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AssigneeChildren's Hospital Los Angeles
InventorsJohn Groffen, Nora Heisterkamp, Paul K. Pattengale
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The present invention relates to non-human transgenic animals which contain a transgene comprising a BCR/ABL gene fusion and which develop leukemia. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transgenic animals exhibit a rapid induction of acute leukemia. The present invention offers the advantage of providing, for the first time, a non-human transgenic animal model system which carries the BCR/ABL gene fusion characteristic of the Philadelphia chromosome and which develops leukemia in a manner directly analogous to the clinical progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and/or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in humans. This model system for human leukemia may be valuable in obtaining a better understanding of CML and ALL and in developing effective therapeutic regimens.
A transgenic mouse which carries a BCR/C-ABL transgene that comprises at least the first exon of a BCR gene and a functional portion of a c-ABL gene under the control of a metallothionine promoter sequence in its somatic and germ cells, whereby said BCR/c-ABL transgene is expressed in its bone marrow cells and is effective for promoting a leukemia in said mouse.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.