Human desaturase gene and uses thereof
AssigneeAbbott Laboratories
InventorsPradip Mukerji, Amanda Eun-Yeong Leonard, Yung-Sheng Huang, Jennifer M. Parker-Barnes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The subject invention relates to the identification of a gene involved in the desaturation of polyunsaturated fatty acids at carbon 5 (i.e., “human Δ5-desaturase”) and to uses thereof. In particular, human Δ5-desaturase may be utilized, for example, in the conversion of dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA) to arachidonic acid (AA) and in the conversion of 20:4n-3 to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). AA or polyunsaturated fatty acids produced therefrom may be added to pharmaceutical compositions, nutritional compositions, animal feeds, as well as other products such as cosmetics.
Claims6
A method for producing a polyunsaturated fatty acid comprising the steps of:
- a) isolating said nucleotide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:1 (FIG. 12);
- b) constructing a vector comprising said isolated nucleotide sequence;
- c) introducing said vector into a host cell under time and conditions sufficient for expression of said human Δ5-desaturase enzyme;
- and
- d) exposing said expressed human Δ5-desaturase enzyme to a substrate polyunsaturated fatty acid in order to convert said substrate to a product polyunsaturated fatty acid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.