Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Enzyme – proenzyme; compositions thereof; process for... – Oxidoreductase
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-08
2003-01-28
Achutamurthy, Ponnathapu (Department: 1652)
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Enzyme , proenzyme; compositions thereof; process for...
Oxidoreductase
C435S252300, C435S320100, C536S023200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06511834
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The oxidation and reduction of molecules is of critical importance in most metabolic and catabolic pathways in cells. A large family of enzymes which facilitate these molecular alterations, termed dehydrogenases, have been identified. In the forward reaction, these enzymes catalyze the transfer of a hydride ion from the target substrate to the enzyme or a cofactor of the enzyme (e.g., NAD
+
or NADP
+
), thereby forming a carbonyl group on the substrate. These enzymes are also able to participate in the reverse reaction, wherein a carbonyl group on the target molecule is reduced by the transfer of a hydride group from the enzyme. Members of the dehydrogenase family are found in nearly all organisms, from microbes to Drosophila to humans. Both between species and within the same species, dehydrogenases vary widely, and structural similarities between distant dehydrogenase family members are most frequently found in the cofactor binding site of the enzyme. Even within a particular subclass of dehydrogenase molecules, e.g., the short-chain dehydrogenase molecules, members typically display only 15-30% amino acid sequence identity, and this is limited to the cofactor binding site and the catalytic site (Jornvall et al. (1995)
Biochemistry
34:6003-6013).
Different classes of dehydrogenases are specific for an array of biological and chemical substrates. For example, there exist dehydrogenases specific for alcohols, for aldehydes, for steroids, and for lipids, with particularly important classes of dehydrogenases including the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductases, the medium-chain dehydrogenases, the aldehyde dehydrogenases, the alcohol dehydrogenases, and the steroid dehydrogenases. Within each of these classes, each enzyme is specific for a particular substrate (e.g., ethanol or isopropanol, but not both with equivalent affinity). This exquisite specificity not only permits tight regulation of the metabolic and catabolic pathways in which these enzymes participate, without affecting similar but separate biochemical pathways in the same cell or tissue. The short-chain dehydrogenases, part of the alcohol oxidoreductase superfamily (Reid et al. (1994)
Crit. Rev. Microbiol
. 20:13-56), are Zn
++
-independent enzymes with an N-terminal cofactor binding site and a C-terminal catalytic domain (Persson et al. (1995)
Adv. Exp. Med. Biol
. 372:383-395; Jornvall et al.(1995) supra), whereas the medium chain dehydrogenases are Zn
++
-dependent enzymes with an N-terminal catalytic domain and a C-terminal coenzyme binding domain (Jor nvall et al.(l 995) supra; Jomvall et al. (1999)
FEBS Lett
. 445:261-264). The steroid dehydrogenases are a subclass of the short-chain dehydrogenases, and are known to be involved in a variety of biochemical pathways, affecting mammalian reproduction, hypertension, neoplasia, and digestion (Duax et al. (2000)
Vitamins and Hormones
58:121-148). Aldehyde dehydrogenases show heterogeneity in the placement of these domains, and also heterogeneity in their substrates, which include toxic substances, retinoic acid, betaine, biogenic amine, and neurotransmitters (Hsu et al. (1997)
Gene
189:89-94). It is common in higher organisms for different dehydrogenase molecules to be expressed in different tissues, according to the localization of the substrate for which the enzyme is specific. For example, different mammalian aldehyde dehydrogenases are localized to different tissues, e.g., salivary gland, stomach, and kidney (Hsu et al. (1997) supra).
Dehydrogenases play important roles in the production and breakdown of nearly all major metabolic intermediates, including amino acids, vitamins, energy molecules (e.g., glucose, sucrose, and their breakdown products), signal molecules (e.g., transcription factors and neurotransmitters), and nucleic acids. As such, their activity contributes to the ability of the cell to grow and differentiate, to proliferate, and to communicate and interact with other cells. Dehydrogenases also are important in the detoxification of compounds to which the organism is exposed, such as alcohols, toxins, carcinogens, and mutagens.
A dehydrogenase of the short-chain family, 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, activates glucocorticoids in the liver. Glucocorticoids are known to induce transcription of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genes, probably by direct binding of the ligand-glucocorticoid receptor complex to an enhancer element in the HBV genome. There is also evidence that short chain dehydrogenases are transcriptional cofactors for retrovirus gene activation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is based, at least in part, on the discovery of novel members of the family of dehydrogenase molecules, referred to herein as DHDR nucleic acid and protein molecules (e.g., DHDR-1, DHDR-2, DHDR-3, and DHDR-4). The DHDR nucleic acid and protein molecules of the present invention are useful as modulating agents in regulating a variety of cellular processes, e.g., viral infection, cellular proliferation, growth, differentiation, or migration. Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding DHDR proteins or biologically active portions thereof, as well as nucleic acid fragments suitable as primers or hybridization probes for the detection of DHDR-encoding nucleic acids.
In one embodiment, a DHDR nucleic acid molecule of the invention is at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more identical to the nucleotide sequence (e.g., to the entire length of the nucleotide sequence) shown in SEQ ID NO:1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, or 12, or the nucleotide sequence of the DNA insert of the plasmid deposited with ATCC as Accession Number PTA-1845 or PTA-3216, or a complement thereof.
In a preferred embodiment, the isolated nucleic acid molecule includes the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, or 12, or a complement thereof. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:3 and nucleotides 1-62 of SEQ ID NO:1. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:6 and nucleotides 1-330 of SEQ ID NO:4. In yet another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:9 and nucleotides 1-280 of SEQ ID NO:7. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:12 and nucleotides 1-60 of SEQ ID NO:10. In yet a further embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:3 and nucleotides 2472-2660 of SEQ ID NO:1. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:6 and nucleotides 1267-1379 of SEQ ID NO:4. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:9 and nucleotides 1391-1725 of SEQ ID NO:7. In another embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes SEQ ID NO:12 and nucleotides 1030-1209 of SEQ ID NO:10. In another preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule consists of the nucleotide sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, or 12.
In another embodiment, a DHDR nucleic acid molecule includes a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein having an amino acid sequence sufficiently identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, 5, 8, or 11, or an amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA insert of the plasmid deposited with ATCC as Accession Number PTA-1845 or PTA-3216. In a preferred embodiment, a DHDR nucleic acid molecule includes a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein having an amino acid sequence at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or more identical to the entire length of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2, 5, 8, or 11, or the amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA insert of the plasmid deposited with ATCC as Accession Number PTA-1845 or PTA-3216.
In another preferred embodiment, an isolated nucleic acid molecule encodes the amino acid sequence of human DHDR-1, DHDR-2, DHDR-3, or DHDR-4. In yet another preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule includes a nucleotide sequence encoding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2,
Cook William James
Meyers Rachel
Achutamurthy Ponnathapu
Laccotripe Zacharakis Maria
Lahive & Cockfield LLP
Mandragouras Esq. Amy E.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc.
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