Development of research diagnostic and production tools for pro-hormone convertases

Abstract

The present invention relates to pro-hormone convertases and polypeptidic fragments thereof, nucleic acids encoding them, recombinant viruses expressing these convertases, polyclonal antibodies directed against the convertases, diagnostic kits for the detection and measurement of the convertase content in cell or tissue lysates, culture media or biological fluids by RIA. Diagnostic kits were also developped for detection or measurement of nucleic acids, preferably mRNAs, in cell or tissue lysates by hybridization. The invention also concerns oligonucleotides useful as probes or as primers for DNA synthesis. These oligonucleotides were included in the diagnostic kits as well as used for the obtention of specific fragments of the convertases which have served, together with native convertases, as antigens for the obtention of antibodies. The convertases were produced by mammalian cell lines transfected with the recombinant viruses and purified on affinity columns which are also an object of the invention. Processes for producing the native convertases, fragments thereof and antibodies are also described and claimed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Among other proteins, hormones, growth factors, viruses including retroviruses and hormonal receptors often require activation by a specific enzyme or set of enzymes before they can elicit their full biological activity. Such activation is usually made by cleavage of the parent protein, known as pro-protein or precursor, at specific sites usually represented by a pair of basic amino acids of the type LysArg-, ArgArg-, ArgLys- and LysLys-. This initial cleavage is then followed by a number of post-translational modification reactions ultimately leading to the active secretable form of the hormones or proteins. The identification of the yeast Kex2 gene product as the enzyme responsible for the processing of pro-.alpha.-mating factor at LysArg- pairs (Julius et al., 1984; Mizuno et al., 1988) provided a molecular prototype of the thought mammalian pro-hormone convertases. The search for the Kex2- like mammalian convertases led to the very recent identification and molecular cloning of three distinct proteinases. These were called Furin (Roebroek et al., 1986; Fuller et al., 1989b; Van Den Ouweland et al., 1990), PC1 (Seidah et al., 1990; 1991a; Smeekens et al., 1991 who also called this enzyme PC3) and PC2 (Smeekens and Steiner, 1990; Seidah et al., 1990). These three enzymes originate from three different genes and their chromosomal localization has been determined in both human and mouse (Seidah et al., 1991b). The organization of the human Furin gene has also been recently reported (Barr et al., 1991) .

Cellular expression of Furin (Bresnahan et al., 1990; Van de Ven et al., 1990; Wise et al., 1990), PC1 and PC2 (Benjannet et al., 1991; Thomas et al., 1991; Hatsuzawa et al., 1990) demonstrated that these proteins are specific proteinases capable of cleaving a number of precursors at pairs of basic residues, of the type LysArg- and ArgArg-, but little cleavage occurred post LysLys-. Furin which is found in most cells, cleaves precursors which emerge from the cell via the constitutive pathway of secretion (Burgess and Kelly, 1987). In contrast, PC1 and PC2 which are only found in endocrine and neuroendocrine cells (Seidah et al., 1990; 1991a), cleave pro-hormones and pro-proteins which negotiate the regulated secretory pathway (Seidah et al., 1992).

So far, the sequence of PC2 obtained from human (hPC2) (Smeekens and Steiner, 1990), mouse (mPC2) (Seidah et al., 1990) and porcine (pPC2) (Seidah et al., in preparation) have been determined. However, only the sequence of mouse PC1 (mPC1) has been reported (Seidah et al., 1990; 1991a; Smeekens et al., 1991). In our search for tissues which express human PC1 (hPC1) transcripts, we noticed that, on Northern blots of human tissues and cell lines, a 6.2 kb mRNA form of hPC1 can be detected when hybridized to the full lenght mouse PC1 (mPC1) cDNA. We have defined the molecular nature of this mRNA and of the protein encoded thereof. Another group discovered at about the same time a nucleic acid and amino acid sequences of hPC1 (Creemers et al., 1992). The coding sequence of the cDNA is the same except for one nucleotide; the nucleotide A.sub.1276 of the present sequence is replaced by a G in this foreign publication which provoques a change in the amino acid sequence Ser.sup.330 .fwdarw. Gly.

The nucleic acid sequence of the cDNAs and the amino acid sequence of the proteins hPC1 and mPC2 so obtained in our laboratory has allowed us to design a series of products useful as research tools and/or in the pharmaceutical field.

As research, therapy and diagnosis of endocrinological disorders, hormone dependant and growth factor dependant pathologies including cancers are very active pharmaceutical fields, there is a need for such tools in developping diagnostic means and curative drugs for such pathologies. Such tools will also be useful in the fabrication of hormones and growth factors in pharmaceutical industry.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the nucleic acid sequence of the cDNA encoding the human pro-hormone convertase 1 (hPC1). A human pituitary cDNA library obtained in .lambda.gt10 bank has been screened with the full length (2.5 Kb) radiolabeled mouse counterpart of hPC1cDNA: mPC1 cDNA (Seidah et al., 1991a). From the positive clones purified, digested by the restriction enzyme Eco R1 and subcloned in Bluescript II (KS+) plasmid (Stratagene), the nucleic acid sequence of hPC1was obtained by the dideoxy chain termination method performed on double stranded DNA. Any part of said nucleic acid which conserves unique characteristics of hPC1 is also under the scope of the invention.

The invention also concerns recombinant expression vectors containing the full length cDNAs of hPC1 and mPC2, or part thereof, to produce large amounts of these two convertases. Many vectors could be used for achieving such a purpose. For example, adenoviruses, papilloma viruses like SV40 or polyoma viruses, baculoviruses and vaccinia viruses are suitable vectors. Among the latter, the vaccinia virus recombination vectors pVV (Hruby et al., 1986), pMJ-601, -602 (Davison and Moss, 1990) and pTM1 vectors (Moss et al., 1990) usable for transitory expression of the convertase coding sequences are preferred. Any vector being able to express itself in an eucaryotic cell and which use is not intended for producing stably transfected cells by recombination with and insertion in the genome of such cells, but rather used for massive production of the convertases by these cells, and containing the whole cDNA sequence of the convertases or a part thereof are under the scope of this invention provided that said part bear unique characteristics of the convertases. The plasmids offer the avantage of recombination using cloning sites interrupting thymidine kinase gene and easy screening of bacteria containing the recombinants of interest by antibiotics, resistance to which is confered by resistance genes beared by the plasmids. The plasmids of interest are then used for transfection of suitable cell lines.

These recombinant vectors could be extremely useful for the pharmaceutical production of hormones and proteins by modifying the function of a cell as exemplified by the production of .alpha.MSH and .beta.End from the proopiomelanocortin precursor by the corticotroph cells AtT-20 when transfected with a mPC2 recombinant vaccinia virus (Benjannet et al., 1991). These cells normally do not produce these two hormones because of their very low expression of PC2 gene. They rather produce ACTH and .beta.LPH by the action of PC1 (normally present) on the same precusor.

The invention also relates to the protein hPC1 and part thereof, per se, which can be produced by and purified from the transfected cells expressing it, or synthetized by conventional methods, this synthesis being based on the amino acid sequence of hPC1.

The invention also relates to oligonucleotides specific to various regions of DNA and RNA encoding hPC1 and mPC2. Twelve oligonucleotides have been prepared (six for hPC1 and six for mPC2). The various segments of hPC1 and mPC2 encompassed by these oligonucleotides are: the pro-segment which is lost before the convertases are secreted by the cells, the catalytic segment and the C-terminal segment. These oligonucleotides could be used for detecting nucleic acids encoding these convertases or nucleic acids sharing sufficient homology with these oligonucleotides for allowing hybridization to occur. They could also be used for measuring intracellular levels of convertase mRNAs in lysed cells by hybridization or for detecting or measuring the same in intact cells by in situ hybridization, carried out by standard procedures (Watson et al., 1987). They can also be used as primers of DNA synthesis when paired to any nucleic acid sharing homology.

These oligonucleotides were synthesized and used for PCR amplification of the various segments listed supra in order to clone them in a gene fusion system: pGEX-2T.TM. plasmid (Pharmacia LKB). After amplification by the host-bacteria, the fusion proteins have been purified from bacterial lysates by affinity chromatography using Glutathione Sepharosem.TM. 4B (Pharmacia). Cleavage of the GST domain from the fusion protein is facilitated by the Thrombin recognition site present in pGEX-2T.TM. in proximity of the protein of interest.

The fragments so prepared were used as antigens for immunization of rabbits in order to obtain polyclonal antibodies which are also an object of the invention. Antibodies were directed against the three sets of fragments described supra and against the native proteins obtained by recombinant vaccinia viruses, each for mPC2 and hPC1. A total of eight antibodies was so obtained. These antibodies can achieve multiple purposes: immunoassays (RIA or Elisa), immunohistochemistry or purification of convertases or of any immunologically related proteins, when fixed to a solid matrix.

The availability of specific antibodies directed against various segments of the convertases will allow the user to identify PC1 or PC2 convertases or their various forms in various tissues, cells and fluids. Furthermore, due to the high degree of sequence identity, at least in certain regions, between human and mouse PC1 and PC2, at least one antibody within the series will recognize the enzymes in more than one species. For example, the mPC2/Native antibody will recognize hPC2, and conversely the hPC1/Cat antibody will exhibit a high degree of cross-reactivity with mPC1. These antibodies will thus be useful for both clinical and fundamental reseach. For example, these applications could be:

the screening of tissues as a method of predicting the possible future development of a tumor, which requires a growth factor and hence of a convertase needed to activate this growth factor, and the study of endocrinological pathologies or disorders involving a lack of activity or an overactivity of a convertase.

The invention also relates to affinity columns specially designed for the purification of the convertases PC1 and PC2 or for any protein (including proteinases) having an affinity for the substrate included in these columns. A crude extract of these proteins can be obtained from lysates of cells or of tissues, culture media or biological fluids containing forms of these proteins. The affinity columns allow the obtention of the proteins in a relatively pure form from this crude extract, essential for further work, for example, the obtention of antibodies.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1: Complete cDNA (SEQ ID No: 1) and aminoacid (SEQ ID No: 2) sequence of hPC1. The active sites Asp.sup..box-solid., Hiss and Serb.sup..box-solid., the predicted Asn.sup..box-solid. residue as well as the two potential glycosylation sites*** are further emphasized. The predicted site of the signal peptididase cleavage and zymogen activation are depicted by an arrow and an inverted triangle, respectively. The polyadenylation signal AATAAA is found at 35 nts from the poly-A site. The difference between the present coding sequence and the sequence published by Creemers et al. (1992) is shown in boxes.

FIG. 2: Alignment of the primary structures in a single letter notation deduced from the hPC1 (SEQ ID No: 2) (this invention) and mPC1 (SEQ ID No: 3) (Seidah et al., 1991a) cDNA sequences. The active sites Asp.sup..box-solid., His.sup..box-solid. and Serm.sup..box-solid., the predicted Asn.sup..box-solid. residue and the basic residues are bold and underlined. The predicted N-glycosylation sites.sup..multidot., C-terminal amidation.sup.+, Ser and Tyr phosphorylation sites.sup..pi. are emphasized. The predicted site of cleavage of the signal peptidase is indicated by a vertical arrow.

FIG. 3: Complete cDNA (SEQ ID No: 4) and aminoacid sequence of mPC2. The active sites Asp (.box-solid.), His (.box-solid.) and Ser (.box-solid.), the predicted Asp (.box-solid.) residue (replacing the expected Asn), as well as the three potential glycosylation sites (*), are indicated. Based on Von Heijne (1986) criteria, the predicted site of the signal peptidase cleavage is depicted by an arrow. The variant polyadenylation signal AATATA is found 18 residues 5' to the poly (A) site. The ArgGlyAsp sequence found at residues 517-519 is also shown.

FIG. 4: Alignment of the primary structure of the hPC2 (SEQ ID No: 6) (Smeekens and Steiner, 1990) and mPC2 (SEQ ID No: 5) (Seidah et al., 1990). The predicted site of cleavage of the signal peptidase is indicated by a vertical arrow. The basic residues are in bold characters. The active sites Asp, His and Ser, and the predicted Asp residue (replacing the expected Asn) are indicated by the .sup..box-solid. symbol. The predicted sites of N-glycosylation are illustrated by a .sup..multidot. symbol. The RGD sequence is underlined.

FIG. 5A-C Northern blot analysis of hPC1transcripts in human tissues, using the hPC1 1938-2558 cRNA probe (SEQ ID No.5). In panels A and B, each lane contains 2 .mu.g of poly-A (+) RNA isolated from the specified human tissues (Clonetech). In pannel C, each lane contains 5 .mu.g of total RNA isolated from 3 individual human pituitaries obtained within 24 hr post-mortem. Some RNA degradation is seen in these pituitary blots. The RNA size markers are indicated in the left blot margin. The exposure times are 7 hr (A,C) and 24 hr(B).

FIG. 6A-B Northern blot analysis of hPC1transcripts in human tissues similar to those in FIG. 5A, using hPC1 1-278 (SEQ ID No: 8) (A) and hPC1 2558-3284 (SEQ ID No: 9) (B) cRNA probes. The exposure times are 41 hr and 24 hr for panels A and B, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The complete description of the invention will be more readily understood by the following examples which purpose is to illustrate rather than to limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1.

ISOLATION AND SEQUENCE OF THE hPC1 cDNA:

A human pituitary cDNA library established in the .lambda.gtlo vector in EcoR1 (kindly provided by Dr. O. Civelli, Vollum Institute, Portland, Oregon) was screened with the full length (2.5 kb) mPC1 cDNA (Seidah et al., 1991a) radiolabeled with �.alpha.-.sup.32 P! dCTP by the multiple priming method. The plaques were transfered on duplicate filters which were hybridized overnight in a hybridization solution containing about 2.times.10.sup.6 cpm/mL of the radiolabeled mPC1 cDNA (specific activity=114 Ci/mmole) and 4.times.SET (1.times.SET=150 mM NaCl, 1 mM Na.sub.2 EDTA, 30 mM Tris.HCl pH 8.0) at 62.degree. C. Thirteen positive clones were obtained out of a total of 1.5.times.10.sup.6 phage plaques screened. These clones were then repurified by two more screening rounds and phage DNA was isolated from three selected clones which spanned the entire length of the coding region of hPC1. Partial and total EcoR1 digests were subcloned in pBluescript.TM. II (KS+) (Stratagene) and sequencing was performed on double stranded DNA by the dideoxy chain-termination method, using either the Sequenase.TM. Kit (US Biochem. Corp.), or the automatic DNA sequencer ALF (Pharmacia), using fluorescent primers and following directives of the manufacturer. A first sequence using the T7 and T3 primers (which sequences are included in pBluescript II (KS+)) allowed the sequencing of the 5'- and 3'-ends of the inserts. This permitted, in a walking fashion, to synthesize other sense and antisense primers which sequences are determined upon the sequence read in a previous sequencing reaction, allowing the obtention of the complete sequence in both directions.

Composite sequence analysis of these overlapping cDNAs allowed the characterization of the sequence of hPC1starting at the initiator methionine codon and ending at the polyadenylation site. In order to obtain the 5'-end of the hPC1 cDNA sequence, we performed a polymerase chain reaction amplification on the whole cDNA obtained from the .lambda.gt10 bank using a .lambda.gt10 sense primer ending at the EcoR1 site (of sequence (5' CAGCCTGGTTAAGTCCAAGCTGAATTC 3' (SEQ ID No: 10)) and an hPC1 antisense specific primer I (5' CCTTCGAGACCTTCTGGGGTGG 3', hPC1 nts. 449-428(SEQ ID No: 11)). The amplified cDNA mixture (2%) was then reamplified with the same .lambda.gt10 sense primer and a nested hPC1 antisense specific primer II (5' CTGTTCAGTGCACACCAAGCGC 3', hPC1 nts. 278-257(SEQ ID No: 12)). The 300 bp fragment obtained was subcloned in the EcoR1/EcoRV sites of pBluescript II (KS+). The sequence of 5 subclones confirmed that this fragment contained the 5'-end of hPC1 (hPC1 nts. 1-278 (SEQ ID No: 10)).

The PCR reactions were performed in a DNA thermal cycler (Perkin-Elmer, Cetus) Genamp# PCR system 9600 in a volume of 100 .mu.l containing 1 .mu.g cDNA obtained from the human .lambda.gt10 pituitary library and, 100 pmol of each primer, 2.5 Units of Taq DNA polymerase (Cetus) in 10 mM Tris (pH 8.3), 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl.sub.2, and 200 .mu.M dNTPs. The denaturation, annealing and elongation times were for 10, 30 and 40 sec. at temperatures of 94.degree. C., 54.degree. C., and 72.degree. C., respectively.

In FIG. 1, we present the deduced composite cDNA sequence of human PC1, consisting of 3284 nucleotides (SEQ ID No: 1), with a 2259 bp open-reading frame. A consensus polyadenylation signal AATAAA is present as well as the poly A tail appearing 31 nts later. In a similar fashion to mPC1 (Seidah et al., 1991a), we predict, from the structure of hPC1, a 753 amino acid protein (SEQ ID No: 2) with a 27 amino acid signal peptide resulting in a mature 726 amino acid protein. The sequence around the initiator methionine GTGTGAGCTATGG exhibits a 7/13 nt. identity to the consensus sequence GCCGCC(A/G)CCATGG for translation initiation in higher eukaryotes (Kozak, 1989), with the purine (G in hPC1) in position -3 being the most highly conserved nucleotide in all eukatyotic mRNAs. Different from the mPC1 structure which predicts three N-glycosylation sites, the amino acid sequence of hPC1 contains only two potential N-glycosylation sites. Assuming a molecular weight contribution of about 2000 daltons for each glycosylation site, we estimate a molecular weight of about 85,000 daltons for the mature hPC1 protein. FIG. 1 also shows that hPC1 contains the three active site amino acids Asp.sup.140, His.sup.181 and Ser.sup.355. These are found at identical positions as in mPC1 and at positions similar to the equivalent residues found in subtilisins, Kex2, furin, and PC2 (Seidah et al., 1990). The Asn.sup.282 residue important for the stabilization of the oxyanion hole in subtilisins (Bryan et al., 1986) is also present.

The alignment of the predicted protein sequences of human and mouse PC1 is depicted in FIG. 2, from which we calculate a 92.6% overall protein sequence identity of hPC1 and mPC1, with the highest homology (98%) found in the catalytic segment of the molecule comprising residues 84 to 399.

The alignment shown in FIG. 2 also emphasizes the conservation of certain motifs between the human and mouse PC1 sequences, which include:

(1) The presence of 11 pairs of basic residues within the primary sequence of hPC1, as compared to 12 expected from the mPC1 sequence (Seidah et al., 1991a). Notice that no pairs of basic residues are found within the catalytic domain of either hPC1 or mPC1, i.e., from residues 84-399.

(2) In endocrine cells, the potential cleavage of the basic pairs ArgArg- within the sequence (Gly/Glu).sub.625 GlyArgArg.sub.628 1.dwnarw. is expected to generate a C-terminal amidated product at Gly.sub.625 or Glu.sub.625 for hPC1 and mPC1 respectively, be the action of the .alpha.-amidation enzyme (Bradbury et al., 1982).

(3) An "RGD" structure is found in the sequence ArgArg.sub.491 GlyAsp.sub.493. This tripeptide sequence which is also found in PC2 (Seidah et al., 1990a; Smeekens and Steiner, 1990) and furin (Roebroek et al., 1986) has been implicated in the adhesion of certain extracellular matrix proteins to cell surface receptors, known as integrins (Ruoslahti, 1988). The function of this surface exposed sequence (Seidah et al., 1991a) in PC1, PC2 and furin is not yet known.

(4) A conserved amphipatic C-terminal structure is found in residues 713-726, possibly implicating a pH-dependent association of PC1 with membranes, in a similar fashion to carboxypeptidase E (Fricker et al., 1990).

(5) At the N-terminus, we find a pro-segment including residues 1-83, which in mammalian cells is excised (by cleavage at the LysArg.sub.83 pair) in the secreted form of mPC1 and mPC2 (Benjannet et al., in preparation). A similar pro-segment has also been shown to be removed in the granule associated form of bovine PC1 and PC2 (Christie et al., 1991) and in PC2 isolated from anglerfish pancreatic islets (Mackin et al., 1991). Whether such a zymogen activation is performed autocatalytically or by an as yet unidentified proteinase is not yet established.

(6) A putative cAMP/cGMP-dependent protein kinase phosphorylation site (Glass et al., 1986) is seen at Ser.sub.64 within the pro-segment in both hPC1and mPC1, and at Thr.sub.605 only in mPC1.

(7) Different from mPC1, hPC1 shows a potential tyrosine protein kinase phosphorylation site (Cooper et al., 1984) at Tyr.sub.694.

(8) Both hPC1and mPC1 exhibit an ATP/GTP-binding site motif "AA" (also known as the "P-loop") (Saraste et al., 1990), found at residues Gly.sub.242 ProAsnAspAspGlyLysThr.sub.249. The significance of this motif which is also found at equivalent positions in PC2 and furin is not yet understood.

An other research group has also published the nucleic acid and the amino acid sequences of hPC1 (Creemers et al., 1992). In their case, the coding sequence of the hPC1 cDNA is the same except for one nucleotide; the adenine at position 1276 of the present sequence is replaced by a guanine which results in a change in the amino acid sequence causing the replacement of Ser.sup.330 by a glycine.

Example 2.

NORTHERN BLOT ANALYSIS:

For Northern analysis, we used a human pituitary total RNA blot and a human multiple tissue Northern blot (Clonetech) of 2 .mu.g of poly A.sup.+ RNA from 8 different human tissues (heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas). Human pituitary total RNA was extracted from isolated pituitaries by a guanidine isothiocyanate extraction immediately followed by lithium chloride precipitation (Cathala et al., 1983). The pellets were incubated at 42.degree. C. for 3 hr with proteinase K (100 .mu.g/mL) in 0.5% SDS, 50 mM Tris, pH 7.5 and 5 mM EDTA), followed by two phenol chloroform extractions and ethanol precipitation. The samples were run on a horizontal gel apparatus, on a 1.2% agarose gel containing 20 mM HEPES (hP 7.8), 1 mM EDTA and 6% formaldehyde. 10 .mu.g of total RNA was loaded per lane and 2 .mu.g of RNA ladder (9.5, 7.5, 4.4, 2.4, 1.4, 0.24 kilobases) was included in an adjacent lane. The samples were transferred from the gel to a nylon filter (NYTRAN#) by capillary action, and then UV-fixed to the filters.

The three cRNA probes used for Northern analysis were obtained from the segments of hPC1 1-278, 1938-2558, and 2558-3284 inserted in the EcoR1 site of Bluescript# II (KS+) in an antisense fashion to either the T7 or T3 promoters and linearized with SalI, XbaI and BglII, respectively, before reaction with a T7 or T3 RNA polymerase. The filters obtained supra were prehybridized at 62.degree. C. for 2 hr in 400 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) containing 5% SDS, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mg/mL BSA and 50% formamide. Hybridization began with addition of the .sup.32 P-UTP labelled cRNA probe, which was carried out for 16 hr at 62.degree. C.

The filters were washed in 0.1.times.SSC �1.times.SSC =0.15M NaCl, 0.015M Na.sub.3 citrate, pH 7.0!, 0.1% SDS, 1 mM EDTA at 75.degree. C. for 2-3 hr, and then exposed to X-ray film with intensifying screens at -70.degree. C. for various times.

The Northern blot analysis of the expression of hPC1 mRNA is depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6, using different cRNA probes. As shown in FIG. 5, using the hPC1 1938-2558 probe (SEQ ID No: 7), one can see that the human brain and pituitary are the major sources of hPC1transcripts and that the size of the major mRNA is estimated to be about 6.2 kb (FIGS. 4A and 4C). Upon over exposure of the blot shown in FIG. 5A, one notice that other tissues also contain some hPC1 transcripts. Notably, as shown in FIG. 5B, on this poly-A (+) RNA blot, the presence of appreciable hPC1mRNA in pancreas is noticeable. Other tissues such as lung, skeletal muscle and heart show the presence of hybridizing bands of which mRNA migrates with apparent sizes either higher (8 kb such as in lung and muscle) or lower 4.8 kb in heart and 1.3 kb in muscle) than the 6.2 kb transcript. The significance of these bands and whether they are related to hPC1or not is not yet known. In an attempt to answer such a question, the poly-A (+) RNA blot was hybridized with two other cRNA probes derived from the hPC1 sequence, namely hPC1 1-278 (SEQ ID No: 8) (FIG. 5A) and hPC1 2558-3284 (SEQ ID No: 9) (FIG. 6B). It can be seen that these probes which represent respectively the 5'- and 3'-ends of the cDNA sequence detect essentially the same 6.2 kb in the brain (FIGS. 6A and 6B), and in the pancreas (FIG. 5B), but do not seem to detect the other bands in muscle and lung. Interestingly, the hPC1 1-278 probe (SEQ ID No: 8) (FIG. 6A) detects more clearly the 4.8 kb band in the heart than either the hPC1 2558-3284 (SEQ ID No: 9) or the hPC1 1938-2558 probes (SEQ ID No: 7) (FIG. 6A).

Since the presented 3.3 kb cDNA (estimated molecular weight) does not account for the major 6.2 kb mRNA of human PC1, one was concerned as to the missing sequence which would clarify the 2.9 kb difference. Also, the size of the 2.8 kb smaller band observed for hPC1in brain (FIG. 6A) is too small to account for the sequenced 3.3 kb. One possibility would be that a cDNA originating from a relatively minor mRNA form found in the pituitary cDNA bank has been isolated. Accordingly, even though the isolated clones all terminated at the same polyadenylation site, alternative polyadenylation sites could be present in hPC1, as was recently reported to be the case for the large mRNA transcripts of rat PC1 and PC2 (Hakes et al., 1991). In agreement, when 5'- extended forms of hPC1 within the cDNA bank by PCR analysis are searched, evidence for the presence of a non-coding 5'-end much longer than the one we presented in FIG. 1 (not shown) was not found. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that, as compared to mPC1, a cRNA probe prepared from the extended 3'-end sequence found in hPC1(nts. 2558-3284(SEQ ID No: 9)), which hybridized with human PC1 mRNAs (FIG. 5B) failed to detect any mPC1 transcript on Northern blots of mouse neuroendocrine tissues (not shown) known to synthesize large amounts of this enzyme (Seidah et al., 1990; 1991a). This suggests that in hPC1the extended 3'-end sequence is species specific. Creemers et al. (1992) have also found a transcript of 5 Kb which is 2.4 Kb longer than the cloned and sequenced hPC1cDNA. They concluded that a longer 3' stretch could increase the stability of the mRNA.

Example 3.

HOMOLOGY BETWEEN mPC2 AND hPC2:

Alignment of the mouse (SEQ ID No: 5) and human (SEQ ID No: 6) PC2 sequences, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, revealed a homology of 88% and 95.9% at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively, with only one gap introduced within the signal peptide sequence of mPC2. This extraordinary conservation of sequence between mouse and human PC2 allow the use of the antibodies made against the enzyme of one species for the detection of the same enzyme in an other species.

Example 4.

GENERATION OF hPC1AND mPC2 VACCINIA VIRUS RECOMBINANTS:

The cDNAs of human PC1 (hPC1) and mouse PC2 (mPC2) were inserted in the sense orientation in expression vectors which produce large amounts of the enzymes when introduced in mammalian cells. These vectors include pVV (Hruby et al., 1986), pMJ-601, 602 (Davison and Moss, 1990) and pTM1 (Moss et al., 1990).

A) Cloning hPC1in plasmid pTM1:

The full length hPC1cDNA (of 3284 base pairs �bp!) was digested from the recombinant plasmid vector Bluescript(+) with the restriction enzymes PstI and Xho1. This cleavage produced the fragments 5' PstI . . . Xho1 3' (length=3044 bp). This isolated fragment was then ligated (using T4 DNA ligase) to the vector pTM1 previously digested with the restriction enzymes NcoI and XhoI with the help of synthetic adaptor consisting of two annealed oligonucleotides, a 27mer (SEQ ID No: 13) and a 19mer (SEQ ID No: 14), the latter having been phosphorylated by T4 polynucleotide kinase. These oligonucleotides have the following sequence: (NcoI) 5' CAT GGA GCG AAG AGC CTG GAG TCT GCA 3' (PstI) (SEQ ID No: 13) 3' CT CGC TTC TCG GAC CTC AGp 5' (SEQ ID No: 14)

Recombinant hPC1 vaccinia viruses can be further obtained with the vectors pMJ601, 602 and pVV.sub.3 starting with the plasmid hPC1: TM1. For cloning in pMJ602, the latter was digested with NheI, blunted and digested with SalI while the plasmid hPC1: TM1 was digested with the restriction enzyme NcoI, blunted and then digested with XhoI. Fragments of pMJ602 (7.1 Kb) and of hPC1: TM1 (2.6 Kb) were isolated on 0.5% agarose gel and ligated together. For cloning in pVV, the plasmid hPC1: TM1 was digested with the restriction enzymes NcoI and SstI. In order to receive hPC1 insert, vector pVV.sub.3 was previously modified by introducing two annealed oligonucleotides between its restriction sites BamHI and ClaI, these oligonucleotides having the following sequence: 29 mer 5' pGAT CCA CGC GTC CCG GGG GTA CCA TGG AT 3' (SEQ ID No: 15) 27 mer 3' GT GCG CAG GGC CCC CAT GGT ACC TAG C 5' (SEQ ID No: 16)

The resulting plasmid called pVV.sub.4 was digested with the enzymes NcoI and SstI. Fragments of 4.1 Kb from pVV.sub.4 and 2.4 Kb from hPC1: TM1 were isolated on 0.5% low melting agarose gel and ligated together.

Even if the recombinant plasmid hPC1: MJ601 is not described herein, it is under the scope of the present invention because that would be obvious to any person skilled in the art to obtain such a recombinant plasmid by cleaving pMJ601 and plasmid hPC1: TM1 by appropriate enzymes in such a way that these enzymes produce compatible ends for ligation or rendered compatible by using synthetic linkers.

The above ligated inserts were then propagated in competent E. Coli bacteria, prepared and purified from so transformed bacteria by standard techniques (Sambrook et al., 1989).

B) Cloning mPC2 in plasmid pMJ601:

The full length mPC2 cDNA (of 2212 base pairs �bp!) was digested from the recombinant plasmid vector Bluescript(+) with the restriction enzyme BssHII, blunted and digested again with the restriction enzyme HindIII. The fragment of interest was ligated to the plasmid pMJ601 digested with the restriction enzymes SmaI and HindIII. The ligation product was used to transform host bacteria and the propagated plasmid was prepared according to standard techniques (supra). Other recombinant vaccinia viruses (using vaccinia viruses pvv, pMJ602 and pTM1) can be obtained by digesting these plasmids and the starting recombinant material (mPC2: Bluescript) with suitable and compatible restriction enzymes.

C) Transfection of Ltk- cells with pTM1 and pMJ601, 602 recombinant plasmids:

After their production and isolation from the bacteria, the recombinant vectors were used for transfection of the fibroblasts Ltk.sup.- cells in order to obtain recombinant vaccinia viruses expressing hPC1or mPC2.

Before transfection, 6 cm dishes of Ltk.sup.- cells grown in 5 mL MEM (minimal essential medium) containing 10% FBS (fetal bovine serum) and 28 .mu.g/mL gentamycin in 5% CO.sub.2 atmosphere, were infected with 0.2 pfu (plaque forming unit) per cell of VV: wt (wild-type vaccinia virus, strain WR) for pMJ601 or 602 recombinants. For pTM1 recombinants, VVmj: .beta.-gal, a vaccinia virus expressing .beta.-galactosidase was used. This virus was obtained upon transfection of the original plasmid pMJ601 in VV:wt infected Ltk.sup.- cells and isolation of a virus producing blue plaques in presence of Bluogal.TM.. For the infection, Ltk.sup.- cells were washed with PBS-M (2.8 MM KCl, 1.5 mM KH.sub.2 PO.sub.4, 137 mM NaCl, 8 mM NaHPO.sub.4 and 1 mM MgCl.sub.2) before the addition of the virus diluted in 1 mL PBS-MB (PBS-M +0.01% BSA (bovine serum albumin)). After 30 minutes of incubation at room temperature, the virus inoculum was removed and 3 mL of MEM was added.

For transfection, 50 .mu.l of a DNA composition containing 5 .mu.g of recombinant plasmid, 1 .mu.g vaccinia virus DNA (WT or .beta.-gal, depending of which recombinant is used) and 14 .mu.g salmon sperm DNA in water was mixed with 50 .mu.l Lipofectin.TM..

This composition was allowed to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes after what, it was transfered into the culture medium. The so transfected cells were incubated at 37.degree. C. overnight after what, 3 mL of MEM supplemented with 20% FBS was added. The cells were incubated again at 37.degree. C. for two more days till crude stocks of recombinant virus were obtained.

D) Preparation of crude stocks of recombinant vaccinia viruses:

The cells were scraped in the medium, centrifuged at 100.times.g for 5 minutes. The pellet was washed in 5 mL PBS-M, centrifuged at 1000 RPM for 5 minutes and resuspended in 1 mL PBS-M. The cells were frozen and thawed three times, vortexed and sonicated six times ten seconds and kept at -80.degree. C. till use.

E) Isolation of recombinant viruses:

In order to purify the recombinant viruses, 10 cm.sup.2 wells of African green monkey kidney cells (BSC-40) were infected with crude stocks of viruses at different dilutions made in PBS-MB. After 30 minutes at room temperature, the non-adsorbed viruses were aspirated and 2 mL MEM supplemented with 10% FBS and 28 .mu.g/mL gentamycin were added. After 2 days of incubation at 37.degree. C., the medium was removed, the cells were washed with 1 mL PBS-M and overlaid with 1.5 mL MEM containing 0.1% Triton X-100.TM., 450 .mu.g Bluogal.TM. in 150 .mu.L DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) and 1.5% low melting agarose. The cells were incubated at 37.degree. C. till blue plaques appeared showing which cells express .beta.-galactosidase gene. The addition of Triton X-100 dramatically accelerated the apparition of blue plaques. When no Triton was added, no blue plaques appeared before 24 hours, while the addition of Triton expedite the vizualization of positive clones shown by the apparition of blue plaques after 15 minutes of reaction. When blue plaques appeared, plaques of interest were aspirated into the tip of a pipet. In the case of PVV.sub.4, pMJ601 or 602 recombinant viruses, blue plaques were picked up while in the case of pTM1 recombinants, white plaques were chosen among blue plaques (Chakrabarti et al., 1985).

Those plaques were mixed with PBS-MB (final volume 0.4 mL), frozen and thawed three times, vortexed and sonicated six times ten seconds and used again to infect BSC-40 cells using the same protocol as exemplified in section E). Cycles of infection were repeated till all plaques in a well of infected cells were blue or white, meaning that the stocks of virus were pure.

F) Preparation of large stocks of vaccinia recombinant viruses:

Large preparations of viruses were obtained by infection of fove 15 cm dishes of BSC-40 cells at a multiplicity of infection of 0.01 pfu per cell. Three days post-infection, the cells were scraped, centrifuged at 100.times.g for 5 minutes, washed with 10 mL PBS-M, and centrifuged again. The resulting pellet was resuspended in 10 mL of cold Tris-HCl pH 9 (Tris) and homogenized with 25 strokes of a Dounce glass homogenizer. The homogenate was then centrifuged 5 minutes at 200.times.g. After re-homogenization of the pellet in 10 mL Tris and centrigugation, both supernatants were combined and underlaid with 16 mL of a sucrose pad (36% sucrose in Tris), and spinned at 18,000 RPM for 80 minutes at 4.degree. C. in a SW 27 rotor (Beckman). Supernatant was discarded and the pellet resuspended in 1.5 mL Tris with the help of seven strokes of a Duall Teflon homogenizer. The virus preparation was then aliquoted and kept frozen at -70.degree. C. till used.

Viral DNA was prepared from large preparation of viruses according to the method of Hruby et al. (1986). After verifying that recombinant viruses contained hPC1 or mPC2 by restriction mapping of the viral DNA and by specific raioimmunoassays, the infected cells were used for their massive production. These viruses were also used to infect other cell types than Ltk.sup.- and BSC-40. In order to obtain the native active convertases, cell lines transfectable by these expression vectors must be able to process the convertases because if they are not, the convertases will be produced in an unprocessed form and inactive state. These cell lines might be chosen, for example, between members of the following group of mammalian cell lines: sommatotroph GH.sub.3, GH.sub.4 C1, corticotroph AtT-20, insulinoma .beta.TC3 and pheochromocytoma PC12.

The recombinant vaccinia virus VVtm1: hPC1 consisting of hPC1 inserted in pTM1 recombined with a vaccinia virus containing a .beta.-Galactosidase gene in such a way that the .beta.-Galactosidase gene is removed has been deposited at the American Type Culture Collection under number VR-2589.

The recombinant vaccinia virus VVmj: mPC2 consisting of mPC2 inserted in pMJ601 recombined with a wild-type vaccinia virus has been deposited at the American Type Culture Collection under number VR-2589.

Example 5.

GENERATION OF ACTIVE hPC1 AND mPC2 ANTIGENS:

The BSC-40, the Ltk.sup.- or the suitable mammalian cell lines listed supra (100 mL to 1 liter cultures) were infected with the vaccinia virus recombinants for about 0.5-4 hours and then, the cells were washed and left to incubate overnight according to the protocols detailed in section D). In the case of pTM1 recombinants, a double infection protocol was used. As the gene coding for the convertases is under the control of the T7 RNA polymerase promotor, a second vector encoding the T7 RNA polymerase (vTF7-3; Fuerst et al. (1987)) was used as co-infectant. The secreted material from either the overnight incubation or for a further 1-24 hours in incubation medium with gentamycin and BSA and without serum were collected and provided the starting material to purify the enzymes. Alternatively, the cells were lysed and hPC1or mPC2 extracted from them. The purification of these convertases was achieved according to a procedure developped by the present inventors (as described below). The extracted or secreted products were purified by anion exchange column followed by special affinity columns which were developed using synthetic peptides ending with a reactive group according to the method of Basak et al. (1990). The length and the nature of each immobilized peptide depend upon the specificity of each enzyme, which was determined experimentally using various peptidyl substrates and inhibitors. These substrates and inhibitors were designed on the basis of the sequence of pro-segment of each enzyme. The following sequence was found to be the most potent:

p.sup.4 -p.sup.3 - p.sup.2 - p.sup.1 X -Y - K/R- R-R.sup.a wherein: i) X represents a basic amino acid residue, preferably one Arg, ii) Y may be Lys, Arg, Ser, Val or Thr, depending of the nature of the enzyme, iii) R and K are the one letter code for Arginine and Lysine, respectively, and iv) R.sup.a represents a reactive group.

The reactive group R.sup.a is a C-terminal modified function which is known to bind to serine proteinases either by non-covalent (reversible) or covalent binding (reversible or non-reversible). The function which has been selected by the present inventors is Semicarbazone (SC: --CH.dbd.N--NH--CONH.sub.2). Based on earlier work on plasma kallikrein and trypsin (Basak et al., 1990 and 1992), the present inventors have demonstrated that such a function could be adopted to develop affinity ligands, mainly because this function leads to reversible binding, withstands many drastic conditions of pH, ionic strenght, etc. which are sometimes necessary for elution of the bound enzymes, and because columns made of such ligands can be stored for a long period of time at 0.degree. C. in appropriate buffer and pH.

Synthesis of one of the affinity ligands:

First, a fully protected tetrapeptide, Cbz -Arg(NO.sub.2)-Ser(t-But)- Lys(Boc)- Argininal-SC wherein: Cbz=Carbobenzyloxy, NO.sub.2 =nitro, and t-But=ter-butyl, was prepared in solution phase following the scheme 1. It was then hydrogenolysed with H.sub.2 /Pd black to furnish H-Arg-Ser-Lys(Boc)-Argininal-SC. ##STR1## wherein: OBz: o-benzyl OMe: o-methyl DCC: dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, NHSU: N-hydroxysuccinimide, IBC: isobutylchloroformate, and NMM: N-methylmorpholine.

The exemplified peptide ArgSerLysArgininal-SC is the prefered substrate for the purification of the convertase hPC1especially.

These affinity peptides were immobilized via their N-terminal end on a suitable solid matrix, including Affigel-10, -15, Sepharose or other matrices according to a procedure already described by the present inventors (Basak et al., 1990).

H-Arg-Ser-Lys (Boc)-Argininal SC. 2HOAc (4.5 mg, 5.5 .mu.M) was immobilized to Affigel-15 resin (10 mL, packed gel) by shaking at 4.degree. C. in 6 mL of 0.1M KHCO.sub.3, pH 8.2. The coupling which was monitored by HPLC, was found to be about 90% after about 18 hours. The resin thus obtained was washed with distilled water (4.times.10 mL) and again shaken overnight at 4.degree. C. with 15 mL of 1M ethanolamine, pH 9.0 used as a capping reagent in order to destroy the excess of active sites of the resin. The resin was again washed repeatedly with distilled water (about 200 mL) to free from trace amount of ethanolamine. It was then treated with 10 mL of a mixture of Methanol/TFA (1:1, v:v), shaken for 15 minutes at 4.degree. C., filtered, washed with water (4.times.10 mL), and finally equilibrated with 50 mM NaOAc pH 5.5, before ready to be used.

The affinity columns thus prepared consist of the matrix containing the suitable immobilized peptide derivatives. The purified active enzymes are expected to represent the amino acid residues 84-726 of human PC1 and 85-637 of mPC2, since both PC1 and PC2 loose their pro-domains (1-83 and 1-84 for PC1 and PC2, respectively) before they are secreted from the cells.

After obtaining the convertases produced by cells transfected with recombinant vaccinia viruses, these proteins were purified through a serial combination of an ion exchange and affinity columns, using the following protocol:

100 mL of culture medium containing convertases were concentrated and dialyzed against sodium acetate buffer (NaOAc), pH 5.5 henceforth called acetate buffer using 30 K centriprep filters. The concentrated material (about 10 mL) was passed through an anion exchange column DEAE Sephadex A.sub.50 .TM. (13.times.1.5 cm). The column was washed with 30.times.3 mL of acetate buffer to remove most of the unwanted activity and protein. The enzymes were eluted in 0.6M NaCl/acetate buffer together with some amount of BSA (contained in the medium). In fact, a ratio of about 20: 1 (BSA: convertase; w: w) was obtained in the effluent of this first purification column. As BSA probably helps to stabilize the enzymes, separation of the two proteins at this step was not ameliorated. This combined salt effluent was then dialyzed against acetate buffer and passed through the affinity column Affigel-15-R-S-K-R-SC (supra) (10 mL, 4.5 .mu.M/mL gel). This affinity column allowed up to 99% binding of the convertases. The column was then submitted to consecutive steps of washing with the following buffers: a) acetate buffer, b) 1M NaCl/acetate buffer, c) 10 mM EDTA and 1M NaCl/acetate buffer, d) 100 mM SC.HCl, 1M Guanidine.HCl and 1M NaCl/acetate buffer and e) 20% Isopropanol/acetate buffer. BSA and other protein impurities were removed in the first three steps while pure convertases were recovered in the last two steps. The percentage of recovery was 50-70%, the loss being mainly caused by degradation. The pure fractions were kept frozen at -20.degree. C. in at least 20% glycerol. At each purification step, the binding and the elution were determined by different methods: a) using the fluorogenic peptide substrate Acetyl-Arg-Ser-Lys-Arg-AMC (AMC: 7-Amino 4-Methyl Coumarin) synthesized by the present inventors, for testing the presence of convertase activity, b) in SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis and c) by radioimmunoassay as well as protein assay on each fraction. The fluorogenic substrate recited in a) was used for testing the enzymatic activity recovered, such test being achieved by the following procedure: 20 .mu.L of sample was mixed to 25 .mu.L of 50 mM CaCl.sub.2, 25 .mu.L of the fluorogenic substrate dissolved in DMSO and 230 .mu.L of 50 mM NaOAc pH 5.5, and incubated at 37.degree. C. for 6-10 hours. On acrylamide gels, 3 forms of hPC1 were visualized: the major form was the native active form (80-85 Kda) and the two minor forms apparently coming from degradation, had a molecular weight of 66 and 75 Kda, the latter being less abundant.

These purified hPC1and mPC2 enzymes were then used as antigens to inject rabbits and hence generate antibodies against the complete native active convertases.

Example 6.

ANTIGENS GENERATION CONSISTING OF FRAGMENTS OF hPC1AND mPC2 FUSED TO THE C-TERMINUS OF GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE (GST):

For the production of antibodies against specific domains in hPC1 and mPC2, one method involves the use of synthetic peptide antigens representing sequences at the C-terminus, N-terminus and Pro-segment of each proteinase. Alternatively, a second approach was used. It involves the production of antibodies against fusion proteins to the Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST-) system. This GST is a Gene Fusion System designed to express a gene or gene fragment as a fusion protein. The protein of interest is fused to the carboxyl terminus of glutathione S-transferase from Schistosoma iaPonicum (Smith et al., 1986). The fusion protein is then easily purified from bacterial lysates by affinity chromatography using Glutathione Sepharose 4B (bought from Pharmacia LKB). Cleavage of the Glutathione S-transferase domain from the fusion protein is facilitated by the presence of a Thrombin recognition site. Fusion proteins expressed in the expression vector pGEX-2T (obtained from Pharmacia LKB) may thus be cleaved by Thrombin. The insertion site is as follows: ##STR2##

Therefore, the inserted fusion cDNA segment must have at its 5' end a BamH1 site and at its 3' end an EcoR1 site with or without a STOP translation codon. If it does not contain a STOP codon, the fusion protein will have an extra 2 amino acids (ArgAs.beta.-COOH) at its C-terminus (see above illustration).

This approach was applied to generate antibodies against the pro-sequence, the catalytic and the C-terminal segments of each enzyme. Synthetic oligonucleotides were prepared in order to amplify the specific desired segments of hPC1 and mPC2 by the PCR technique.

hPC1 oligonucleotides ______________________________________1. hPC1/Pro-segment/BamH1 (Sense Primer) �nucleotides 288-312! 5' CAGGATCC-AAA AGG CAA TTT GTC AAT GAA TGG G 3' (SEQ ID NO:17)2. hPC1/Junction Pro-Cat/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 561-541! 5' TTGAATTCTTA-TAG TGC TGA GTC CCT TAG AGC 3' (SEQ ID NO:18)3. hPC1/N-term. Catalytic/BamH1 (Sense Primer) �nts. 538-558! 5' GTGGATCC-TCA GCT CTA AGG GAC TCA GCA 3' (SEQ ID NO:19)4. hPC1/C-term. Catalytic/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 1755-1735! 5' TCGAATTCTTA-GGA ATA TTC AAT TGT TGC TTC 3' (SEQ ID NO:20)5. hPC1 (2041-2061)/BamH1 (Sense Primer) �nts. 2173-2193! 5' GTGGATCC-GAT GAG TTG GAG GAG GGA GCC 3' (SEQ ID NO:21) (hPC1 aa629-635)6. hPC1 (2337-2317)/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 2469-2449! 5' CAGAATTC-TTA ATT TTC CTC ATT CAG AAT 3' (SEQ ID NO:22) (hPC1 aa726-720)______________________________________ mPC2 oligonucleotides ______________________________________7. mPC2/Pro-segment/BamH1 (Sense Primer) �nts. 165-184! 5' CGGGATCC-GAG AGA CCC GTC TTC ACG 3' (SEQ ID NO:23)8. mPC2/Junction Pro-Cat/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 439-419! 5' CAGAATTCTTA-CTC ATT GAT GTC CCT GTA CCC 3' (SEQ ID NO:24)9. mPC2/N-term. Catalytic/Sma1 (Sense Primer) �nts. 418-429! 5' AACCCGGG-A GGG TAC AGG GAC ATC AAT GAG 3' (SEQ ID NO:25)10. mPC2/C-term. Catalytic/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 1639-16129! 5' CAGAATTCTTA-CTC ATT GAT GTC CCT GTA CCC 3' (SEQ ID NO:26)11. mPC2 (1998-1978)/EcoR1 (Antisense Primer) �nts. 2008-1988! 5' CGGAATT-CTA GTT CTT TCT CAG GAT ACT 3' (SEQ ID NO:27) (mPC2 aa637-631)12. mPC2 (1669-1689)/BamH1 (Sense Primer) �nts. 1679-1699! 5' CCGGATCC-GGC ACC AAG TCC ATT TTG CTG 3' (SEQ ID NO:28) (mPC2 aa529-535)______________________________________

Therefore, in order to produce fusion proteins against various segments of hPC1 and mPC2, we obtained the desired fragments by applying the technique of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) which allows the amplification of a desired sequence using a pair of oligonucleotides one in a sense and the other in an antisense orientation with respect to the sequence one want to amplify (Erlich, 1989). Therefore, the following pairs of oligonucleotides were used in the PCR reaction:

______________________________________ Pair of cDNAAntibody oligonucleotides sequence** Amino acids*______________________________________hPC1/Pro #1 and #2 hPC1 (288-561) hPC1 �1-92! (SEQ ID NO: 17 and 18)hPC1/Cat #3 and #4 hPC1 (538-1755) hPC1 �84-489! (SEQ ID NO: 19 and 20)hPC1/C-term #5 and #6 hPC1 (2173- hPC1 �629-726! (SEQ ID NO: 21 2469) and 22)mPC2/Pro #7 and #8 mPC2 (165-439) mPC2 �1-91! (SEQ ID NO: 23 and 24)mPC2/Cat #9 and #10 mPC2 (418- mPC2 �84-491! (SEQ ID NO: 25 1639) and 26)mPC2/C- #11 and #12 mPC2 (2008- mPC2 �529-637!term (SEQ ID NO. 27 1679) and 28)______________________________________

The numbers refer either to the amino acid* (after the removal of the signal peptide) or to the nucleotide sequence positions**, as reported from the cDNA sequences of hPC1 and mPC2.

The PCR reaction was performed in a DNA thermal cycle (Perkin-Elmer/ Cetus) Genamp.TM. PCR system 9600 in a volume of 100 .mu.l containing 10.sup.-8 g cDNA obtained from either the hPC1 or mPC2 in Bluescript (+) vector and, 100 pmol of each primer, 2.5 Units of Taq DNA polymerase (Cetus) in 10 mM Tris (pH 8.3), 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl.sub.2, and 200 .mu.M dNTPs. For 30 repetitive cycles, the denaturation, annealing and elongation times were 10, 30 and 40 sec., at temperatures of 94.degree. C., 54.degree. C., and 72.degree. C., respectively.

The PCR products were purified on a 2% agarose gel, and the electroeluted products were doubly digested with the restriction enzymes BamH1 and EcoR1 and the digestion products were ligated to the pGEX-2.TM. plasmid which was prior digested with the same restriction enzymes. Transformation of E. Coli, the isolation and the preparation of recombinant plasmids were done by standard techniques (Sambrook et al., 1989). The orientation and authenticity of the recombinant plasmids were confirmed by DNA sequencing at the GST-fusion protein junctions.

The bacterial lysates were purified by affinity chromatography column of Glutathione Sepharose 4B.TM. following the manufacturer's directives (Pharmacia LKB). The purified GST-fusion proteins were then digested with the enzyme Thrombin (Sigma Chemical Co.), following the manufacturer's recommendations. The released fused segments of either PC1 or PC2 (which sizes are shown in the above table) were subjected to N-terminal amino acid microsequence analysis by gas phase sequencing on an Applied Biosystem sequenator to confirm their nature (Seidah and Chretien, 1983).

Once the authenticity of each fragment was verified, the proteins obtained by fusion proteins as well as the native proteins obtained in cells transfected by recombinant vaccinia viruses were injected into rabbits for the development of polyclonal antibodies in order to obtain antibodies. A total of 8 antibodies will allow the definition of the enzymes in any fluid, cell or tissue. For example, if the catalytic- and C-terminal antibodies detect the presence of hPC1 in a tissue, such as a tumor, but the Pro-segment antibody does not, this will mean that the produced hPC1 lacks the pro-segment, most probably meaning that hPC1 is in an active state, as these enzymes are zymogens requiring the removal of their N-terminal pro-segment for maximal activity. In contrast, if the three antibodies detect the same product, then hPC1 will be presumed to be in an inactive state. This information may be useful in the diagnosis of certain endocrine pathologies. For example, human lung cancer is associated with a high production of PC1 (Creemers et al., 1992).

Example 7.

POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES PRODUCTION:

Recently TiterMax.TM. #R-1 was introduced in the market by CytRx corporation (150 Technology Parkway. Technological Park/Atlanta. Norcross, Georgia 30092, USA). TiterMax.TM. #R-1 is a new adjuvant producing a microparticulate emulsion which has the reliability and effectiveness of Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) without the toxic side effects. Groups of female New Zealand White rabbits (N=4) were immunized with the native proteins or fragments thereof (antigens) as follows:

50-100 .mu.g of antigen were injected intramuscularly (IM) in each hind flank (25 .mu.g antigen/50 .mu.l emulsion x 2 injections) on day 1.

50-100 .mu.g of antigen were injected intramuscularly (IM) in each hind flank (25 .mu.g antigen/50 .mu.l emulsion.times.2 injections) on day 28.

On day 28, 42 and 56 after the first injection, 2-5 mL of blood were withdrawn from each rabbit, centrifuged at 4000.times.g for minutes and the serum isolated were tested for its antibody titer using .sup.1251 I- radioiodinated antigen labeled by either the chloramine T or the Bolton-Hunter methods (Langone, J. J., 1980).

For titer analysis, the serum was initially diluted 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 5000, and 10,000 folds and the binding of the radioiodinated ligand tested. The serum which gave the highest amount of binding at the highest dilution was considered to have the best antibody titer. The bound radioiodinated ligand was then displaced with non-radioactive antigen at various concentrations from 1.times.10.sup.-12 to 1.times.10.sup.-6 grams/mL. The shape of the displacement curve obtained defines the specificity and the avidity of the antibody. The animal giving the best titer, specificity and avidity was then chosen for the production of large quantities of antiserum. This rabbit which produced the best titer was then periodically boosted and then bled 14 days later (20-40 mL of blood) and the antibodies stock thus obtained was aliquoted and frozen for future use at -20.degree. C.

Example 8.

DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC RADIOIMMUNOASSAYS (RIAS):

For the development of a specific radioimmunoassay, we used similar procedures published for many other proteins (Van Vunakis, 1980). The specificity of each antiserum was first tested to verify the binding of hPC1 antiserum to mPC2 or mPC1, for example. The ability of each segment-antiserum to recognize the native protein was also tested. This was done by testing whether the binding of the catalytic segment (hPC1/Cat) to the hPC1/Cat antibody could be displaced by the native hPC1protein obtained from vaccinia virus expression vectors, or by another hPC1 segment, hPC1/Pro, for instance.

It was very important to optimize the sensitivity of detection of each antibody in order to increase the chances of its ability to recognize the native protein in various tissue extracts and in plasma. The only antibody for which this optimization will be negative is the one directed against the pro-segment of each convertase, because the pro-segment is absent from the native protein. The first priority lies in the purification of the .sup.125 I-labeled antigen. The latter was purified by reverse-phase HPLC, as reported previously (Seidah and Chretien, 1983; Linde et al., 1983). The sensitivity of the assay was increased by evaluating the best conditions of optimal antigen-antibody binding (Hales and Woodhead, 1980).

Example 9.

DEVELOPMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC KITS:

Radioimmunoassays (RIA):

All 8 kits come complete with the following reagents sufficient for 125 assay tubes ready for use after rehydration:

a) Standard protein b) Rabbit antiserum specific for the protein. c) .sup.125 I-labeled protein as tracer, 1.5 .mu.Ci. d) Goat anti-rabbit IgG serum. e) Normal rabbit serum. f) RIA buffer. g) Triton X-100/water. h) Instructions/flow sheet for the RIA protocol. i) Instructions for calculating the results and graph paper for plotting the results.

Therefore, the hPC1 antibodies kits consist of:

______________________________________Kit No. Antibody Name______________________________________1 hPC1-Native2 hPC1/Pro3 hPC1/Cat4 hPC1/C-term______________________________________ and, the mPC2 antibodies kits will consist of: ______________________________________5 mPC2-Native6 mPC2/Pro7 mPC2/Cat8 mPC2/C-term______________________________________

Hybridization:

The kits should contain all reagents for the preparation of the nucleic acids, preferably mRNAs: buffers for the lysis of cells or tissues, salts and solvents for precipitation of the nucleic acids, extraction buffer like phenol, resuspension buffer, dyes and denaturing agents for electrophoresis, buffers for transfer, buffers for hybridization, labelled oligonucleotides, standardized concentrations of hybridization-positive nucleic acids and, optionally detection means. The oligonucleotides can be the oligonucleotides described in Example 6 labelled by any means known to the person skilled in the art, radioactive nucleotides or by adding fluorescent molecules or molecules reacting with a substrate giving a signal measurable by photometry.

______________________________________Symbols for the amino acids______________________________________A Ala alanineC Cys cysteineD Asp aspartic acidE Glu glumatic acidF Phe phenylalanineG Gly glycineH His histidineI Ile isoleucineK Lys lysineL Leu leucineM Met methionineN Asn asparagineP Pro prolineQ Gln glutamineR Arg arginineS Ser serineT Thr threonineV Val valineW Trp tryptophanY Tyr tyrosine______________________________________

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Isolation of Two Complementary Deoxyribonucleic Acid Clones from a Rat Insulinoma Cell line Based on Similarities to Kex2 and Furin Sequences and the Specific localization of Each Transcript to Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tissues in Rats Endocrinology (129)(6)):3053-3063. HALES, C. N. et al. (1980). Radioimmunoassays: An overview. Methods in Enzymology. 70, 334-355 HATSUZAWA et al. (1990). Structure and expression of mouse Furin, a yeast Kex2-related protease. J. Biol. Chem. 265, 22075-22078. HRUBY, D. E. et al. (1986). Use of Vaccinia Virus as a Neuropeptide Expression Vector. Methods in Enzymology. 124, 295-309 JULIUS et al. (1984). Isolation of the putative structural gene for the Lys-Arg- cleaving endopeptidase required for processing of yeast prepro-a-factor. Cell 37, 1075-1089. KOZAK, M. (1989). The scanning model for translation: an update. J. Cell Biol. 108, 229-241. LINDE, S. et al. (1983). Preparation of stable radiodinated polypeptide hormones and proteins using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Methods in Enzymology 92, 309-335 MACKIN, R. B. et al. (1991). Identification of a somatostatin-14-generating enzyme as a member of the kex2/furin/PC family. Endocrinology 129, 2263-2265 MIZUNO et al. (1988). Yeast KEX2 gene encodes an endopeptidase homologous to subtilisin-like serine proteases. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 156, 246-254. MOSS et al. (1990). New mammalian expression vectors. Nature. 348, 91-92 ROEBROEK et al. (1986). Evolutionary conserved close linkage of the c-fes/fps proto-oncogene and genetic sequences encoding a receptor-like protein. EMBO J. 5, 2197-2202. RUOSLAHTI, E. (1988). Fibronectin and its receptors. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 57, 375-413. SAMBROOK, J., Fritsh, E. F. and Maniatis, T. (1989). In "Molecular Cloning. A laboratory manual." Second edition. Cold Spring Harbor Labortory Press. SARASTE et al. (1990). The P-loop - a common motif in ATP- and GTP-binding proteins. Trends Biochem. Sci. 15, 430-434. SEIDAH et al. (1990). cDNA sequence of two distinct pituitary proteins homologous to Kex2 and Furin gene products: tissue-specific mRNAs encoding candidates for pro-hormone processing proteinases. DNA and cell Biol. 9, 415-424. SEIDAH et al. (1991a). Cloning and primary sequence of a mouse candidate pro-hormoneconvertase PC1 homologous to PC2, Furin and Kex2: Distinct chromosomal localization and mRNA distribution in brain and pituitary as compared to PC2. Mol. Endocrinol. 5, 111-122. SEIDAH et al. (1991b). Chromosomal Assignments of the Genes of the Pro-Protein convertases PC1 (human 5ql5-21), PC2 (human 20p11.1-11.2) and Furin (mouse 7�D1-E2 region!). Genomics 11, 103-107. SEIDAH, N. G. and CHRETIEN, M. (1992). Pro-protein and pro-hormone convertases of the subtilisin family: recent developments and future perspectives. Trends in Endocrinol. Metab. 3 (4): 133-140. SMEEKENS, S. P. and STEINER, D. F. (1990). Identification of a human insulinoma cDNA encoding a novel mammalian protein structurally related to the yeast dibasic processing protease Kex2. J. Biol. Chem. 265, 2997-3000. SMEEKENS et al. (1991). Identification of a cDNA encoding a second putative prohormone convertase related to PC2 in AtT20 cells and islets of Langerhans. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 340-344. THOMAS et al. (1991). Kex2-like endoproteases PC2 and PC3 accurately cleave model prohormone in mammalian cells: evidence for a common core of neuroendocrine processing enzymes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 5297-5301. Seidah et al. (1992). The cDNA sequence of the human pro-hormone and pro-protein convertase PC1. DNA and Cell Biol. 11(4):283-289 VAN DEN OUWELAND et al. (1990). Structural homology between the human fur gene product and the subtilisin-like protease encoded by yeast KEX2. Nucleic Acids Res. 81, 664. VAN DE VEN et al. (1990). Furin is a subtilisin-like proprotein processing enzyme in higher eukaryotes. Mol. Biol. Rep. 14, 265-275. VON HEIJNE, G. (1986). A new method of predicting signal sequence cleavage sites. Nucleic Acids Res. 14, 4683-4690 VAN VUNAKIS, H. V. (1980). Radioimmunoassays: an overview. Methods in Enzymology, 70, 201-209 WATSON, S. J. et al. (1987). Anatomical localization of mRNA: In situ hybridization of neuropeptide systems. In In Situ Hybridization. Applications to Neurobiolovy. WISE et al. (1990). Expression of a human proprotein processing enzyme: Correct cleavage of the von Willebrand factor precursor at a paired basic amino acid site. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87, 9378-9382. __________________________________________________________________________SEQUENCE LISTING(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 28(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 1:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 3284 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1:TGTCGACTGTCAGGACCGAAGCGCTTCACTGAGCGCTCGCCGCCGCCCAG50CCTCTCCTCTCGCGCCTCCTAGCTCTTCGCAGAGCAACCAGGAGCCAGGA100GTGGTCTAGAGCCCGAGGGTGGGAAGGGGGAGTCTGTCTGGCTTTTCTCC150TATCTTGCTTCTTTTTCCTCTTCCCTTCCCACTCTTGTTCAAGCGAGTGT200GTGAGCTATGGAGCGAAGAGCCTGGAGTCTGCAGTGCACTGCTTTCGTCC250TCTTTTGCGCTTGGTGTGCACTGAACAGTGCAAAAGCGAAAAGGCAATTT300GTCAATGAATGGGCAGCGGAGATCCCCGGGGGCCCGGAAGCAGCCTCGGC350CATCGCCGAGGAGCTGGGCTATGACCTTTTGGGTCAGATTGGTTCACTTG400AAAATCACTACTTATTCAAACATAAAAACCACCCCAGAAGGTCTCGAAGG450AGTGCCTTTCATATCACTAAGAGATTATCTGATGATGATCGTGTGATATG500GGCTGAACAACAGTATGAAAAAGAAAGAAGTAAACGTTCAGCTCTAAGGG550ACTCAGCACTAAATCTCTTCAATGATCCCATGTGGAATCAGCAATGGTAC600TTGCAAGATACCAGGATGACGGCAGCCCTGCCCAAGCTGGACCTTCATGT650GATACCTGTTTGGCAAAAAGGCATTACGGGCAAAGGAGTTGTTATCACCG700TACTGGATGATGGTTTGGAGTGGAATCACACGGACATTTATGCCAACTAT750GATCCAGAGGCTAGCTATGATTTTAATGATAATGACCATGATCCATTTCC800CCGATATGATCCCACAAACGAGAACAAACACGGGACCAGATGTGCAGGAG850AAATTGCCATGCAAGCAAATAATCACAAATGCGGGGTTGGAGTTGCATAC900AATTCCAAAGTTGGAGGCATAAGAATGCTGGATGGCATTGTGACGGATGC950TATTGAGGCCAGTTCAATTGGATTCAATCCTGGACACGTGGATATTTACA1000GTGCAAGCTGGGGCCCTAATGATGATGGGAAAACTGTGGAGGGGCCTGGC1050CGGCTAGCCCAGAAGGCTTTTGAATATGGTGTCAAACAGGGGAGACAGGG1100GAAGGGGTCCATCTTCGTCTGGGCTTCGGGAAACGGGGGGCGTCAGGGAG1150ATAATTGTGACTGTGATGGCTACACAGACAGCATCTACACCATCTCCATC1200AGCAGTGCCTCCCAGCAAGGCCTATCCCCCTGGTACGCTGAGAAGTGCTC1250CTCCACACTGGCCACCTCTTACAGCAGCGGAGATTACACCGACCAGAGAA1300TCACGAGCGCTGACCTGCACAATGACTGCACGGAGACGCACACAGGCACC1350TCGGCCTCTGCACCTCTGGCTGCTGGCATCTTCGCTCTGGCCCTGGAAGC1400AAACCCAAATCTCACCTGGCGAGATATGCAGCACCTGGTTGTCTGGACCT1450CTGAGTATGACCCGCTGGCCAATAACCCTGGATGGAAAAAGAATGGAGCA1500GGCTTGATGGTGAATAGTCGATTTGGATTTGGCTTGCTAAATGCCAAAGC1550TCTGGTGGATTTAGCTGACCCCAGGACCTGGAGGAGCGTGCCTGAGAAGA1600AAGAGTGTGTTGTAAAGGACAATGACTTTGAGCCCAGAGCCCTGAAAGCT1650AATGGAGAAGTTATCATTGAAATTCCAACAAGAGCTTGTGAAGGACAAGA1700AAATGCTATCAAGTCCCTGGAGCATGTACAATTTGAAGCAACAATTGAAT1750ATTCCCGAAGAGGAGACCTTCATGTCACACTTACTTCTGCTGCTGGAACT1800AGCACTGTGCTCTTGGCTGAAAGAGAACGGGATACATCTCCTAATGGCTT1850TAAGAACTGGGACTTCATGTCTGTTCACACATGGGGAGAGAACCCTATAG1900GTACTTGGACTTTGAGAATTACAGACATGTCTGGAAGAATTCAAAATGAA1950GGAAGAATTGTGAACTGGAAGCTGATTTTGCACGGGACCTCTTCTCAGCC2000AGAGCATATGAAGCAGCCTCGTGTGTACACGTCCTACAACACTGTTCAGA2050ATGACAGAAGAGGGGTGGAGAAGATGGTGGATCCAGGGGAGGAGCAGCCC2100ACACAAGAGAACCCTAAGGAGAACACCCTGGTGTCCAAAAGCCCCAGCAG2150CAGCAGCGTAGGGGGCCGGAGGGATGAGTTGGAGGAGGGAGCCCCTTCCC2200AGGCCATGCTGCGACTCCTGCAAAGTGCTTTCAGTAAAAACTCACCGCCA2250AAGCAATCACCAAAGAAGTCCCCAAGTGCAAAGCTCAACATCCCTTATGA2300AAACTTCTACGAAGCCCTGGAAAAGCTGAACAAACCTTCCCAGCTTAAAG2350ACTCTGAAGACAGTCTGTATAATGACTATGTTGATGTTTTTTATAACACT2400AAACCTTACAAGCACAGAGACGACCGGCTGCTTCAAGCTCTGGTGGACAT2450TCTGAATGAGGAAAATTAAAATAAGTGTGTGGTCCCAAGTTGGAAATATT2500CATGCTTCTTCCTTACCCTGCGATTTTGCCTGTGTCTGAAGTGGTTGTTT2550TGTCATGAATTCTTATGCTTATAATATCCTTTGTGGCACCTTTTCTTTTT2600CTCCCTAAACTGTACATGTGAAGGGGATGAGCTCAAGCAGGAAGTTCAAC2650TTCCAGAATTGATCATAGGTATTTCAAAACACATCTTTCCTGTCTGCACA2700AGTGAAGTGTTTTGTTCTTTCTGGAGTCACAGTTGACAAAAAGCTCTTAC2750ACTACATTAGAACACTGCATTAGAGCCCATTTCAATTCTCAAAAGAAAAG2800GCAAAACCTGGGATATCAATTAATTTGAAAACATAATCTGCAAAGAATGA2850GAAGGAGTCAGAAACTGTTTCTGTAGCTTGTTCCCTGTCTTGTCCATGTG2900GTTCTTCAAATTTTGATGCCAAGAAAGTATTTGGTAGGCCTAATGAAGGA2950GTTCACTGTAAGACTCATTCCCTAGATCTTTCTATTCCAAAGTGCCACTC3000ATTCCTGTAGTCAAAATCTGGTCATGTTGGTCAAAAGCCTGGATTATTTA3050GATCTAGAAACAGATCTTGAAATCTGAATGCTCTGGTTTGAGCAATTTTC3100GAACATTCTTTGCCTGGTGCACTGTGTCTGTGGTGCCAGAGGCGTCCGTG3150GATCCAGAGGTGGTTATGACTCGTGCTGCATGCCTGGTCTTTCCTCTGTT3200TCTCCTTCTGAAAGTTTTCTATACCTGTCTCCTTTCTCAGCCACAAAATA3250AATGTTGGGAGAAATGATATATACCACTTTCCCA3284(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 2:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 753 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 2:MetGluArgArgAlaTrpSerLeuGlnCys23-18ThrAlaPheValLeuPheCysAlaTrpCys13-8AlaLeuAsnSerAlaLysAlaLysArgGln33PheValAsnGluTrpAlaAlaGluIlePro813GlyGlyProGluAlaAlaSerAlaIleAla1823GluGluLeuGlyTyrAspLeuLeuGlyGln2833IleGlySerLeuGluAsnHisTyrLeuPhe3843LysHisLysAsnHisProArgArgSerArg4853ArgSerAlaPheHisIleThrLysArgLeu5863SerAspAspAspArgValIleTrpAlaGlu6873GlnGlnTyrGluLysGluArgSerLysArg7883SerAlaLeuArgAspSerAlaLeuAsnLeu8893PheAsnAspProMetTrpAsnGlnGlnTrp98103TyrLeuGlnAspThrArgMetThrAlaAla108113LeuProLysLeuAspLeuHisValIlePro118123ValTrpGlnLysGlyIleThrGlyLysGly128133ValValIleThrValLeuAspAspGlyLeu138143GluTrpAsnHisThrAspIleTyrAlaAsn148153TyrAspProGluAlaSerTyrAspPheAsn158163AspAsnAspHisAspProPheProArgTyr168173AspProThrAsnGluAsnLysHisGlyThr178183ArgCysAlaGlyGluIleAlaMetGlnAla188193AsnAsnHisLysCysGlyValGlyValAla198203TyrAsnSerLysValGlyGlyIleArgMet208213LeuAspGlyIleValThrAspAlaIleGlu218223AlaSerSerIleGlyPheAsnProGlyHis228233ValAspIleTyrSerAlaSerTrpGlyPro238243AsnAspAspGlyLysThrValGluGlyPro248253GlyArgLeuAlaGlnLysAlaPheGluTyr258263GlyValLysGlnGlyArgGlnGlyLysGly268273SerIlePheValTrpAlaSerGlyAsnGly278283GlyArgGlnGlyAspAsnCysAspCysAsp288293GlyTyrThrAspSerIleTyrThrIleSer298303IleSerSerAlaSerGlnGlnGlyLeuSer308313ProTrpTyrAlaGluLysCysSerSerThr318323LeuAlaThrSerTyrSerSerGlyAspTyr328333ThrAspGlnArgIleThrSerAlaAspLeu338343HisAsnAspCysThrGluThrHisThrGly348353ThrSerAlaSerAlaProLeuAlaAlaGly358363IlePheAlaLeuAlaLeuGluAlaAsnPro368373AsnLeuThrTrpArgAspMetGlnHisLeu378383ValValTrpThrSerGluTyrAspProLeu388393AlaAsnAsnProGlyTrpLysLysAsnGly398403AlaGlyLeuMetValAsnSerArgPheGly408413PheGlyLeuLeuAsnAlaLysAlaLeuVal418423AspLeuAlaAspProArgThrTrpArgSer428433ValProGluLysLysGluCysValValLys438443AspAsnAspPheGluProArgAlaLeuLys448453AlaAsnGlyGluValIleIleGluIlePro458463ThrArgAlaCysGluGlyGlnGluAsnAla468473IleLysSerLeuGluHisValGlnPheGlu478483AlaThrIleGluTyrSerArgArgGlyAsp488493LeuHisValThrLeuThrSerAlaAlaGly498503ThrSerThrValLeuLeuAlaGluArgGlu508513ArgAspThrSerProAsnGlyPheLysAsn518523TrpAspPheMetSerValHisThrTrpGly528533GluAsnProIleGlyThrTrpThrLeuArg538543IleThrAspMetSerGlyArgIleGlnAsn548553GluGlyArgIleValAsnTrpLysLeuIle558563LeuHisGlyThrSerSerGlnProGluHis568573MetLysGlnProArgValTyrThrSerTyr578583AsnThrValGlnAsnAspArgArgGlyVal588593GluLysMetValAspProGlyGluGluGln598603ProThrGlnGluAsnProLysGluAsnThr608613LeuValSerLysSerProSerSerSerSer618623ValGlyGlyArgArgAspGluLeuGluGlu628633GlyAlaProSerGlnAlaMetLeuArgLeu638643LeuGlnSerAlaPheSerLysAsnSerPro648653ProLysGlnSerProLysLysSerProSer658663AlaLysLeuAsnIleProTyrGluAsnPhe668673TyrGluAlaLeuGluLysLeuAsnLysPro678683SerGlnLeuLysAspSerGluAspSerLeu688693TyrAsnAspTyrValAspValPheTyrAsn698703ThrLysProTyrLysHisArgAspAspArg708713LeuLeuGlnAlaLeuValAspIleLeuAsn718723GluGluAsn(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 3:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 753 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 3:MetGluGlnArgGlyTrpThrLeuGlnCys23-18ThrAlaPheAlaPhePheCysValTrpCys13-8AlaLeuAsnSerValLysAlaLysArgGln33PheValAsnGluTrpAlaAlaGluIlePro813GlyGlyGlnGluAlaAlaSerAlaIleAla1823GluGluLeuGlyTyrAspLeuLeuGlyGln2833IleGlySerLeuGluAsnHisTyrLeuPhe3843LysHisLysSerHisProArgArgSerArg4853ArgSerAlaLeuHisIleThrLysArgLeu5863SerAspAspAspArgValThrTrpAlaGlu6873GlnGlnTyrGluLysGluArgSerLysArg7883SerValGlnLysAspSerAlaLeuAspLeu8893PheAsnAspProMetTrpAsnGlnGlnTrp98103TyrLeuGlnAspThrArgMetThrAlaAla108113LeuProLysLeuAspLeuHisValIlePro118123ValTrpGluLysGlyIleThrGlyLysGly128133ValValIleThrValLeuAspAspGlyLeu138143GluTrpAsnHisThrAspIleTyrAlaAsn148153TyrAspProGluAlaSerTyrAspPheAsn158163AspAsnAspHisAspProPheProArgTyr168173AspLeuThrAsnGluAsnLysHisGlyThr178183ArgCysAlaGlyGluIleAlaMetGlnAla188193AsnAsnHisLysCysGlyValGlyValAla198203TyrAsnSerLysValGlyGlyIleArgMet208213LeuAspGlyIleValThrAspAlaIleGlu218223AlaSerSerIleGlyPheAsnProGlyHis228233ValAspIleTyrSerAlaSerTrpGlyPro238243AsnAspAspGlyLysThrValGluGlyPro248253GlyArgLeuAlaGlnLysAlaPheGluTyr258263GlyValLysGlnGlyArgGlnGlyLysGly268273SerIlePheValTrpAlaSerGlyAsnGly278283GlyArgGlnGlyAspAsnCysAspCysAsp288293GlyTyrThrAspSerIleTyrThrIleSer298303IleSerSerAlaSerGlnGlnGlyLeuSer308313ProTrpTyrAlaGluLysCysSerSerThr318323LeuAlaThrSerTyrSerSerGlyAspTyr328333ThrAspGlnArgIleThrSerAlaAspLeu338343HisAsnAspCysThrGluThrHisThrGly348353ThrSerAlaSerAlaProLeuAlaAlaGly358363IlePheAlaLeuAlaLeuGluAlaAsnPro368373AsnLeuThrTrpArgAspMetGlnHisLeu378383ValValTrpThrSerGluTyrAspProLeu388393AlaSerAsnProGlyTrpLysLysAsnGly398403AlaGlyLeuMetValAsnSerArgPheGly408413PheGlyLeuLeuAsnAlaLysAlaLeuVal418423AspLeuAlaAspProArgThrTrpArgAsn428433ValProGluLysLysGluCysValValLys438443AspAsnAsnPheGluProArgAlaLeuLys448453AlaAsnGlyGluValIleValGluIlePro458463ThrArgAlaCysGluGlyGlnGluAsnAla468473IleLysSerLeuGluHisValGlnPheGlu478483AlaThrIleGluTyrSerArgArgGlyAsp488493LeuHisValThrLeuThrSerAlaAlaGly498503ThrSerThrValLeuLeuAlaGluArgGlu508513ArgAspThrSerProAsnGlyPheLysAsn518523TrpAspPheMetSerValHisThrTrpGly528533GluAsnProValGlyThrTrpThrLeuLys538543IleThrAspMetSerGlyArgMetGlnAsn548553GluGlyArgIleValAsnTrpLysLeuIle558563LeuHisGlyThrSerSerGlnProGluHis568573MetLysGlnProArgValTyrThrSerTyr578583AsnThrValGlnAsnAspArgArgGlyVal588593GluLysMetValAsnValValGluLysArg598603ProThrGlnLysSerLeuAsnGlyAsnLeu608613LeuValProLysAsnSerSerSerSerAsn618623ValGluGlyArgArgAspGluGlnValGln628633GlyThrProSerLysAlaMetLeuArgLeu638643LeuGlnSerAlaPheSerLysAsnAlaLeu648653SerLysGlnSerProLysLysSerProSer658663AlaLysLeuSerIleProTyrGluSerPhe668673TyrGluAlaLeuGluLysLeuAsnLysPro678683SerLysLeuGluGlySerGluAspSerLeu688693TyrSerAspTyrValAspValPheTyrAsn698703ThrLysProTyrLysHisArgAspAspArg708713LeuLeuGlnAlaLeuMetAspIleLeuAsn718723GluGluAsn(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 4:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 2217 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: double(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 4:ATTTTTTATTTGCATCTTCCCTCTTCGTCCCCTGCTCCACCACCCTGCGC50GCCTCACAGCCCCACTTTTCACTCCCAAAGAAGGATGGAGGGCGGTTGTG100GATCCCAGTGGAAGGCGGCCGGGTTCCTCTTCTGTGTGATGGTTTTTGCG150TCTGCCGAGAGACCCGTCTTCACGAATCATTTTCTTGTGGAGTTGCATAA200AGACGGAGAGGAAGAGGCTCGCCAAGTTGCAGCAGAACACGGCTTTGGAG250TCCGAAAGCTCCCCTTTGCAGAAGGCCTGTATCACTTTTATCACAATGGG300CTTGCAAAGGCCAAAAGAAGACGCAGCCTACACCATAAGCGGCAGCTAGA350GAGAGACCCCAGGATAAAGATGGCGCTGCAACAAGAAGGATTTGACCGTA400AAAAGAGAGGGTACAGGGACATCAATGAGATTGACATCAACATGAATGAT450CCTCTCTTTACAAAGCAATGGTACCTGTTCAACACTGGGCAAGCCGATGG500AACTCCTGGGCTAGACTTGAACGTGGCCGAAGCCTGGGAGCTGGGATACA550CAGGAAAAGGAGTGACCATTGGAATTATGGATGATGGAATTGACTATCTC600CACCCAGACCTGGCCTACAACTACAACGCTGATGCAAGTTATGACTTCAG650CAGCAATGACCCCTACCCATACCCTCGATACACAGATGACTGGTTCAACA700GCCATGGAACTAGGTGTGCAGGAGAAGTTTCTGCTGCAGCCAGCAACAAT750ATCTGTGGAGTCGGCGTAGCATACAACTCCAAGGTGGCAGGGATCCGGAT800GCTGGACCAGCCCTTTATGACAGACATCATCGAAGCCTCCTCCATCAGCC850ACATGCCTCAACTGATCGACATCTACAGTGCAAGCTGGGGCCCCACAGAC900AATGGGAAGACGGTTGATGGGCCCCGAGAGCTCACACTCCAGGCCATGGC950TGATGGCGTGAACAAGGGCCGTGGGGGCAAAGGCAGCATCTATGTGTGGG1000CCTCTGGGGACGGTGGCAGCTACGATGACTGCAACTGTGACGGCTATGCT1050TCAAGCATGTGGACCATCTCCATCAACTCAGCCATCAATGATGGCAGGAC1100TGCCTTGTATGATGAGAGTTGCTCTTCCACCTTAGCATCCACCTTCAGCA1150ATGGGAGGAAGAGGAATCCTGAGGCTGGTGTGGCTACCACAGACTTGTAT1200GGCAACTGTACTCTGAGACACTCTGGGACATCTGCAGCTGCTCCGGAGGC1250AGCTGGCGTGTTTGCATTAGCTTTGGAGGCTAACCTGGATCTGACCTGGA1300GAGACATGCAACATCTGACTGTGCTCACCTCCAAGCGGAACCAGCTTCAT1350GATGAGGTTCATCAGTGGCGACGGAATGGGGTTGGCCTGGAATTTAATCA1400CCTCTTTGGCTACGGAGTCCTTGATGCAGGTGCCATGGTGAAAATGGCTA1450AAGACTGGAAAACTGTTCCGGAGAGATTCCATTGTGTGGGAGGCTCTGTG1500CAGAACCCTGAAAAAATACCACCCACCGGCAAGCTGGTACTGACCCTCAA1550AACAAATGCATGTGAGGGGAAGGAAAACTTCGTCCGCTACCTGGAGCACG1600TCCAAGCTGTCATCACAGTCAACGCGACCAGGAGAGGAGACCTGAACATC1650AACATGACCTCCCCAATGGGCACCAAGTCCATTTTGCTGAGCCGGCGTCC1700CAGAGACGACGACTCCAAGGTGGGCTTTGACAAGTGGCCTTTCATGACCA1750CCCACACCTGGGGGGAGGATGCCCGAGGGACCTGGACCCTGGAGCTGGGG1800TTTGTGGGCAGTGCACCACAGAAGGGGTTGCTGAAGGAATGGACCCTGAT1850GCTTCACGGCACACAGAGCGCCCCATACATCGATCAGGTGGTGAGGGATT1900ACCAGTCTAAGCTGGCCATGTCCAAGAAGCAGGAGCTGGAGGAAGAGCTG1950GATGAGGCTGTGGAGAGAAGCCTGCAAAGTATCCTGAGAAAGAACTAGGG2000CCACGCTTCCGCCTTCACCTCCCCTTCCTCCCCGTCTCTGCCTCTCCTTG2050CTCCACAGTTCTGGCAGCCACCAGCCACCCAGCAATTCCTGTTACCCCCG2100ACACAAGCAATCCCAGCCTGGTCTCAAGCTTTGCTCGCTGTCAATGATTA2150TTTTCACTACAATGGAAGCAACCGTTTTTATTCTGTAGCCCAAATATAGC2200GTTCCTACCAACATCTA2217(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 637 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 5:MetGluGlyGlyCysGlySerGlnTrpLys20-15AlaAlaGlyPheLeuPheCysValMetVal10-5PheAlaSerAlaGluArgProValPheThr16AsnHisPheLeuValGluLeuHisLysAsp1116GlyGluGluGluAlaArgGlnValAlaAla2126GluHisGlyPheGlyValArgLysLeuPro3136PheAlaGluGlyLeuTyrHisPheTyrHis4146AsnGlyLeuAlaLysAlaLysAlaArgArg5156SerLeuHisHisLysArgGlnLeuGluArg6166AspProArgIleLysMetAlaLeuGlnGln7176GluGlyPheAspArgLysLysArgGlyTyr8186ArgAspIleAsnGluIleAspIleAsnMet9196AsnAspProLeuPheThrLysGlnTrpTyr101106LeuPheAsnThrGlyGlnAlaAspGlyThr111116ProGlyLeuAspLeuAsnValAlaGluAla121126TrpGluLeuGlyTyrThrGlyLysGlyVal131136ThrIleGlyIleMetAspAspGlyIleAsp141146TyrLeuHisProAspLeuAlaTyrAsnTyr151156AsnAlaAspAlaSerTyrAspPheSerSer161166AsnAspProTyrProTyrProArgTyrThr171176AspAspTrpPheAsnSerHisGlyThrArg181186CysAlaGlyGluValSerAlaAlaAlaSer191196AsnAsnIleCysGlyValGlyValAlaTyr201206AsnSerLysValAlaGlyIleArgMetLeu211216AspGlnProPheMetThrAspIleIleGlu221226AlaSerSerIleSerHisMetProGlnLeu231236IleAspIleTyrSerAlaSerTrpGlyPro241246ThrAspAsnGlyLysThrValAspGlyPro251256ArgGluLeuThrLeuGlnAlaMetAlaAsp261266GlyValAsnLysGlyArgGlyGlyLysGly271276SerIleTyrValTrpAlaSerGlyAspGly281286GlySerTyrAspAspCysAsnCysAspGly291296TyrAlaSerSerMetTrpThrIleSerIle301306AsnSerAlaIleAsnAspGlyArgThrAla311316LeuTyrAspGluSerCysSerSerThrLeu321326AlaSerThrPheSerAsnGlyArgLysArg331336AsnProGluAlaGlyValAlaThrThrAsp341346LeuTyrGlyAsnCysThrLeuArgHisSer351356GlyThrSerAlaAlaAlaProGluAlaAla361366GlyValPheAlaLeuAlaLeuGluAlaAsn371376LeuAspLeuThrTrpArgAspMetGlnHis381386LeuThrValLeuThrSerLysArgAsnGln391396LeuHisAspGluValHisGlnTrpArgArg401406AsnGlyValGlyLeuGluPheAsnHisLeu411416PheGlyTyrGlyValLeuAspAlaGlyAla421426MetValLysMetAlaLysAspTrpLysThr431436ValProGluArgPheHisCysValGlyGly441446SerValGlnAsnProGluLysIleProPro451456ThrGlyLysLeuValLeuThrLeuLysThr461466AsnAlaCysGluGlyLysGluAsnPheVal471476ArgTyrLeuGluHisValGlnAlaValIle481486ThrValAsnAlaThrArgArgGlyAspLeu491496AsnIleAsnMetThrSerProMetGlyThr501506LysSerIleLeuLeuSerArgArgProArg511516AspAspAspSerLysValGlyPheAspLys521526TrpProPheMetThrThrHisThrTrpGly531536GluAspAlaArgGlyThrTrpThrLeuGlu541546LeuGlyPheValGlySerAlaProGlnLys551556GlyLeuLeuLysGluTrpThrLeuMetLeu561566HisGlyThrGlnSerAlaProTyrIleAsp571576GlnValValArgAspTyrGlnSerLysLeu581586AlaMetSerLysLysGlnGluLeuGluGlu591596GluLeuAspGluAlaValGluArgSerLeu601606GlnSerIleLeuArgLysAsn611(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 6:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 638 amino acids(B) TYPE: amino acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 6:MetLysGlyGlyCysValSerGlnTrpLys21-16AlaAlaAlaGlyPheLeuPheCysValMet11-6ValPheAlaSerAlaGluArgProValPhe15ThrAsnHisPheLeuValGluLeuHisLys1015GlyGlyGluAspLysAlaArgGlnValAla2025AlaGluHisGlyPheGlyValArgLysLeu3035ProPheAlaGluGlyLeuTyrHisPheTyr4045HisAsnGlyLeuAlaLysAlaLysArgArg5055ArgSerLeuHisHisArgGlnGlnLeuGlu6065ArgAspProArgValArgMetAlaLeuGln7075GlnGluGlyPheAspArgLysLysArgGly8085TyrArgAspIleAsnGluIleAspIleAsn9095MetAsnAspProLeuPheThrLysGlnTrp100105TyrLeuIleAsnThrGlyGlnAlaAspGly110115ThrProGlyLeuAspLeuAsnValAlaGlu120125AlaTrpAspLeuGlyTyrThrGlyLysGly130135ValThrIleGlyIleMetAspAspGlyIle140145AspTyrLeuHisProAspLeuAlaSerAsn150155TyrAsnAlaGluAlaSerTyrAspPheSer160165SerAsnAspProTyrProTyrProArgTyr170175ThrAspAspTrpPheAsnSerHisGlyThr180185ArgCysAlaGlyGluValSerAlaAlaAla190195AsnAsnAsnIleCysGlyValGlyValAla200205TyrAsnSerLysValAlaGlyIleArgMet210215LeuAspGlnProPheMetThrAspIleIle220225GluAlaSerSerIleSerHisMetProGln230235LeuIleAspIleTyrSerAlaSerTrpGly240245ProThrAspAsnGlyLysThrValAspGly250255ProArgAspValThrLeuGlnAlaMetAla260265AspGlyValAsnLysGlyArgGlyGlyLys270275GlySerIleTyrValTrpAlaSerGlyAsp280285GlyGlySerTyrAspAspCysAsnCysAsp290295GlyTyrAlaSerSerMetTrpThrIleSer300305IleAsnSerAlaIleAsnAspGlyArgThr310315AlaLeuTyrAspGluSerCysSerSerThr320325LeuAlaSerThrPheSerAsnGlyArgLys330335ArgAsnProGluAlaGlyValAlaThrThr340345AspLeuTyrGlyAsnCysThrLeuArgHis350355SerGlyThrSerAlaAlaAlaProGluAla360365AlaGlyValPheAlaLeuAlaLeuGluAla370375AsnLeuGlyLeuThrTrpArgAspMetGln380385HisLeuThrValLeuThrSerLysArgAsn390395GlnLeuHisAspGluValHisGlnTrpArg400405ArgAsnGlyValGlyLeuGluPheAsnHis410415LeuPheGlyTyrGlyValLeuAspAlaGly420425AlaMetValLysMetAlaLysAspTrpLys430435ThrValProGluArgPheHisCysValGly440445GlySerValGlnAspProGluLysIlePro450455SerThrGlyLysLeuValLeuThrLeuThr460465ThrAspAlaCysGluGlyLysGluAsnPhe470475ValArgTyrLeuGluHisValGlnAlaVal480485IleThrValAsnAlaThrArgArgGlyAsp490495LeuAsnIleAsnMetThrSerProMetGly500505ThrLysSerIleLeuLeuSerArgArgPro510515ArgAspAspAspSerLysValGlyPheAsp520525LysTrpProPheMetThrThrHisThrTrp530535GlyGluAspAlaArgGlyThrTrpThrLeu540545GluLeuGlyPheValGlySerAlaProGln550555LysGlyValLeuLysGluTrpThrLeuMet560565LeuHisGlyThrGlnSerAlaProTyrIle570575AspGlnValValArgAspTyrGlnSerLys580585LeuAlaMetSerLysLysGluGluLeuGlu590595GluGluLeuAspGluAlaValGluArgSer600605LeuLysSerIleLeuAsnLysAsn610(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 621 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleic acid(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 7:AATTCAAAATGAAGGAAGAATTGTGAACTGGAAGCTGATTTTGCACGGGA50CCTCTTCTCAGCCAGAGCATATGAAGCAGCCTCGTGTGTACACGTCCTAC100AACACTGTTCAGAATGACAGAAGAGGGGTGGAGAAGATGGTGGATCCAGG150GGAGGAGCAGCCCACACAAGAGAACCCTAAGGAGAACACCCTGGTGTCCA200AAAGCCCCAGCAGCAGCAGCGTAGGGGGCCGGAGGGATGAGTTGGAGGAG250GGAGCCCCTTCCCAGGCCATGCTGCGACTCCTGCAAAGTGCTTTCAGTAA300AAACTCACCGCCAAAGCAATCACCAAAGAAGTCCCCAAGTGCAAAGCTCA350ACATCCCTTATGAAAACTTCTACGAAGCCCTGGAAAAGCTGAACAAACCT400TCCCAGCTTAAAGACTCTGAAGACAGTCTGTATAATGACTATGTTGATGT450TTTTTATAACACTAAACCTTACAAGCACAGAGACGACCGGCTGCTTCAAG500CTCTGGTGGACATTCTGAATGAGGAAAATTAAAATAAGTGTGTGGTCCCA550AGTTGGAAATATTCATGCTTCTTCCTTACCCTGCGATTTTGCCTGTGTCT600GAAGTGGTTGTTTTGTCATGA621(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 8:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 278 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 8:TGTCGACTGTCAGGACCGAAGCGCTTCACTGAGCGCTCGCCGCCGCCCAG50CCTCTCCTCTCGCGCCTCCTAGCTCTTCGCAGAGCAACCAGGAGCCAGGA100GTGGTCTAGAGCCCGAGGGTGGGAAGGGGGAGTCTGTCTGGCTTTTCTCC150TATCTTGCTTCTTTTTCCTCTTCCCTTCCCACTCTTGTTCAAGCGAGTGT200GTGAGCTATGGAGCGAAGAGCCTGGAGTCTGCAGTGCACTGCTTTCGTCC250TCTTTTGCGCTTGGTGTGCACTGAACAG278(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 727 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 9:AATTCTTATGCTTATAATATCCTTTGTGGCACCTTTTCTTTTTCTCCCTA50AACTGTACATGTGAAGGGGATGAGCTCAAGCAGGAAGTTCAACTTCCAGA100ATTGATCATAGGTATTTCAAAACACATCTTTCCTGTCTGCACAAGTGAAG150TGTTTTGTTCTTTCTGGAGTCACAGTTGACAAAAAGCTCTTACACTACAT200TAGAACACTGCATTAGAGCCCATTTCAATTCTCAAAAGAAAAGGCAAAAC250CTGGGATATCAATTAATTTGAAAACATAATCTGCAAAGAATGAGAAGGAG300TCAGAAACTGTTTCTGTAGCTTGTTCCCTGTCTTGTCCATGTGGTTCTTC350AAATTTTGATGCCAAGAAAGTATTTGGTAGGCCTAATGAAGGAGTTCACT400GTAAGACTCATTCCCTAGATCTTTCTATTCCAAAGTGCCACTCATTCCTG450TAGTCAAAATCTGGTCATGTTGGTCAAAAGCCTGGATTATTTAGATCTAG500AAACAGATCTTGAAATCTGAATGCTCTGGTTTGAGCAATTTTCGAACATT550CTTTGCCTGGTGCACTGTGTCTGTGGTGCCAGAGGCGTCCGTGGATCCAG600AGGTGGTTATGACTCGTGCTGCATGCCTGGTCTTTCCTCTGTTTCTCCTT650CTGAAAGTTTTCTATACCTGTCTCCTTTCTCAGCCACAAAATAAATGTTG700GGAGAAATGATATATACCACTTTCCCA727(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 10:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 27 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 10:CAGCCTGGTTAAGTCCAAGCTGAATTC27(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 11:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 22 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 11:CCTTCGAGACCTTCTGGGGTGG22(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 12:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 22 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 12:CTGTTCAGTGCACACCAAGCGC22(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 13:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 27 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 13:CATGGAGCGAAGAGCCTGGAGTCTGCA27(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 14:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 19 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 14:GACTCCAGGCTCTTCGCTC19(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 15:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 15:GATCCACGCGTCCCGGGGGTACCATGGAT29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 16:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 27 bases(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 16:CGATCCATGGTACCCCCGGGACGCGTG27(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 17:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 17:CAGGATCCAAAAGGCAATTTGTCAATGAATGGG33(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 18:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 18:TTGAATTCTTATAGTGCTGAGTCCCTTAGAGC32(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 19:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 19:GTGGATCCTCAGCTCTAAGGGACTCAGCA29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 20:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 20:TCGAATTCTTAGGAATATTCAATTGTTGCTTC32(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 21:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 21:GTGGATCCGATGAGTTGGAGGAGGGAGCC29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 22:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 22:CAGAATTCTTAATTTTCCTCATTCAGAAT29(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 23:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 26 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 23:CGGGATCCGAGAGACCCGTCTTCACG26(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 24:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 24:CAGAATTCTTACTCATTGATGTCCCTGTACCC32(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 25:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 30 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 25:AACCCGGGAGGGTACAGGGACATCAATGAG30(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 26:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 32 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 26:CAGAATTCTTACTCATTGATGTCCCTGTACCC32(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 27:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 28 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 27:CGGAATTCTAGTTCTTTCTCAGGATACT28(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 28:(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:(A) LENGTH: 29 base pairs(B) TYPE: nucleotide(C) STRANDEDNESS: single(D) TOPOLOGY: linear(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 28:CCGGATCCGGCACCAAGTCCATTTTGCTG29__________________________________________________________________________

Claims

1. A nucleic acid having the nucleotidic sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 and wherein nucleotides 208 to 2466 encode human prohormone convertase 1 (hPC1).

2. A recombinant vaccinia virus consisting of a nucleic acid as defined in claim 1 inserted in pTM1 vector and recombined with a vaccinia virus having a .beta.-Galactosidase gene, in such a way that the .beta.-Galactosidase gene is removed and having the ATCC number VR-2589.

3. A kit for detecting and/or measuring the amount of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 1, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one pair of oligonucleotides, said pair being selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17/18, 17/20, 17/22, 19/20, 19/22 and 21/22, said pair of oligonucleotides being used as primers to amplify segments of said nucleic acids which are terminated by each member of said pair.

4. A kit for detection of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 1, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one oligonucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17-22, said oligonucleotide being labelled, said label being born by said oligonucleotide or by a first reaction reactive member present on a ligand to said oligonucleotide, said first reactive member reacting with a second reacting member present on said oligonucleotide.

5. A kit for detection of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 1, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one probe which is selected from the amplified segments of claim 4.

6. A kit for detecting and/or measuring the amount of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 2, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one pair of oligonucleotides, said pair being selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 23/24, 23/26, 23/28, 25/26, 25/28 and 27/28, said pair of oligonucleotides being used as primers to amplify segments of said nucleic acids which are terminated by each member of said pair.

7. A kit for detection of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 2, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one oligonucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 23 to 28, said oligonucleotide being labelled, said label being born by said oligonucleotide or by a first reactive member present on a ligand to said oligonucleotide, said first reactive member reacting with a second reacting member present on said oligonucleotide.

8. A kit for detection of nucleic acids encoding pro-hormone convertase 2, preferably mRNAs, in cultured cells or in tissues of different species comprising at least one probe which is selected from the amplified segments of claim 6.

9. An isolated and purified nucleic acid encoding human pro-hormone convertase 1 (hPC1).

10. A recombinant expression vector comprising the nucleic acid of claim 9 inserted in an expression vector.

11. A recombinant expression vector according to claim 10, wherein said expression vector is selected from group consisting of pVV, pMJ601, pMJ602 and pTM1.

12. An oligonucleotide having a nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 17 to 22.

13. An oligonucleotide having the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 23-28.