Tetracycline regulated transcriptional modulators with altered DNA binding specificities

Abstract

Isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding fusion proteins which regulate transcription in eukaryotic cells are disclosed. The fusion proteins of the invention comprise a Tet repressor having at least one amino acid mutation that confers on the fusion protein an ability to bind a class B tet operator sequence having a nucleotide substitution at position +4 or +6, operatively linked to a polypeptide which regulates transcription in eukaryotic cells. Methods for regulating transcription of a tet operator-linked gene in a cell are also provided. In one embodiment, the method involves introducing into the cell a nucleic acid molecule encoding a fusion protein which regulates transcription, the fusion protein comprising a Tet repressor having at least one amino acid mutation that confers on the fusion protein an ability to bind a class B tet operator sequence having a nucleotide substitution at position +4 or +6, operatively linked to a polypeptide which regulates transcription in eukaryotic cells, and modulating the concentration of a tetracycline, or analogue thereof, in contact with the cell.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.