Ligand for the c-kit receptor and methods of use thereof
OwnerPeter Besmer, Karl Nocka +1inventors
InventorsPETER BESMER, KARL NOCKA, JOCHEN BUCK
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Abstract
This invention provides an isolated nucleic acid molecule which encodes an amino acid sequence corresponding to a c-kit ligand (KL) and a purified c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide, or a soluble fragment thereof. A pharmaceutical composition which comprises the c-kit ligand (KL) purified by applicants or produced by applicants' recombinant methods and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is further provided as well as methods of treating patients which comprise administering to the patient the pharmaceutical composition of this invention.
Claims45
An isolated nucleic acid molecule which encodes an amino acid sequence corresponding to a c-kit ligand (KL).
A host vector system of claim 13, wherein the eucaryotic cell is a mammalian cell.
An isolated c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide.
A soluble, mutated, c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide wherein the biological activity mediated by the binding of the ligand to the receptor is destroyed.
A method for measuring the biological activity of a c-kit (KL) polypeptide which comprises:
- a) incubating normal bone-marrow mast cells with a sample of the c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide under suitable conditions such that the proliferation of the normal bone-marrow mast cells are induce ;
- b) incubating doubly mutant bone-marrow mast cells with a sample of the c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide under suitable conditions;
- c) incubating a. and b. with 3H-thymidine;
- d) determining the amount of thymidine incorporated into the DNA of the normal bone-marrow mast cells and the doubly mutant bone-marrow mast cells;
- and
- e) comparing the amount of incorporation of thymidine into the normal bone-marrow mast cells against the amount of corporation of thymidine into doubly mutant bone-marrow mast cells, thereby measuring the bioligical activity of c-kit ligand (KL) polypeptide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.