Claims
- 1]. An isolated nucleic acid encoding a mammalian Bok protein.
- 2]. The isolated nucleic acid according to claim 1, wherein said Bok protein comprises the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:4, SEQ ID NO:6 or SEQ ID NO:8.
- 3]. The isolated nucleic acid according to claim 1, wherein said Bok protein is a BH3i variant protein.
- 4]. An isolated nucleic acid comprising at least 18 contiguous nucleotides of the sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:5 or SEQ ID NO:7.
- 5]. An isolated nucleic acid that hybridizes under stringent conditions to the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO:5 or SEQ ID NO:7.
- 6]. An isolated nucleic acid encoding a BH3i variant of a pro-apoptotic Bok related protein.
- 7]. The isolated nucleic acid of claim 6, wherein said pro-apoptotic Bok related protein is Bak or Bax.
- 8]. An expression cassette comprising a transcriptional initiation region functional in an expression host and operably linked to a nucleic acid having a sequence of the isolated nucleic acid according to claim 1.
- 9]. A cell comprising an expression cassette according to claim 8 as part of an extrachromosomal element or integrated into the genome of a host cell as a result of introduction of said expression cassette into said host cell, and the cellular progeny of said host cell.
- 10]. A method for producing pro-apoptotic protein, said method comprising:
growing a cell according to claim 9, whereby said protein is expressed; and isolating said protein free of other proteins.
- 11]. A purified polypeptide composition comprising at least 50% of the protein present as a Bok protein or a fragment thereof.
- 12]. A purified polypeptide composition comprising at least 50% of the protein present as a BH3i variant of a pro-apoptotic Bok related protein.
- 13]. A monoclonal antibody binding specifically to a Bok protein.
- 14]. A non-human transgenic animal model for Bok gene function wherein said transgenic animal comprises an introduced alteration in a Bok gene.
- 15]. A method of inducing apoptosis in a susceptible cell population, the method comprising:
upregulating expression of Bok or a BH3i variant of a pro-apoptotic Bok related protein in said cell population; wherein apoptosis is induced.
- 16]. The method of claim 15, wherein said susceptible cell population comprises reproductive tissue.
- 17]. The method of claim 15, wherein said upregulating step comprises induction of expression of an endogenous Bok gene.
- 18]. The method of claim 15, wherein said upregulating step comprises introduction and expression of an exogenous Bok coding sequence.
- 19]. The method of claim 15, wherein said upregulating step comprises introduction and expression of an exogenous coding sequence for a BH3i variant of a pro-apoptotic Bok related protein.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/517,358 filed Mar. 2, 2000, which is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/186,250 filed Nov. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,055 issued on Mar. 28, 2000, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60,064,943 filed Nov. 7, 1997.
FEDERAL RESEARCH STATEMENT
[0002] [Federal Research Statement Paragraph] This invention was made with Government support under Grant no. HDawarded by the National Institutes of Health. The Government may have certain rights in this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60064943 |
Nov 1997 |
US |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09186250 |
Nov 1998 |
US |
Child |
09517358 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09517358 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09682667 |
Oct 2001 |
US |