Methods of Inhibiting Gonad Maturation
AssigneeUniversity of Nordland
InventorsIgor Babiak, Reid Hole
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of inhibiting maturation of the gonads of a juvenile animal which comprises administering to said juvenile animal an immunologically active molecule (IAM) or a vector comprising nucleic acid encoding an immunologically active molecule, said IAM being specific for a target protein within the gonads and binding thereto or causing an immune response against that target protein, and thereby inhibiting maturation of the gonads, as well as molecules of use in such methods.
Claims16
A method of inhibiting maturation of the gonads of both male and female juvenile fish which comprises:
- administering to said juvenile fish an antigenic peptide or a vector comprising nucleic acid encoding an antigenic peptide, said antigenic peptide being a fragment of a target protein within the gonads or corresponding to a short antigenic region of said target protein, and
- causing an immune response against that target protein and thereby inhibiting maturation of the gonads, wherein said antigenic peptide inhibits the maturation of gonads in both males and females.
-6. (canceled)
The method of 1, wherein said target protein is a-kinase anchoring protein 4 (AKAP4), outer dense fiber of sperm tail gene 3 (odf3), IB bone morphogenetic protein receptor (Alk6b), mannose 6-phosphate receptor (M6PR), lymphocyte antigen 75 (CD205/Ly75), rhamnose binding lectin 1 (STL1), rhamnose binding lectin 2 (STL2), Connexin43 (Cx43), testis-specific protein 1 (Tpx-1/CRISP2), insulin-like growth factor 3 (IGF3), growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9), gonadal soma-derived growth factor (GSDF), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin α subunit (inhα ), bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), riboflavin carrier protein (RCP), or sperm associated antigen (1→8) (SPAG8).
-15. (canceled)
A peptide of 10 to 40 amino acids in length, comprising or consisting of a peptide as defined in Table 1 or 2 herein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.