Claims
- 1. A recombinant peptide chelate (RPC) comprising the structure:
- 2. The recombinant peptide chelate of claim 1, wherein the (XGaC)bZcCGdX structure is repeated one or more times.
- 3. The recombinant peptide chelate of claim 1, wherein c is 1 to 4, and each Z is selected independently from the group consisting of valine, proline, and glycine.
- 4. An imaging marker gene comprising a nucleic acid sequence that encodes a recombinant peptide chelate comprising the structure:
- 5. A method of monitoring gene expression of a polypeptide in a host, the method comprising:
introducing into the host an expression vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide and an imaging marker gene (IMG) encoding a recombinant peptide chelate (RPC) which chelates a metal compound; administering to the host the metal compound in an amount sufficient to form RPC-metal complexes in the host; and assaying for the RPC-metal complexes as an indication of expression of the polypeptide.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the metal of the metal compound is a radioisotope.
- 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the metal compound is selected from the group consisting of 99mTcO4−, 99mTcO2+, 188mReO2+, 99mTcO3+, 188mReO3+, and compounds of Fe, Ga, In, and the lanthanides.
- 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the metal compound is initially chelated with a biocompatible ligand which is displaced by the recombinant peptide chelate.
- 9. The method of claim 5, wherein the recombinant peptide chelate comprises the structure:
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the (XGaC)bZcCGdX structure is repeated one or more times.
- 11. The method of claim 9, wherein c is 1 to 4 and each Z is selected independently from the group consisting of valine, proline, and glycine.
- 12. The method of claim 5, wherein the metal compound is a charged or electroneutral complex comprising the formula (O−Me(V))1L, wherein Me(V) is selected from the group consisting of the gamma emitting isotopes of group VII transition metals, i=1 to 4, and L is selected from the group consisting of the mono- and di-saccharides.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein L is selected from the group consisting of saccharic acid, glucoheptonic acid, gluconic acid, glucuronic acid, glucooctanoic acid, sorbitol, glucosamine, mannitol, tartaric acid, citric acid, and malonic acid.
- 14. The method of claim 5, wherein the RPC-metal complexes are assayed by imaging the host using magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, planar scintigraphy, single photon emission tomography, positron emission tomography, or X-ray computed tomography.
- 15. The method of claim 5, wherein gene expression of the polypeptide is quantified by an imaging technique selected from the group consisting of magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, planar scintigraphy, single photon emission tomography, positron emission tomography, and X-ray computed tomography.
- 16. A system for measuring gene expression of a polypeptide in a host, the system comprising:
a metal compound, and an expression vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide and an imaging marker gene (IMG) encoding a recombinant peptide chelate (RPC) which chelates the metal compound.
- 17. A system of claim 16, wherein the polypeptide is a therapeutic polypeptide.
- 18. A method of monitoring gene expression of claim 5, wherein the expression vector is prepared by
obtaining an imaging marker gene (IMG) encoding a recombinant peptide chelate (RPC) which chelates a metal compound; and inserting the IMG into an expression vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide.
- 19. A method of claim 5, wherein the polypeptide is a therapeutic polypeptide.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from provisional application 60/037,350, filed Jan. 31, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60037350 |
Jan 1997 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09015366 |
Jan 1998 |
US |
Child |
09739068 |
Dec 2000 |
US |