones andlibraries, and screening recombinants may be used. For a review of such techniques, see, for example, Sambrook, et al., 1989, Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Press, N.Y., Chapters 1-18.

In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the coding sequence of FIG. 2 could be synthesized in whole or in part, using chemical methods well-known in the art. See, for example, Caruthers, et al., 1980, Nuc. Acids Res. Symp. Ser. 7:215-233; Crea & Horn, 1980, Nuc. Acids Res. 9(10):2331; Matteucchi & Carruthers, 1980, Tetrahedron Letters 21:719; andChow and Kempe, 1981, Nuc. Acids Res. 9(12); 2807-2817.

Alternatively, the protein itself could be produced using chemical methods to synthesize the amino acid sequence depicted in FIG. 2 in whole or in part. For example, peptides can be synthesized by solid phase techniques, cleaved from the resin and purified by preparative high performance liquidchromatography. (e.g., see, Creighton, 1983, Proteins, Structures and Molecular Principles, W. H. Freeman & Co., N.Y. pp. 50-60). The composition of the synthetic peptides may be confirmed by amino acid analysis or sequencing (e.g., the Edman degradation procedure; see Creighton, 1983, Proteins, Structures and Molecular Principles, W. H. Freeman & Co., N.Y., pp. 34-49).

Human .alpha.-GalNAc is a homodimeric glycoprotein. The full-length .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA predicts a mature subunit of 394 amino acids. Homologysearches with computerized data bases identified short regions of .alpha.-GalNAc homology with the yeast Mel 1 and the E. coli Mel A amino acid sequences (see FIG. 4; [SEQ ID NOS: 4-7]). It is likely that these conserved regions are important for enzyme conformation, stability, subunit association and/or catalysis. Thus, it is preferred not to alter such conserved regions. However, certain modifications in the coding sequence may be advantageous. For example, the six N-linked glycosylation consensus sequences could be selectively obliterated, thereby altering theglycosylation of the enzyme and affecting phosphorylation, sialylation, sulfation, etc. Such modified enzymes may have altered clearance properties and targeting when injected into patients. Oligosaccharide modifications may be useful in the targeting of .alpha.-GalNAc for effective enzyme therapy.

Also, the 5' untranslated and coding regions of the nucleotide sequence could be altered to improve the translational efficiency of the .alpha.-GalNAc mRNA. For example, substitution of a cytosine for the guanosine in position +4 of the .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA could improve the translational efficiency of the .alpha.-GalNAc mRNA 5- to 10-fold (Kozak, 1987, J. Mol. Biol. 196:947-950).

In addition, based on X-ray crystallographic data, sequence alterations could be undertaken to improve protein stability, i.e., introducing disulfide bridges at the appropriate positions, and/or deleting or replacing amino acids that are predicted to cause protein instability. These are only examples of enzyme modifications that can be engineered to produce a more active or stable protein, more enzyme protein, or even change the catalytic specificity of the enzyme.

5.2. EXPRESSION OF .alpha.-GalNAc

In order to express a biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc, the coding sequence for the enzyme, a functional equivalent, or a modified sequence, as described in Section 5.1., supra, is inserted into an appropriate eukaryotic expression vector, i.e., a vector which contains the necessary elements for transcription and translation of the inserted coding sequencein appropriate eukaryotic host cells which posses the cellular machinery and elements for the proper processing, i.e., signal cleavage, glycosylation, phosphorylation and protein sorting. Mammalian host cell expression systems are preferred for the expression of biologically activeenzymes that are properly folded and processed; when administered in humanssuch expression products should exhibit proper tissue targeting and no immunological reaction.

5.2.1. CONSTRUCTION OF EXPRESSION VECTORS AND PREPARATION OF TRANSFECTANTS

Methods which are well-known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct expression vectors containing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequenceand appropriate transcriptional/translational control signals. These methods include in vitro recombination/genetic recombination. See, for example, the techniques described in Maniatis et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual, Cold spring Harbor Laboratory, N.Y., Chapter 12.

A variety of eukaryotic host-expression systems may be utilized to express the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence. Although prokaryotic systems offer thedistinct advantage of ease of manipulation and low cost of scale-up, their major drawback in the expression of .alpha.-GalNAc is their lack of properpost-translational modifications of expressed mammalian proteins. Eukaryotic systems, and preferably mammalian expression systems, allow forproper modification to occur. Eukaryotic cells which possess the cellular machinery for proper processing of the primary transcript, glycosylation, phosphorylation, and, advantageously secretion of the gene product should be used as host cells for the expression of .alpha.-GalNAc. Mammalian celllines are preferred. Such host cell lines may include but are not limited to CHO, VERO, BHK, HeLa, COS, MDCK, 293, WI38, etc.

Appropriate eukaryotic vectors should be utilized to direct the expression of the .alpha.-GalNAc in the host cell chosen. For example, at least two basic approaches may be followed for the design of such vectors based on SV40. The first is to replace the SV40 early region with the gene of interest while the second is to replace the late region (Hammarskjold, et al., 1986, Gene 43:41). Early and late region replacement vectors can alsobe complemented in vitro by the appropriate SV40 mutant lacking the early or late region. Such complementation will produce recombinants which are packaged into infectious capsids and which contain the gene of interest. Apermissive cell line can then be infected and produce the recombinant protein. SV40-based vectors can also be used in transient expression studies, where best results are obtained when they are introduced into COS(CV-1, origin of SV40) cells, a derivative of CV-1 (green monkey kidney cells) which contain a single copy of an origin defective SV40 genome integrated into the chromosome. These cells actively synthesize large T antigen (SV40), thus initiating replication from any plasmid containing anSV40 origin of replication.

In addition to SV40, almost every molecularly cloned virus or retrovirus may be used as a cloning or expression vehicle. Viral vectors based on a number of retroviruses (avian and murine), adenoviruses, vaccinia virus (Cochran, et al., 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:19) and polyoma virus may be used for expression. Other cloned viruses, such as JC (Howley, et al., 1980, J. Virol 36:878), BK and the human papilloma viruses (Heilman, et al., 1980, J. Virol 36:395), offer the potential of being used as eukaryotic expression vectors. For example, when using adenovirus expression vectors the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence may be ligated to an adenovirus transcription/translation control complex, e.g., the late promoter and tripartite leader sequence. This chimeric gene may then be inserted in the adenovirus genome by in vitro or in vivo recombination. Insertion in a non-essential region of the viral genome (e.g., region E1 or E3) will result in a recombinant virus that is viable and capable of expressing the human enzyme in infected hosts (e.g., see Logan & Shenk, 1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 81:3655-3659). Alternatively, the vaccinia virus 7.5K promoter may be used (e.g., see, Mackett et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (U.S.A.) 79:7415-7419; Mackett et al., 1984, J. Virol. 49:857-864; Panicali et al., 1982, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 79:4927-4931). Of particular interest are vectors based on bovine papilloma virus (Sarver, et al., 1981, Mol. Cell. Biol. 1:486). These vectors have the ability to replicate as extrachromosomal elements. Shortly after entry of this DNA into mouse cells, the plasmid replicates to about 100 to 200 copies per cell. Transcription of the inserted cDNA does not require integration of the plasmid into the host's chromosome, thereby yielding a high level of expression. These vectors can be used forstable expression by including a selectable marker in the plasmid, such as the neogene. High level expression may also be achieved using inducible promoters such as the metallothionine IIA promoter, heat shock promoters, etc.

For long-term, high-yield production of recombinant proteins, stable expression is preferred. For example, following the introduction of foreign DNA, engineered cells may be allowed to grow for 1-2 days in an enriched media, and then are switched to a selective media. Rather than using expression vectors which contain viral origins of replication, host cells can be transformed with the .alpha.-GalNAc DNA controlled by appropriate expression control elements (e.g., promoter, enhancer, sequences, transcription terminators, polyadenylation sites, etc.), and a selectable marker. The selectable marker in the recombinant plasmid confers resistance to the selection and allows cells to stably integrate the plasmid into their chromosomes and grow to form foci which in turn canbe cloned and expanded into cell lines. A number of selection systems may be used, including but not limited to the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (Wigler, et al., 1977, Cell 11:223), hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (Szybalska & Szybalski, 1962, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48:2026), and adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (Lowy, et al.,1980, Cell 22:817) genes can be employed in tk.sup.-, hgprt.sup.- or aprt.sup.- cells, respectively. Also, antimetabolite resistance can be used as the basis of selection for dhfr, which confers resistance to methotrexate (Wigler, et al., 1980, Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:3567; O'Hare, et al., 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78:1527); gpt, which confers resistance to mycophenolic acid (Mulligan & Berg, 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78:2072); neo, which confers resistance to the aminoglycoside G-418 (Colberr.alpha.-Garapin, et al., 1981, J. Mol. Biol. 150:1); and hygro, which confers resistance to hygromycin (Santerre, et al., 1984, Gene 30:147) genes. Recently, additional selectable genes have been described, namely trpB, which allows cells to utilize indole in placeof tryptophan; hisD, which allows cells to utilize histinol in place of histidine (Hartman & Mulligan, 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:8047); and ODC (ornithine decarboxylase) which confers resistance to the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, 2-(difluoromethyl)-DL-ornithine, DFMO (McConlogue L., 1987, In: Current Communications in Molecular Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ed.).

Alternative eukaryotic expression systems which may be used to express the .alpha.-GalNAc enzymes are yeast transformed with recombinant yeast expression vectors containing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence; insect cell systems infected with recombinant virus expression vectors (e.g., baculovirus) containing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence; or plant cell systems infected with recombinant virus expression vectors (e.g., cauliflower mosaic virus, CaMV; tobacco mosaic virus, TMV) or transformed with recombinant plasmid expression vectors (e.g., Ti plasmid) containing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence.

In yeast, a number of vectors containing constitutive or inducible promoters may be used. For a review see, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2, 1988, Ed. Ausubel et al., Greene Publish. Assoc. & Wiley Interscience, Ch. 13; Grant et al., 1987, Expression and Secretion Vectorsfor Yeast, in Methods in Enzymology, Eds. Wu & Grossman, 31987, Acad. Press, N.Y., Vol. 153, pp.516-544; Glover, 1986, DNA Cloning, Vol. II, IRLPress, Wash., D.C., Ch. 3; and Bitter, 1987, Heterologous Gene Expression in Yeast, Methods in Enzymology, Eds. Berger & Kimmel, Acad. Press, N.Y., Vol. 152, pp. 673-684; and The Molecular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces, 1982, Eds. Strathern et al., Cold Spring Harbor Press, Vols. I and II. For complementation assays in yeast, cDNAs for .alpha.-GalNAc may be cloned into yeast episomal plasmids (YEp) which replicate autonomously in yeast due to the presence of the yeast 2.mu. circle. The cDNA may be cloned behind either a constitutive yeast promotersuch as ADH or LEU2 or an inducible promoter such as GAL (Cloning in Yeast,Chpt. 3, R. Rothstein In: DNA Cloning Vol. 11, A Practical Approach, Ed. DMGlover, 1986, IRL Press, Wash., D.C.). Constructs may contain the 5' and 3'non-translated regions of the cognate .alpha.-GalNAc mRNA or those corresponding to a yeast gene. YEp plasmids transform at high efficiency and the plasmids are extremely stable. Alternatively, vectors may be used which promote integration of foreign DNA sequences into the yeast chromosome.

In cases where plant expression vectors are used, the expression of the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence may be driven by any of a number of promoters. For example, viral promoters such as the 35S RNA and 19S RNA promoters of CaMV (Brisson et al., 1984, Nature 310:511-514), or the coat protein promoter of TMV (Takamatsu et al., 1987, EMBO J. 6:307-311) may beused; alternatively, plant promoters such as the small subunit of RUBISCO (Coruzzi et al., 1984, EMBO J. 3:1671-1680; Broglie et al., 1984, Science 224:838-843); or heat shock promoters, e.g., soybean hsp17.5-E or hsp17.3-B (Gurley et al., 1986, Mol. Cell. Biol. 6:559-565) may be used. These constructs can be introduced into plant cells using Ti plasmids, Ri plasmids, plant virus vectors; direct DNA transformation; microinjection, electroporation, etc. For reviews of such techniques see, for example, Weissbach & Weissbach, 1988, Methods for Plant Molecular Biology, AcademicPress, N.Y., Section VIII, pp. 421-463; and Grierson & Corey, 1988, Plant Molecular Biology, 2d Ed., Blackie, London, Ch. 7-9.

An alternative expression system which could be used to express .alpha.-GalNAc is an insect system. In one such system, Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) is used as a vector to express foreign genes. The virus grows in Spodoptera frugiperda cells. The .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence may be cloned into non-essential regions (for example the polyhedrin gene) of the virus and placed under control ofan AcNPV promoter (for example the polyhedrin promoter). Successful insertion of the coding sequence will result in inactivation of the polyhedrin gene and production of non-occluded recombinant virus (i.e., virus lacking the proteinaceous coat coded for by the polyhedrin gene). These recombinant viruses are then used to infect Spodoptera frugiperda cells in which the inserted gene is expressed (e.g., see Smith et al., 1983, J. Viol. 46:584; Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,051).

5.2.2. IDENTIFICATION OF TRANSFECTANTS OR TRANSFORMANTS EXPRESSING THE .alpha.-GalNAc GENE PRODUCT

The host cells which contain the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence and which express the biologically active gene product may be identified by at leastfour general approaches: (a) DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization; (b) the presence or absence of "marker" gene functions; (c) assessing the level oftranscription as measured by the expression of .alpha.-GalNAc mRNA transcripts in the host cell; and (d) detection of the gene product as measured by immunoassay or by its biological activity.

In the first approach, the presence of the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence inserted in the expression vector can be detected by DNA-DNA or DNA-RNA hybridization using probes comprising nucleotide sequences that are homologous to the .alpha.-GalNac coding sequence substantially as shown inFIG. 2, respectively, or portions or derivatives thereof.

In the second approach, the recombinant expression vector/host system can be identified and selected based upon the presence or absence of certain "marker" gene functions (e.g., thymidine kinase activity, resistance to antibiotics, resistance to methotrexate, transformation phenotype, occlusion body formation in baculovirus, etc.). For example, if the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence is inserted within a marker gene sequence of the vector, recombinants containing the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence can be identified by the absence of the marker gene function. Alternatively, a marker gene can be placed in tandem with the .alpha.-GalNAc sequence under the control of the same or different promoter used to control the expression of the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence. Expression of the marker in response to induction or selection indicates expression of the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence.

In the third approach, transcriptional activity for the .alpha.-GalNAc coding region can be assessed by hybridization assays. For example, RNA can be isolated and analyzed by Northern blot using a probe homologous to the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence or particular portions thereof substantially as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, total nucleic acids of the host cell may be extracted and assayed for hybridization to such probes.

In the fourth approach, the expression of the .alpha.-GalNAc protein product can be assessed immunologically, for example by Western blots, immunoassays such as radioimmuno-precipitation, enzyme-linked immunoassaysand the like. The ultimate test of the success of the expression system, however, involves the detection of the biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc gene product. Where the host cell secretes the gene product, the cell freemedia obtained from the cultured transfectant host cell may be assayed for .alpha.-GalNAc activity. Where the gene product is not secreted, cell lysates may be assayed for such activity. In either case, a number of assays can be used to detect .alpha.-GalNAc activity including but not limited to: (a) activity toward 4-methylumbelliferyl-.alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminylpyranoside as describedby Sweda et al., 1989, Can. J. Chem. 67:1388-1391, and applied by Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740; and/or (b) activity toward p-nitrophenyl-.alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminylpyranoside (Van Diggelen, et al., 1988, J. Inherit. Metab. Dis. 11:349-357); and the like.

5.2.3. PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE .alpha.-GalNAc GENE PRODUCT

Once a clone that produces high levels of biologically active .alpha.-GalNAc is identified, the clone may be expanded and used to produce large amounts of the enzyme which may be purified using techniqueswell-known in the art including, but not limited to immunoaffinity purification, chromatographic methods including high performance liquid chromatography and the like. Where the enzyme is secreted by the cultured cells, .alpha.-GalNAc may be readily recovered from the culture medium.

Where the .alpha.-GalNAc coding sequence is engineered to encode a cleavable fusion protein, the purification of .alpha.-GalNAc may be readily accomplished using affinity purification techniques. For example, a collagenase cleavage recognition consensus sequence may be engineered between the carboxy terminus of .alpha.-GalNAc and protein A. The resulting fusion protein may be readily purified using an IgG column that binds the protein A moiety. Unfused .alpha.-GalNAc may be readily releasedfrom the column by treatment with collagenase. In this aspect of the invention, any cleavage site or enzyme cleavage substrate may be engineered between the .alpha.-GalNAc sequence and a second peptide or protein that has a binding partner which could be used for purification, e.g., any antigen for which an immunoaffinity column can be prepared.

5.2.4. MODIFIED GLYCOFORMS OF RECOMBINANT .alpha.-GalNAc

Modifications of the recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc may be desired for a variety of reasons; e.g., altered tissue targeting in vivo, altered biological activity, etc. In particular, the invention includes selective deglycosylation of the complex high mannose carbohydrate moieties covalently attached to the recombinant enzyme to produce various glycoforms of recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc. Such modifications include but are not limited to sequential deglycosylation by neuraminidase to expose terminal galactose, .alpha.-galactose; .alpha.-galactosidase treatment to expose N-.beta.-acetylglucosaminyl residues; and N-.beta.-acetylglucosaminidase treatment to expose mannose residues.

Deglycosylation of recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc may be accomplished in a number of ways. The general methods of sequential treatment by exo-glycosidases are essentially those previously described (Murray, 1987,Meth. Enzymol. 149:25). Briefly, terminal sialic acid residues may be removed by treatment with neuraminidase covalently bound to agarose. To this end, type VI neuraminidase (SIGMA Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) attached to agarose at 40 U/g may be used to treat .alpha.-GalNAc; e.g., 100 mg .alpha.-GalNAc may be treated with 8 units of neuraminidase conjugate at pH 5.0 for 4 hours at 37.degree. C. The conjugated neuramindase can be removed by centrifugation. Similarly, .alpha.-galactosidase (3 Units per 100 mg .alpha.-GalNAc) purified from Streptococcus pneumoniae may be used to remove terminal galactose residues. Finally, jack bean N-.beta.-acetylglucosaminidase (SIGMA Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) can be utilized; e.g., 3.times.10.sup.6 units mixed with each 100 mg aliquot of recombinant .alpha.-GalNAc at 37.degree. C. for four hours. At each step, the recombinant enzyme can be rapidly purified free of deglycosylating enzyme and free carbohydrate by purification of .alpha.-GalNAc as previously described (Schindler, et al.,1989, N. Eng. J. Med. 320:1735-1740).

5.3. USES OF THE RECOMBINANT .alpha.-GalNAc

The purified products obtained in accordance with the invention may be advantageously utilized for enzyme replacement therapy in patient with thelysosomal storage disorder, Schindler's disease (.alpha.-GalNAc). Schindlerdisease is a recently identified inborn error of glyconjugate metabolism inwhich the deficient activity of .alpha.-GalNAc results in the accumulation of glycoconjugates. The type I disease has been characterized as a neuroaxonal dystrophy and the type II disease has a milder phenotype characterized by angiokeratoma and a minimal to moderate mental retardation (Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740; Kanzaki, et al., 1989, Lancet 1:875-877).

The purified product of active .alpha.-GalNAc may also be used for the hydrolyses of .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminyl and mannosyl residues of various glycoconjugates, including but not limited to the blood group A substance on erythrocytes, other glycolipids, glycoproteins and glycopeptides.

6. EXAMPLE: CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE .alpha.-GALNAC

The subsections below describe the production of active human recombinant .alpha.-Galactosidase B (.alpha.-GalNAc). To isolate a full-length cDNA, the enzyme from human lung was purified to homogeneity, 129 non-overlapping amino acids were determined by microsequencing the N-terminus and seven tryptic peptides, and four synthetic oligonucleotide mixtures were used to screen a human fibroblast cDNA library. A full-length cDNA, pAGB-3, isolated from a placental .lambda.gt11 cDNA library, had a 2158 bp insert with an open reading frame which predicted an amino acid sequence that was colinear with all 129 microsequenced residues of the purified enzyme. The pAGB-3 insert had a 344 bp 5' untranslated region, a 1236 bp open reading frame encoding 411 amino acids, a 514 bp 3' untranslated region, and a 64 bp poly(A) tract. A signal peptide sequence of 17 amino acids as well as six N-glycosylation sites were predicted. The pAGB-3 cDNA was subcloned into the p91023(B) mammalian expression vector and human .alpha.-GalNAc activity was transiently expressed in COS-1 cells, demonstrating the functional integrity of the full-length cDNA. Northern hybridization analysis of mRNArevealed two transcripts of about 3.6 and 2.2 kb, and primer extension studies indicated a cap site at nt -347 for the 2.2 kb cDNA. Isolation of a genomic clone, gAGB-1, and sequencing the 2048 bp region including pAGB-3 revealed a 1754 bp intron between codons 319 and 320, which also was the site of a 70 bp insertion (Tsuji, et al., 1990, Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 163:1498-1504) and a 45 bp deletion in other cDNA clones. Notably, the .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA had remarkable amino acid homology with human .alpha.-Gal A cDNA, suggesting the evolutionary relatedness of thesegenes. The .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA had 46.9% to 64.7% amino acid identity in sequences (codons 1-319) corresponding to .alpha.-Gal A exons 1 through 6,while the comparable exon 7 sequence (pAGB-3 codons 320-411) had only 15.8%homology with numerous gaps. These findings implicate the genomic region atand surrounding codon 319 as a potential site for the abnormal processing of .alpha.-GalNAc transcripts as well as for a recombinational event in the evolution and divergence of .alpha.-Gal A and .alpha.-GalNAc. The availability of the full-length cDNA for human .alpha.-GalNAc will permit studies of the genomic organization and evolution of this lysosomal gene, as well as the characterization of the molecular lesions causing Schindlerdisease.

6.1. MATERIALS AND METHODS

6.1.1. AFFINITY PURIFICATION, MICROSEQUENCING AND ANTIBODY PRODUCTION

Human lung .alpha.-GalNAc was purified to homogeneity, polyclonal rabbit anti-human .alpha.-GalNAc antibodies were produced and purified, and cell supernatants were immunoblotted as described previously (Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740; Bishop & Desnick, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:1307-1316; Calhoun, et al., 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 82:7364-7368). For the isolation of tryptic peptides, the concentrated posthydroxylapatite fraction was subjected to preparative 10%NaDodSO.sub.4 /PAGE and the 48 and 117 kDa .alpha.-GalNAc species were electroeluted separately (Hunkapillar, et al., 1973, Methods Enzymol. 91:227-236), digested with tosylphenylalaninechloromethylketone-treated trypsin, and the resulting tryptic peptides from each species were separated by C8 reversed-phase HPLC (Tsai, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad.Sci. U.S.A. 55:7049-7053). The N-terminal amino acid sequences of both the 48 and 117 kDa species and the sequences of selected tryptic peptides fromthe 48 kDa species were determined by automated gas-phase microsequencing and HPLC identification of phenylthiohydantoin amino acid derivatives (Hunkapillar & Hood, 1983, Science 219:650-654,659). 6.1.2. CONSTRUCTION OF SYNTHETIC OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PROBES

Mixed and unique oligonucleotides were synthesized on an Applied BiosystemsModel 380B oligonucleotide synthesizer. Four oligonucleotide mixtures were constructed to regions of minimal codon redundancy for the following N-terminal and tryptic peptide sequences:N-terminus 5'-CA(AG)ACNCCNCCNATGGG-3'][SEQ ID NO: 12]; peptide T-106A [AA (TC) AT (TCA) GA (TC) GA (TC) TG (TC) TGGAT (TCA) GGNGG-3'][SEQ ID NO: 13]; peptide T-72 [5'-ACNTT(TC)GCNGA(AG)TGGAA-3'][SEQ ID NO: 14]; and peptide T-133, [5'-TGGCCNGCNTA(TC)GA(AG)GG-3'][SEQ ID NO: 15]. Oligonucleotide probes for library screening were 5' end-labelled with [7- P]ATP using 32 T4 polynucleotide kinase (Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning:A Laboratory Manual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). Unique sequence oligonucleotides (17-mers) were synthesized and used as primers in sequencing reactions. To determine the cap site, two unique, overlapping 30-mers were synthesized for primer extension, 5'-TCGGGACTCCCAGCACTGCAGAGGGTGTGA- 3' [SEQ ID NO: 16]and 5'-CTGCAGAGGGTGTGAGGTCTGACATCCAGG-3'[SEQ ID NO: 17]. To detect alternatively spliced transcripts, PCR sense and antisense primers for theexonic region flanking the putative 70 bp insertion had the sequences 5'-AGTCGAATTCTGATGTCCACAGACCTGCGT-3'[SEQ ID NO: 18], and 5'-AGTCGTCGAGCATATCGGTCCTGCAGCTGA-3'[SEQ ID NO: 19], respectively. The four PCR primer sequences for the construction of the .alpha.-Gal A and .alpha.-GalNAc hybrid cDNA were .alpha.-Gal A sense, 5'-TGGGGAGTAGATCTGCTAAAA-3'[SEQ ID NO: 20]; .alpha.-Gal antisense, 5'-GATGAGAGATTTTTCCTGTCTAAGCTGGTACCC-3'[SEQ ID NO: 21]; .alpha.-GalNAc sense, 5'-TACCAGCTTAGACAGGAAAAATCTCTCATCGAA-3'[SEQ ID NO: 22]; and .alpha.-GalNAc antisense, 5'-AAGAGGTCAGATCTCTCTACT-3'[SEQ ID NO: 23].

6.1.3. ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF cDNA AND GENOMIC CLONES

The pcD human fibroblast cDNA library, kindly provided by Dr. Hiroto Okayama (NIH), was screened with the radiolabelled 26-mer oligonucleotide mixture corresponding to tryptic peptide T-106A by colony hybridization (Tsai, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 55:7049-7053). Plasmid DNA isolation and Southern hybridization analyses of positive clones were performed as previously described (Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). For isolation of a full-length cDNA, a 0.9 kb BamHI fragment corresponding to the 5' portion of the pAGB-1 insert was then isolated, nick-translated, and used to screen recombinants from a .lambda.gt11 human placental library (Clontech Laboratories, Palo Alto, Cal.) by plaque hybridization (Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). To isolate genomic clones containing the entire .alpha.-GalNAc sequence, 1.times.10.sup.6 recombinants from a human genomic cosmid library were screened with the radiolabelled pAGB-3 cDNA insert using the conditions described above for cDNA library screening. The genomic librarywas prepared from size-selected human lymphoblast DNA and kindly was provided by Dr. Henrik Vissing (Mount Sinai School of Medicine). 6.1.4. DNA SEQUENCING AND COMPUTER-ASSISTED ANALYSES

The BamHI inserts from pAGB-1 and a EcoRI-BamHI restriction fragment of pAGB-3 were subcloned into M13 mp18 and mp19. All DNA sequencing reactionswere carried out by primer extension using either M13 universal primers or .alpha.-GalNAc-specific oligonucleotide primers by the dideoxy method in both orientations (Sanger, et al., 1980, J. Mol. Biol. 143:161-178). Searches for nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarity were carried out with the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group Software (Wolf, et al., 1988, CABIOS. 4:187-191). Computer-assisted RNA folding wasperformed with the PCFOLD program (Zuker, 1989, Methods Enzymol. 180:262-288).

6.1.5. TRANSIENT EXPRESSION ASSAYS

The human .alpha.-GalNAc full-length pAGB-3 cDNA insert was subcloned into the p91023(B) eukaryotic expression vector (Wong, et al., 1985, Science 228:810-813), kindly provided by Dr. R. J. Kaufmann (Genetics Institute, Boston, Mass.). Plasmid DNA from the construct (designated p91-AGB-3) was purified and COS-1 monkey kidney cells were transfected with 10 .mu.g of the p91-AGB-3 plasmid DNA by calcium-phosphate precipitation (Chen & Okayama, 1987, Mol. Cell. Biol. 7:2745-2752). Cells were harvested at 24 hour intervals after transfection and assayed for .alpha.-GalNAc activity as previously described (Schindler, et al., 1989, N. Engl. J. Med. 320:1735-1740). One unit (U) of enzymatic activity is equal to that amountof enzyme required to hydrolyze 1 nmol of 4-MU-.alpha.-GalNAC per hour. Protein concentrations were determined by the fluorescamine method (Bishop& Desnick, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:1307-1316).

6.1.6. NORTHERN HYBRIDIZATION AND CAP SITE ANALYSES

Total DNA was isolated from human lymphoblasts, fibroblasts, and placentae and northern hybridization was performed using the nick-translated pAGB-3 insert as probe (Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). Alternatively, the pAGB-3 insert was subcloned into pGEM-4Z (Promega, Madison, Wis.) and radiolabelled .alpha.-GalNAc riboprobe, rbAGB-3, was generated using the Promega riboprobe system and used for northern hybridization. For identification of the .alpha.-GalNAc cap-site, two unique, overlapping 30-mer oligonucleotide primers were synthesized corresponding to regions 60 and 75 bp from the 5' end of the pAGB-3 cDNA and end-labelled (Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). Each primer (100 ng) was used to extend 10 .mu.g of total placental RNA with the BRL cDNA Synthesis Kit (BRL, Gaithersburg, Md.). First-strand synthesis was terminated by phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation. The pellet was washed three times with 70% ethanol, resuspended in 6 .mu.l of H.sub.2 O, and then mixed with 6 .mu.l of loading dye (0.3% xylene cyanol, 0.3% bromophenol blue, 0.37% EDTA, pH 7.0). The RNA/DNA heteroduplexes were denatured at 65.degree. C. for 3 minutes and an aliquot was electrophoresed on a standard 8M urea, 8% polyacrylamide sequencing gel.

6.1.7. CONSTRUCTION OF p91-.alpha.-GalA6/.alpha.-GalNAc7

A plasmid containing .alpha.-Gal A exons 1 through 6 from pcDAG-126 (Bishop, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:3903-3907) was ligated to the 3' region of pAGB-3 .alpha.-GalNAc insert which corresponded in position to .alpha.-Gal A exon 7. The hybrid cDNA, designated .alpha.-GalA6/.alpha.-GalNAc7 was constructed with the sense and antisense primers indicated above using a PCR-based method (Ho, et al., 1989, Gene 77:51-59) and sequenced. The .alpha.-GalA6/.alpha.-GalNAc7insert was subcloned into the expression vector, p91023(B), and the construct was transiently expressed in COS-1 cells as described above. The .alpha.-Gal A and .alpha.-GalNAc enzymatic activities and enzyme proteins were detected with 4-MU substrates and by immunoblotting with the respective polyclonal antibodies as described above.

6.1.8. PRIMER EXTENSION AND PCR AMPLIFICATION OF cDNA AND GENOMIC SEQUENCES

For PCR amplification of the putative alternatively spliced region, the 30-mer sense and antisense primers (described above) were used to amplify the (a) reverse-transcribed mRNA from various human sources; (b) cDNA inserts from clones pAGB-4 to 34; and (c) the gAGB-1 genomic sequence. DNAs from pAGB-4 to 34 cDNA clones and the gAGB-1 genomic clone were isolated as described (Tsai, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 55:7049-7053; and, Maniatis, et al., 1982, Molecular Cloning: A LaboratoryManual, pp. 309-328, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, N.Y., N.Y.). cDNA wassynthesized from 10 .mu.g of lymphoblast, fibroblast, and placental total RNA or 2.5 .mu.g of brain Poly(A) mRNA (Clontech, Palo Alto, Cal.) using the BRL cDNA Synthesis Kit. Bacteriophage DNA (.about.0.1 .mu.g) and reverse-transcribed mRNA (.about.0.1 .mu.g) or genomic cosmid DNA (.about.1 .mu.g) was PCR-amplified using 20 .mu.M of each primer and the GeneAmp DNA Amplification Reagent Kit (Perkin Elmer Cetus, Norwalk, Conn.). Each PCR cycle consisted of 1 minute denaturation at 94.degree. C.; 2 minute annealing at 37.degree. C.; and a 7 minute extension at 60.degree. C. The PCR products were phenol extracted, ethanol precipitatedand resuspended in 20 .mu.l of H.sub.2 O. An aliquot (2 .mu.l) of each PCR reaction was analyzed by electrophoresis on agarose gels using HindIII digested lambda and HaeIII digested .PHI.X174 DNAs as size standards. For identification of potential stops during reverse transcription of the region surrounding the pcD-HS1204 insertion, a unique 32-mer, 5'-AGTAGTAAGCTTTCATATATCACAGACCCGGT-3'[SEQ ID NO: 24], was used to extend 10 .mu.g of total placental RNA or 1 .mu.g of rbAGB-3 generated in vitro by the Promega riboprobe system as described above.

6.2. RESULTS

6.2.1. PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMAN .alpha.-GalNAc

Human .alpha.-GalNAc was purified to homogeneity (specific activity=.about.370,000 U/mg protein) as assessed by the presence of only the 48 and 117 kDa species on NaDodSO.sub.4 /PAGE (FIG. 1, insert). The 117 kDa species was not reduced by boiling or by dialysis against 8M urea in the presence of .beta.-mercaptoethanol. The 27 microsequenced N-terminal residues of the electroeluted 117 kDa species were identical tothose of the 48 kDa species. Further evidence that the 117 kDa species was a homodimer of the 48 kDa glycoprotein subunit was the finding that the tryptic digests (and chymotryptic digests) of both species had essentiallyidentical HPLC profiles (FIG. 1). Microsequencing of the N-terminus and seven tryptic peptides from the 48 kDa species identified a total of 129 non-overlapping .alpha.-GalNAc residues. For library screenings, syntheticoligonucleotide mixtures (17- to 26-mers) were constructed to contain all possible codons for selected amino acid sequences from the N-terminus and three internal tryptic peptides (FIGS. 1 and 2).

6.2.2. ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND EXPRESSION OF A FULL-LENGTH CDNA

Screening of 2.times.10.sup.6 recombinants from the pcD human fibroblast cDNA library with a 26-mer oligonucleotide mixture of 576 species corresponding to internal peptide T-106A detected two putative positive clones. pAGB-1, which hybridized with all four oligonucleotide mixtures, had a 1.8 kb insert with an open reading frame of 1242 bp, a 514 bp 3' untranslated region, and a poly(A) tract, but no apparent 5' untranslated sequence. Authenticity was established by colinearity of the pAGB-1 insert's predicted amino acid sequence with 129 microsequenced residues ofthe purified protein. In order to isolate a full-length cDNA, the 0.9 kb 5'BamHI fragment from the pAGB-1 insert was radiolabelled and used to screen a human placental cDNA library. Of 32 putative positive clones (pAGB-3 to 34), pAGB-3 contained the longest insert and was sequenced in both orientations. As shown in FIG. 2, the 2158 bp pAGB-3 insert had a 344 bp 5' untranslated region, a 1236 bp open reading frame which encoded 411 amino acids, a 514 bp 3' untranslated region and a 64 bp poly(A) tract. Anupstream, inframe ATG occurred at -192 nt, but there were inframe termination codons at -141, -135, and -120 nt, indicating that the -192 ATG was non-functional. A single consensus polyadenylation signal (AATAAA)and a consensus recognition sequence (CACTG) for the U4 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (Berget, 1984, Nature (London) 309:179-182) were located16 and 65 bp from the poly(A) tract, respectively. In retrospect, the partial cDNA, pAGB-1 had the entire 1236 bp coding region as well as 6 bp of 5' untranslated sequence.

Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence of pAGB-3 indicated a signal peptide sequence of 17 residues since Leu-18 was the N-terminal residue ofthe microsequenced mature enzyme. When the weight matrix method of yon Heijne (von Heijne, 1986, Nucleic Acids Res. 14:4683- 4960) was used to predict the peptidase cleavage site, the preferred site, between Ala-13 and Gln-14, had a score of 4.34, whereas cleavage after Met-17 had a scoreof 2.38. The predicted molecular mass of the 394 residue mature, unglycosylated enzyme subunit (M.sub.r =44,700) was consistent with that (48 kDa) estimated by NaDodSO.sub.4 /PAGE of the purified glycosylated enzyme. These findings suggest that the mature glycoprotein subunit had atleast two N-linked oligosaccharide chains, although there were six putativeN-glycosylation sites at Asn residues 124, 177, 201, 359, 385 and 391 (FIG.2).

For transient expression, the pAGB-3 full-length cDNA insert was subcloned into the eukaryotic expression vector p91023(b) and the construct, p91-AGB-3, was transfected into COS-1 monkey kidney cells. Compared to theendogenous mean .alpha.-GalNAc activity in mock transfected COS-1 cells (35U/mg; range:23-50 U/mg; n=6), the transfected cells had a mean activity of 600 U/mg (range:104-2,400 U/mg; n=6) 72 hours after transfection, or about17 times the endogenous activity. The expressed human enzyme protein also was detected by immunoblot analysis using rabbit-antihuman .alpha.-GalNAc antibodies, whereas the endogenous monkey enzyme was variably visible as afaint band at .about.40 kDa or was not detectable (FIG. 3). The expressed human enzyme subunit had a molecular weight of .about.48 kDa, indicating that it was glycosylated. 6.2.3. NORTHERN HYBRIDIZATION AND CAP-SITE ANALYSES

Northern hybridization analyses revealed two transcripts in total, cytoplasmic, or poly(A).sup.+ RNA of about 2.2 and 3.6 kb, which were present in similar amounts. The cap-site was determined to be at -347, or 3 nt beyond the 5' end of the pAGB-3 cDNA insert by primer extension of total placental RNA using two overlapping oligonucleotide probes. The 3.6 kb transcript was the result of a downstream polyadenylation signal. 6.2.4. SEQUENCE HOMOLOGY BETWEEN .alpha.-GalNAc WITH .alpha.-Gal A

Computer-assisted searches of nucleic acid and protein data bases revealed no significant amino acid sequence similarities between .alpha.-GalNAc andthat of any other DNA or protein sequence except for human .alpha.-Gal A (Bishop, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:3903-3907). Comparison of the nucleic acid and deduced amino acid sequences of the full-length .alpha.-GalNAc and .alpha.-Gal A cDNAs revealed 55.8% and 46.9% overall homology, respectively. Since the intron/exon junctions and the entire genomic sequence encoding human .alpha.-Gal A have been determined (Bishop, et al., 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:3903-3907; and, Kornreich, et al., 1989, Nucleic Acids Res. 17:3301-3302), it was possible to compare the .alpha.-GalNAc amino acid sequence with those deduced from each of the seven .alpha.-Gal A exons (FIG. 4). Notably, there was remarkable identity (56.4%) between the .alpha.-GalNAc sequences corresponding to those of .alpha.-Gal A exons 1 through 6. For example, all eight cysteine residues in .alpha.-GalNAc werepresent in the identical positions in .alpha.-Gal A. Of the 14 proline and 23 glycine residues in .alpha.-Gal A, 10 and 20 were conserved in identical positions in .alpha.-GalNAc, respectively. Furthermore, all fourof the .alpha.-Gal A N-glycosylation sites were conserved in .alpha.-Gal B.Putative functional domains were suggested by shorter stretches of amino acid homology shared by .alpha.-GalNAc, .alpha.-Gal A, yeast .alpha.-galactosidase (Mel 1) (Liljestrom, 1985, Nucleic Acids Res. 13:7257-7268) and/or E. coli .alpha.-galactosidase (Mel A) (Liljestrom andLijestrom, 1987, Nucleic Acids Res. 15:2213-2220) in .alpha.-Gal A exons 1through 6. In contrast, there was little, if any, similarity in the predicted .alpha.-GalNAc carboxy-terminal amino acid sequence after residue 319 which corresponded to .alpha.-Gal A exon 7 (15.8% homology with numerous gaps). In addition, there were no significant similarities for the cDNAs encoding other human lysosomal polypeptides, with the exception of a short .alpha.-GalNAc sequence (residues 365 to 371) in which six out of seven amino acids were identical to residues 194 to 200 in the .beta.-hexosaminidase .alpha.-chain, a lysosomal polypeptide with N-acetylgalactosaminidase specificity (Proia, 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.U.S.A. 85:1883-1887). These findings suggested that a cDNA construct containing .alpha.-Gal A exons 1-6 joined to .alpha.-GalNAc exon 7 might express a hybrid protein with a .alpha.-Gal A and B activities. Therefore,a hybrid cDNA containing .alpha.-Gal A exons 1 through 6 (nt 60-1029) and .alpha.-GalNAc exon 7 (nt 958-1258) was constructed and expressed in COS-1cells; although immunoreactive protein was detected, the protein had no enzymatic activity for either .alpha.-Gal A or .alpha.-GalNAc.

The finding of extensive homology between .alpha.-GalNAc and .alpha.-Gal A suggested that they evolved by duplication and divergence of an ancestral sequence for .alpha.-Gal A exons 1 through 6. Although there is little, ifany, homology among the other lysosomal amino acid sequences (i.e., no "lysosomal domains"), there are notable examples of lysosomal enzyme subunits, pseudogenes or gene families which presumably evolved by duplication and divergence (e.g., Proia, 1988, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85:1883-1887; Horowitz, et al., 1989, Genomics 4:87-96; and, Schuchman, et al., 1990, Genomics 6:149-158). Future comparison of the .alpha.-GalNAc and .alpha.-Gal A intron/exon boundaries should provide further information on the evolution of these lysosomal genes which encodestructurally related, but functionally specific glycohydrolases.

6.2.5. PRIMER EXTENSION AND PCR AND SEQUENCE ANALYSES OF CDNA AND GENOMIC SEQUENCES

During the course of these studies, Tsuji et al. reported a similar human .alpha.-GalNAc cDNA sequence (Tsuji, S., et al., 1989, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 163:1498-1504) which differed from pAGB-3 by a 70 bp insertion after nt 957 (FIG. 5A [SEQ ID NO: 10]) and by several substitutions (nt 493,494, 524, 614 and 667). The 70 bp insertion consisted of three inverted repeats (nt 919-926, 919-936 and 919-944) and a direct repeat (nt940-957) from the pAGB-3 coding sequence nt 919 to 957. Analysis of the pAGB-3 cDNA sequence from nt 760-1053 using an RNA folding program (Zuker,1989, Methods Enzymol. 180:262-288) predicted a stem and loop structure from nt 918 to 937 (FIG. 5A [SEQ ID NO: 9]) which could stall or stop reverse transcription of the .alpha.-GalNAc mRNA during cDNA synthesis. Todetermine if this secondary structure could cause cDNA synthesis errors in library construction, a 32-mer oligonucleotide primer was used to extend total placental RNA and .alpha.-GalNAc transcripts generated in vitro withthe riboprobe construct, rbAGB-3. Stops of varying intensity were observed from nt 903 to 1009, including two weak stops at the 3' base (nt 940) and 5' end (nt 921) of the stem and loop structure (FIG. 5A). However, there were no strong stops in this region. Although the actual mechanism is unknown, these findings were consistent with the 70 bp insertion resultingfrom a complex abnormality involving an RNA-DNA duplex in cDNA library construction (Roberts, et al., 1989, Mol. Cell. Biol. 9:468-476). Another possibility would be an insertion due to a complex strand-switching event involving DNA polymerase I (Papanicolaou & Ripley, 1989, J. Mol. Biol. 207:335-353).

Alternatively, this 70 bp insertion may have resulted from alternative splicing, although the insertion predicts a truncated .alpha.-GalNAc polypeptide of 358 residues. To investigate the possible occurrence of .alpha.-GalNAc transcripts with a 70 bp insertion after pAGB-3 nt 957, PCRwas used to amplify this region in (a) reverse-transcribed mRNA from various sources; (b) the cDNA inserts from clones pAGB-4 to 34; and (c) the gAGB-1 genomic clone. If the cDNA inserts or reverse-transcribed RNAs contained the 70 bp insert, a 290 bp PCR product would be observed, whereas the absence of the insert would result in a 220 bp PCR product. Only the 220 bp product was observed in PCR-amplified reverse-transcribed total RNA from human lymphoblasts, fibroblasts, and placenta, or in Poly(A).sup.+ mRNA from brain. Thus, these analyses did not detect longer or shorter transcripts. All of the pAGB-4 through 34 cDNA inserts had onlythe 220 bp PCR product with the exception of pAGB-13, which had an inframe 45 bp deletion after pAGB-3 nt 957 (i.e., deleted nt 958 to 993). A short direct repeat (ACAAG) was present at both breakpoint junctions. Notably, the deletion occurred at the identical 5' site of the 70 bp insertion in pcD-HS1204 (Tsuji, et al., 1989, Biochim. Biophys. Res. Commun. 163:1498-1504; FIG. 5A).

Subsequent sequencing of the region including pAGB-3 codons 254 to 351 in the genomic clone, gAGB-1, revealed a 2048 bp sequence containing a 1754 bp intron between pAGB-3 nt 957 and 958. The intronic sequence had no homology with .alpha.-Gal A intron 6, contained two Alu-repetitive sequences in reverse orientation and did not have the 70 bp insertion in either orientation (FIGS. 6A, 6B [SEQ ID NO: 11]). It was remarkable that both the pAGB-13 deletion and the pcD-HS1204 insertion occurred at the 5' donor splice site, nt 957, of this intron. Perhaps the location of the consensus lariat branch point sequences in the intron far upstream (94 and199 bp) from the 3' splice site may impair splicing (Reed & Maniatis, 1988,Genes Dev. 2:1268-1276). This concept is supported by the pAGB-13 deletion in which the more closely positioned cryptic lariat branch point and 3' splice site were used. Thus, this intron or surrounding region may have a unique sequence and/or secondary structure that impairs the fidelity of hnRNA processing. Since the intron/exon junction after coding nt 957 also is the site of divergence between the .alpha.-Gal A and B sequences, this region also may be mechanistically important in the evolution of human .alpha.-GalNAc.

7. DEPOSIT OF MICROORGANISMS

The following E. coli strains carrying the listed plasmids have been deposited with the Agricultural Research Culture Collection (NRRL), Peoria, Ill. and have been assigned the following accession number:

______________________________________Host Strain Plasmid Accession No.______________________________________E. coli k12 pAGB-3 B-18724______________________________________

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the microorganisms deposited since the deposited embodiments are intended as illustration of individual aspects of the invention and any microorganisms, or constructs which are functionally equivalent are within the scope of this invention. Indeed various modifications of the invention in addition to those shown and described herein will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Such modifications areintended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

__________________________________________________________________________SEQUENCE LISTING(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 24(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 2158 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA(ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: CDS(B) LOCATION: 345..1580(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:CTTAAGCCAGTGGCTGCCTTTTTCTGAGCCCGGGCGGGGCCGAAGGCGCCCGTAGGCCCT60CGGGACTCCCAGCACTGCAGAGGGTGTGAGGTCTGACATCCAAGACACGTTGTTTCGTAT120TTCTGAAGGAAGAACTCAAGCTCCGGGAAGTGATGGCTGGGGATGGGGCGGGCAACTTGG180GGACCGAGTGTACGATCCACGCCTAAGGTTGAGGGCGGCCGAGCTAGCCAGGCAGCCGTG240ACCCCAGTGCTTTTCAGACGTTTCTTAGCTTCCAGAGCCC AACACATACAGCTGATACAC300GCAGACCAGATCTGGTCAGGTCCTCGGAAGCTGAGTCCAGAGCGATGCTGCTGAAG356MetLeuLeuLys 1ACAGTGCTCTTGCTGGGACATGTGGCCCAGGTGCTGATGCTGGACAAT404ThrValLeuLeuLeuGlyHisValAlaGlnValLeuMetLeuAspAsn510 1520GGGCTCCTGCAGACACCACCCATGGGCTGGCTGGCCTGGGAACGCTTC452GlyLeuLeuGlnThrProProMetGlyTrpLeuAlaTrpGluArgPhe25 3035CGCTGCAACATTAACTGTGATGAGGACCCAAAGAACTGCATAAGTGAA500ArgCysAsnIleAsnCysAspGluAspProLysAsnCysIleSerGlu40 4550CAGCTCTTCATGGAGATGGCTGACCGGATGGCACAGGATGGATGGCGG548GlnLeuPheMetGluMetAlaAspArgMetAlaGlnAspGlyTrpArg55 6065GACATGGGCTACACATACCTAAACATTGATGACTGCTGGATCGGCGGT596AspMetGlyTyrThrTyrLeuAsnIleAspAspCysTrpIleGlyGly70 7580CGCGATGCCAGTGGCCGCCTGATGCCAGATCCCAAGCGCTTCCCTCAT644ArgAspAlaSerGlyArgLeuMetProAspProLysArgPheProHis8590 95100GGCATTCCTTTCCTGGCTGACTACGTTCACTCCCTGGGCCTGAAGTTG692GlyIleProPheLeuAlaAspTyrValHisSerLeuGlyLeuLysLeu105 110115GGTATCTACGCGGACATGGGCAACTTCACCTGCATGGGTTACCCAGGC740GlyIleTyrAlaAspMetGlyAsnPheThrCysMetGlyTyrProGly120 125130ACCACACTGGACAAGGTGGTCCAGGATGCTCAGACCTTCGCCGAGTGG788ThrThrLeuAspLysValValGlnAspAlaGlnThrPheAlaGluTrp135 140145AAGGTAGACATGCTCAAGCTGGATGGCTGCTTCTCCACCCCCGAGGAG836LysValAspMetLeuLysLeuAspGlyCysPheSerThrProGluGlu150 155160CGGGCCCAGGGGTACCCCAAGATGGCTGCTGCCCTGAATGCCACAGGC884ArgAlaGlnGlyTyrProLysMetAlaAlaAlaLeuAsnAlaThrGly165170 175180CGCCCCATCGCCTTCTCCTGCAGCTGGCCAGCCTATGAAGGCGGCCTC932ArgProIleAlaPheSerCysSerTrpProAlaTyrGluGlyGlyLeu185 190195CCCCCAAGGGTGAACTACAGTCTGCTGGCGGACATCTGCAACCTCTGG980ProProArgValAsnTyrSerLeuLeuAlaAspIleCysAsnLeuTrp200 205210CGTAACTATGATGACATCCAGGACTCCTGGTGGAGCGTGCTCTCCATC1028ArgAsnTyrAspAspIleGlnAspSerTrpTrpSerValLeuSerIle215 220225CTGAATTGGTTCGTGGAGCACCAGGACATACTGCAGCCAGTGGCCGGC1076LeuAsnTrpPheValGluHisGlnAspIleLeuGlnProValAlaGly230 235240CCTGGGCACTGGAATGACCCTGACATGCTGCTCATTGGGAACTTTGGT1124ProGlyHisTrpAsnAspProAspMetLeuLeuIleGlyAsnPheGly245250 255260CTCAGCTTAGAGCAATCCCGGGCCCAGATGGCCCTGTGGACGGTGCTG1172LeuSerLeuGluGlnSerArgAlaGlnMetAlaLeuTrpThrValLeu265 270275GCAGCCCCCCTCTTGATGTCCACAGACCTGCGTACCATCTCCGCCCAG1220AlaAlaProLeuLeuMetSerThrAspLeuArgThrIleSerAlaGln280 285290AACATGGACATTCTGCAGAATCCACTCATGATCAAAATCAACCAGGAT1268AsnMetAspIleLeuGlnAsnProLeuMetIleLysIleAsnGlnAsp295 300305CCCTTAGGCATCCAGGGACGCAGGATTCACAAGGAAAAATCTCTCATC1316ProLeuGlyIleGlnGlyArgArgIleHisLysGluLysSerLeuIle310 315320GAAGTGTACATGCGGCCTCTGTCCAACAAGGCTAGCGCCTTAGTCTTC1364GluValTyrMetArgProLeuSerAsnLysAlaSerAlaLeuValPhe325330 335340TTCAGCTGCAGGACCGATATGCCTTATCGCTACCACTCCTCCCTTGGC1412PheSerCysArgThrAspMetProTyrArgTyrHisSerSerLeuGly345 350355CAGCTGAACTTCACCGGGTCTGTGATATATGAGGCCCAGGACGTCTAC1460GlnLeuAsnPheThrGlySerValIleTyrGluAlaGlnAspValTyr360 365370TCAGGTGACATCATCAGTGGCCTCCGAGATGAAACCAACTTCACAGTG1508SerGlyAspIleIleSerGlyLeuArgAspGluThrAsnPheThrVal375 380385ATCATCAACCCTTCAGGGGTAGTGATGTGGTACCTGTATCCCATCAAG1556IleIleAsnProSerGlyValValMetTrpTyrLeuTyrProIleLys390 395400AACCTGGAGATGTCCCAGCAGTGAGGAGCTGGGACATGTGACAGGCTGTGG1607AsnLeuGluMetSerGlnGln405410TGGCACCACTGAGCCTAGACCATGGAGCCTTGGCA TGCCCAGGGCAAGTGGGGAGGTTCT1667CTGCTCCCCAGGCCTGCTCGGTGACTGACCCCATCATACCCAAAGTGCAATCTCACGGCC1727AGGTTCTATGCCCTGTCCAAGCGTAAACCCTCTTGGAAACTTCTTTTGGGGCAATTTTCC1787TGTGGCCTTC CTGGCCTCTACTTCCATGTGCGCAGCCCCACAGACGTTGCTGAGCAACTC1847GCCAGCCTCCTGAGCTCCATGCCCATCAGGACTCTAGCCTCTGACCTTGCTGTTGACTCT1907GAAATCAGGATTTGGAAGTTTTCGAATTAGGAGTAGAGAGATCTGACCTCTTG CCAGGAA1967TGCCCATGGATCATGTGATTGGCTTTTCTACCCATAGAGGGCCTTGCAGCCTGATACCAC2027TGGGAGTGAGGGTCACAAAGGAGACCTTGGCTCCCTCAGGTCACCAATAAACCTGTTCTT2087TAATCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA2147AAAAAAAAAAA2158(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 411 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:MetLeuLeuLysThrValLeuLeuLeuGlyHisValAlaGlnValLeu151015MetLeuAspAsnGlyLeuLeuGlnT hrProProMetGlyTrpLeuAla202530TrpGluArgPheArgCysAsnIleAsnCysAspGluAspProLysAsn3540 45CysIleSerGluGlnLeuPheMetGluMetAlaAspArgMetAlaGln505560AspGlyTrpArgAspMetGlyTyrThrTyrLeuAsnIleAspAspCys65 707580TrpIleGlyGlyArgAspAlaSerGlyArgLeuMetProAspProLys859095ArgPhe ProHisGlyIleProPheLeuAlaAspTyrValHisSerLeu100105110GlyLeuLysLeuGlyIleTyrAlaAspMetGlyAsnPheThrCysMet115 120125GlyTyrProGlyThrThrLeuAspLysValValGlnAspAlaGlnThr130135140PheAlaGluTrpLysValAspMetLeuLysLeuA spGlyCysPheSer145150155160ThrProGluGluArgAlaGlnGlyTyrProLysMetAlaAlaAlaLeu165170 175AsnAlaThrGlyArgProIleAlaPheSerCysSerTrpProAlaTyr180185190GluGlyGlyLeuProProArgValAsnTyrSerLeuLeuAlaAs pIle195200205CysAsnLeuTrpArgAsnTyrAspAspIleGlnAspSerTrpTrpSer210215220ValLeuSerIleLeu AsnTrpPheValGluHisGlnAspIleLeuGln225230235240ProValAlaGlyProGlyHisTrpAsnAspProAspMetLeuLeuIle245 250255GlyAsnPheGlyLeuSerLeuGluGlnSerArgAlaGlnMetAlaLeu260265270TrpThrValLeuAlaAlaProLeuL euMetSerThrAspLeuArgThr275280285IleSerAlaGlnAsnMetAspIleLeuGlnAsnProLeuMetIleLys29029530 0IleAsnGlnAspProLeuGlyIleGlnGlyArgArgIleHisLysGlu305310315320LysSerLeuIleGluValTyrMetArgProLeuSerAsnLysAlaSe r325330335AlaLeuValPhePheSerCysArgThrAspMetProTyrArgTyrHis340345350SerSer LeuGlyGlnLeuAsnPheThrGlySerValIleTyrGluAla355360365GlnAspValTyrSerGlyAspIleIleSerGlyLeuArgAspGluThr370 375380AsnPheThrValIleIleAsnProSerGlyValValMetTrpTyrLeu385390395400TyrProIleLysAsnLeuGluMetSerG lnGln405410(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 429 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:MetGlnL euArgAsnProGluLeuHisLeuGlyCysAlaLeuAlaLeu151015ArgPheLeuAlaLeuValSerTrpAspIleProGlyAlaArgAlaLeu 202530AspAsnGlyLeuAlaArgThrProThrMetGlyTrpLeuHisTrpGlu354045ArgPhe MetCysAsnLeuAspCysGlnGluGluProAspSerCysIle505560SerGluLysLeuPheMetGluMetAlaGluLeuMetValSerGluGly65 707580TrpLysAspAlaGlyTyrGluTyrLeuCysIleAspAspCysTrpMet859095A laProGlnArgAspSerGluGlyArgLeuGlnAlaAspProGlnArg100105110PheProHisGlyIleArgGlnLeuAlaAsnTyrValHisSerLysGly 115120125LeuLysLeuGlyIleTyrAlaAspValGlyAsnLysThrCysAlaGly130135140PhePro GlySerPheGlyTyrTyrAspIleAspAlaGlnThrPheAla145150155160AspTrpGlyValAspLeuLeuLysPheAspGlyCysTyrCysAspSer 165170175LeuGluAsnLeuAlaAspGlyTyrLysHisMetSerLeuAlaLeuAsn180185190ArgThrGlyArgSerIleValTyrSerCysGluTrpProLeuTyrMet195200205TrpProPheGlnLysProAsnTyrThrGluIleArgGlnTyrCys Asn210215220HisTrpArgAsnPheAlaAspIleAspAspSerTrpLysSerIleLys22523023524 0SerIleLeuAspTrpThrSerPheAsnGlnGluArgIleValAspVal245250255AlaGlyProGlyGlyTrpAsnAspProAspMetLeuVal IleGlyAsn260265270PheGlyLeuSerTrpAsnGlnGlnValThrGlnMetAlaLeuTrpAla275280 285IleMetAlaAlaProLeuPheMetSerAsnAspLeuArgHisIleSer290295300ProGlnAlaLysAlaLeuLeuGlnAspLysAspValIleAlaIl eAsn305310315320GlnAspProLeuGlyLysGlnGlyTyrGlnLeuArgGlnGlyAspAsn325330 335PheGluValTrpGluArgProLeuSerGlyLeuAlaTrpAlaValAla340345350MetIleAsnArgGlnGluIleGlyGlyProA rgSerTyrThrIleAla355360365ValAlaSerLeuGlyLysGlyValAlaCysAsnProAlaCysPheIle370375 380ThrGlnLeuLeuProValLysArgLysLeuGlyPheTyrGluTrpThr385390395400SerArgLeuArgSerHisIleAsnProThr GlyThrValLeuLeuGln405410415LeuGluAsnThrMetGlnMetSerLeuLysAspLeuLeu420425(2 ) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 404 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:MetPheAlaPheTyrPheLeuThrAlaCysIleSerLeuLysGlyVal151015PheGlySerTyrAsnGlyLeuGlyLeuThrProGlnMetGlyTrpAsp202530AsnTrpAsnThrPheAlaCysAspValSerGluGlnLeuLeuLeuAsp354045ThrAlaAspArgIleSerAspLeuGlyLeuLysAspMetGlyTyrLy s505560TyrIleIleLeuAspAspCysTrpSerSerGlyArgAspSerAspGly65707580 PheLeuValAlaAspGluGlnLysPheProAsnGlyMetGlyHisVal859095AlaAspHisLeuHisAsnAsnSerPheLeuPheGlyMetTyr SerSer100105110AlaGlyGluTyrThrCysAlaGlyTyrProGlySerLeuGlyArgGlu11512012 5GluGluAspAlaGlnPhePheAlaAsnAsnArgValAspTyrLeuLys130135140TyrAspAsnCysTyrAsnLysGlyGlnPheGlyThrProGluSerTyr145150155160ArgLysMetSerAspAlaLeuAsnLysThrGlyArgProIlePheTyr165170 175SerCysAsnTrpGlyLeuTyrGlySerGlyIleAlaAsnSerTrpArg180185190MetSerGlyAspValThrAlaGluPheThrArgPr oAspSerCysPro195200205AspGlyTyrTyrAlaGlyPheSerIleMetAsnIleLeuAsnLysAla210215 220AlaProMetGlyGlnAsnAlaGlyValGlyGlyTrpAsnAspLeuAsp225230235240AsnLeuGluValGlyValGlyAsnLeuThrAspA spGluGluLysAla245250255HisPheSerMetTrpAlaMetValLysSerProLeuIleIleGlyAla260265 270AsnValAsnAsnLeuLysAlaSerSerTyrSerIleTyrSerGlnAla275280285SerValIleAlaIleAsnGlnAspSerAsn GlyIleProAlaArgVal290295300SerAspThrAspGluTyrGlyGluIleTrpSerGlyProLeuAspAsn30531031 5320GlyAspGlnValValAlaLeuLeuAsnGlyGlySerValSerArgPro325330335MetAsnThrThrLeuGluIleAsp SerLeuGlyLysLysLeuThrSer340345350ThrAspAspLeuTrpAlaAsnArgValThrAlaSerIleGlyArgLys355 360365ThrGlyLeuTyrGluTyrLysAspGlyLeuLysAsnArgLeuGlyGln370375380LysGlySerLeuIleLeuAsnValProAl aHisIleAlaPheArgLeu385390395400ArgProSerSer(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 12 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid( C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:GluGlnThrIleAlaAspThrLeuGlyProGlyGly1510(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 10 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:ProSerValIleTyrGlyAsnValArgAsn1510(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 13 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:GluValAlaCysLeuValAspAlaAsnGlyIleGlnPro1 510(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 61 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA to mRNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:AAUCAACAACCAGGAUCCCUUAGGCAUCCAGGG ACGCAGGAUUCACAAGGAAAAAUCUCU60C61(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 40 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA(iv) ANTI-SENSE: YES(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:GTGAATCCTGCGTCCCTGGATGCCTAAGGGATCCTGGTTG40(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 89 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:GGATTCACAAGGGATCCTGGATGCCTAAGGGATCCTGCGTCCCTGGATGCCTAAGGGATC60CTGGGACGCAGGATTCACAAGGAAAAATC 89(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 2048 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:CTGCTCATTGGGAACTTTGGTCTCAGCTTAGAGCAA TCCCGGGCCCAGATGGCCCTGTGG60ACGGTGCTGGCAGCCCCCCTCTTGATGTCCACAGACCTGCGTACCATCTCCGCCCAGAAC120ATGGACATTCTGCAGAATCCACTCATGATCAAAATCAACCAGGATCCCTTAGGCATCCAG180GGACGCAGGA TTCACAAGGTACTAGGGTGTGGAGGGAAGGAAGGGGAGGGCTGAGGAACT240GGGTTCTCCTGAGAGAAAGGCTGCCAGCTCCCTGGGGGCAACACCTGGCGAGGTACAGGA300GTCGCCCAGTCCCCAACCAGGGCTACCCCTTCTGGTTGCTTATGGTTGAGGACT CTGATG360GGAGCTGCTCCAACTGTCCTCCTCTTGCTGGGTGAGAGCAGGGCTGAGCAGGACAGCTCA420AGGGAGTCGGGGATGAGAGGTGTCAGCCACATAAGTGCACATAGCAAGGGTGAGGCACAG480AGCTTCTATACACCCGTGATGGCCTGCAG AGAGCTTGGACTTCCCTCCAGAGCAGGAGGA540GCTGGTTTGTTTGTTTTTGAGACAGGGTCTCACTCTGTCACCCAGGCTGGAGTGCAGTGG600CACAATTTCGACTCACTGCAATCTCTACCTGCCAGGTTCAAGCAATTCTCGTGCCTCAGC660CTC CTGAGTAGCTGGCACTACAGGCGCCTGCACCACACCCAGCTAATTTTTGTATTTTTA720GTAGAGACACCATGTTGGCCAGGCTTGTCTCGAACTCCTGGCCTCAGGTGATCCACCCGT780ATCAGCCTCCCAAAGTGCTGGGATTACAGGCATGAGCACCGCACTCG GCCAGGAGAAGCT840GTTATAGCCAAGGAATACTACGACTACTGGTGGCTGCTATTTATTGAGTACCTACCATGT900GCTGGGAGTTTTAGATAATTTTTCTCAGCAAGGTAGTTATCTTGCCATTTTACAAATGAG960AAAAATGAAACTTCGAGAGTC TGAGTAACTTTATCCCAAGGCTACACAGTTGGTACAAAC1020AAGACTGGACTTCAGTGTCACCTCAAAGCCTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTGAGATGGAG1080TCTCACGCTGTAGCCCAGGCTGGAGTGCAGTGGCACCATCTCAGCTCACTGCAACCTCTG114 0GCTCCCAGGTTCAAGCGATTTTCCTGCCTCAGCCTCCCAGGTAGCTGGGATTACAGGTGT1200GCGCCACCACACCCGGCTAATTTTTTTTGTATTTTTTTCAGTAGAGACAGGGTTTCACCA1260TGTTGGCCAGGCTACTCTCAAAACTCCTGACGTCAGCTGA TCCACTGCCTCGGCCTCACA1320AAGTAATGGGATTACAGCATGAGCCACTGTGCCTGTCTGCCTTTGCTCTTTACCAAATCC1380TGGATTCTGGTAAAAAGAAACCTACAGAACTATGGAAGGCACCTATAGAACTGGTGATGC1440CCAGAGGAAGTAAC AATTCCCTGCCAGAGGGGCTGATGGTGGAGCTGGGCCTGGAAAACC1500TTCTGGAGGATGGGAGTTCACATCCAGCTCCACTCTCCACCCTCCTGGAACAGAGTTCAC1560TGTTCCCACTGGACAGCACCCTCCAGGCCAGCACTGGCAGCTGTTTGGGGCCAGCACT CA1620TACGCTGTACTGTTGTTGCGCTTCCCTGTTTCTGCGTTTATCCCTCCCGTTGTCCTATGA1680GCTTCTGGGGCAGGGCTCATGCAGCACTTGTCTCAGTGTGCTAGCATAGGGGCCGGGCTC1740AGAGTAGGTGTTGATGAGTATCTGCTGAGTCA GGGAAGGTGGGCAGATAGGGTTAGATAA1800GCTGGGGTGCTGGAGGCCCGTGCGATCCTCCCTAAACCTGTGTGACATGGAGCTGTGAAC1860TGGGGGACCCAGAACTCAGGGAGGGCCAGGGAGGCAATGGTAGGTCCTGTCTGAGCAAGG1920GACCCCA GCCAGTAGCCACCTTCTGTGCCCAGGAAAAATCTCTCATCGAAGTGTACATGC1980GGCCTCTGTCCAACAAGGCTAGCGCCTTAGTCTTCTTCAGCTGCAGGACCGATATGCCTT2040ATCGCTAC 2048(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 18 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:CAAGACNCCNCCNATGGG 18(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:AATCATTCAGATCGATCTGTCTGGATTCAGGN GG34(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:ACNTTTCGCNGAAGTGGAA 19(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:TGGCCNGCNTATCG AAGGG19(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:TCGGG ACTCCCAGCACTGCAGAGGGTGTGA30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:CTGCAGAGGGTGTGAGGTCTGACATCCAGG30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18:AGTCGAATTCTGATGTCCACAGACCTGCGT30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii ) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19:AGTCGTCGAGCATATCGGTCCTGCAGCTGA30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20:TGGGGAGTAGATCTGCTAAAA21(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21:GATGAGAGATTTTTCCTGTCTAAGCTGGTACCC33(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22:TACCAGCTTAGACAGGAAAAATCTCTCATCGAA33(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:23:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:23:AAGAGGTCAGATCTCTCTACT21(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:24:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: unknown(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:24:AGTAGTAAGCTTTCATATATCACAGACCCGGT32

Claims

1. A method for producing human .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase, comprising:

a. culturing a mammalian cell containing a nucleotide sequence encoding a cleavage site sandwiched between an .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence and a protein A domain E coding sequence arranged in the same translational reading frame controlled by a second nucleotide sequence that regulates gene expression so that a fusion protein is expressed by the cell;

b. recovering the fusion protein from the culture;

c. treating the fusion protein with a substance that cleaves the cleavage site so that the .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase is separated from the binding protein; and

d. recovering the separated .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase.

2. The method according to claim 1 in which the fusion protein is recovered from the culture by reaction with an immunoglobulin binding partner for the protein A domain E protein.

3. The method according to claim 2 in which the immunoglobulin binding partner is immobilized.

4. The method according to claim 1 in which the recombinant vector is pAGB-3 as deposited with the Agricultural Research Culture Collection having accession number B-18724.

5. A method for producing human .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase, comprising:

a. culturing a mammalian cell containing a nucleotide sequence encoding a cleavage site sandwiched between an .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence and a protein antigen coding sequence arranged in the same translational reading frame, controlled by a second nucleotide sequence that regulates gene expression so that a fusion protein is expressed by the cell;

b. recovering the fusion protein from the culture by reaction with an immunoglobulin directed against the protein antigen;

c. treating the fusion protein with a substance that cleaves the cleavage site so that the .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase is separated from the protein antigen; and

d. recovering the separated .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase.

6. The method according to claim 5 in which the immunoglobulin is immobilized.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 5 in which the substance that cleaves the cleavage site is an enzyme and the cleavage site is a substrate specific for the enzyme.

8. The method according to claim 7 in which the enzyme is a collagenase.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 5 in which the .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence comprises the sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) depicted in FIG. 2 from nucleotide number 1 to 1236.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 5 in which the .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence comprises the sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) depicted in FIG. 2 from nucleotide number 52 to 1236.

11. A recombinant vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a cleavage site sandwiched between an .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence and a protein A domain E coding sequence arranged in the same translational reading frame, controlled by a second nucleotide sequence that regulates the expression of a fusion protein in a mammalian host cell.

12. A recombinant vector pAGB-3, as deposited with the Agricultural Research Culture Collection having accession number B-18724.

13. A recombinant vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a cleavage site sandwiched between an .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminidase coding sequence and a protein antigen coding sequence arranged in the same translational reading frame, controlled by a second nucleotide sequence that regulates the expression of a fusion protein in a mammalian host cell.

14. The recombinant vector of claim 11 or 13 which further includes a nucleotide sequence encoding a selectable marker.

15. The recombinant vector of claim 11 or 13 in which the cleavage site is a collagenase substrate.