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AssigneeCold Spring Harbor Laboratory
InventorsDavid H. Beach, Douglas J. Demetrick, Manuel Serrano, Gregory J. Hannon
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The present invention relates to the discovery in eukaryotic cells, particularly mammalian cells, of a novel family of cell-cycle regulatory proteins ("CCR-proteins"). As described herein, this family of proteins is characterized by four ankyrin repeats and the ability to bind to a cyclin dependent kinase (CDK). The family includes a polypeptide having an apparent molecular weight of 16 kDa, and a polypeptide having an apparent molecular weight of approximately 15 kDa, each of which can function as an inhibitor of cell-cycle progression, and therefore ultimately of cell growth. Thus, similar to the role of p21 to the p53 checkpoint, the subject CCR-proteins may function coordinately with the cell-cycle regulatory protein, retinoblastoma (RB).
A diagnostic assay for identifying a cell or cells at risk for a disorder characterized by unwanted cell proliferation or differentiation, in a cell sample, by determining the phenotype of a cell comprising detecting the presence or absence of a genetic lesion characterized by at least one of (i) aberrant modification or mutation of a gene encoding a CDK-inhibitory protein, and (ii) mis-expression of said gene;
A method for determining the phenotype of a cell comprising detecting the presence or absence of a genetic lesion characterized by at least one of (i) aberrant modification or mutation of a gene encoding a CDK-inhibitory protein, and (ii) mis-expression of said gene;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.