Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and – Nonhuman animal – Transgenic nonhuman animal
Reexamination Certificate
1995-06-05
2001-10-09
Crouch, Deborah (Department: 1632)
Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and
Nonhuman animal
Transgenic nonhuman animal
C800S003000, C800S012000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06300540
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease known generally as senile dementia. Broadly speaking the disease falls into two categories, namely late onset and early onset. Late onset, which occurs in old age (65+years), may be caused by the natural atrophy of the brain occurring at a faster rate and to a more severe degree than normal. Early onset Alzheimer's disease is much more infrequent but shows a pathologically identical dementia with diffuse brain atrophy which develops well before the senile period, i.e., between the ages of 35 and 60 years. There is evidence that one form of this type of Alzheimer's disease shows a tendency to run in families and is therefore known as familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD).
In both types of Alzheimer's disease the pathology is the same but the abnormalities tend to be more severe and more widespread in cases beginning at an earlier age. The disease is characterized by two types of lesions in the brain, these are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
Senile plaques are areas of disorganized neuropil up to 150 &mgr;m across with extracellular amyloid deposits at the center. Neurofibrillary tangles are intracellular deposits of amyloid protein consisting of two filaments twisted about each other in pairs.
The major protein subunit, &bgr;-amyloid protein, of the amyloid filaments of the senile plaque is a highly aggregating small polypeptide of approximate relative molecular mass 4,500. This protein is a cleavage product of a much larger precursor protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP).
At present there is no known effective therapy for the various forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there are several other forms of dementia for which treatment is available and which give rise to progressive intellectual deterioration closely resembling the dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease. A diagnostic test for AD would therefore provide a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of these other conditions, by way of being able to exclude Alzheimer's disease. It will also be of value when a suitable therapy does become available.
Also important is the development of experimental models of Alzheimer's disease that can be used to define further the underlying biochemical events involved in AD pathogenesis. Such models could presumably be employed, in one application, to screen for agents that alter the degenerative course of Alzheimer's disease. For example, a model system of Alzheimer's disease could be used to screen for environmental factors that induce or accelerate the pathogenesis of AD. In contradistinction, an experimental model could be used to screen for agents that inhibit, prevent, or reverse the progression of AD. Presumably, such models could be employed to develop pharmaceuticals that are effective in preventing, arresting, or reversing AD.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides model systems of Alzheimer's disease, wherein the model system comprises a DNA sequence encoding an arnyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In a first embodiment, the present invention provides an isolated DNA sequence that encodes an amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In a second embodiment, the present invention provides a transgenic nonhuman animal that harbors at least one integrated copy of a human DNA sequence that encodes an amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In a third embodiment, the present invention provides a transgenic nonhuman animal wherein at least one of the endogenous nonhuman APP alleles has been completely or partially replaced by all or a portion of a human APP gene that includes a codon 717 that does not encode valine.
In a fourth embodiment, the present invention provides cells, typically mammalian cells and preferably mammalian cells of the neural, glial, or astrocytic lineage, that have been transformed or transfected with a heterologous DNA sequence, or have been derived from a transgenic nonhuman animal, wherein the cells express an amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770. In accordance with standard protocols, cultured human cells, either primary cultures or immortalized cell lines, may be transfected, either transiently or stably, with a mutant APP allele so that the cultured human cell expresses a mutant APP polypeptide.
In a fifth embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing transgenic nonhuman animals and transformed cells that contain a DNA sequence encoding an amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In a sixth embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing, free from other human proteins, a human amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In a seventh embodiment, the present invention provides a human amyloid precursor protein (APP) isoform or fragment, free from other human proteins, that has an amino acid other than valine at the amino acid position corresponding to amino acid residue position 717 of APP770.
In an eighth embodiment, the invention provides a method for detecting an APP allele that is linked (i.e., cosegregates with) a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease, particularly early onset AD, wherein such a pathognomonic APP allele is detected by determining that codon 717 of the allele does not encode valine, Preferably, a pathognomonic APP allele is detected when codon 717 is determined to encode either isoleucine, glycine, or phenylalanine. Thus, methods for locating the presence of genetic alterations associated with Alzheimer's disease are provided. This diagnostic method may be used to predict the development of the disease prior to onset, for genetic screening, or to detect a specific mutation in an experimental nonhuman animal or a cell.
In a ninth embodiment, the invention provides a human variant APP polypeptide free of other human proteins, typically present in a cell of a nonhuman animal. The invention also relates to an isolated nucleic acid encoding such a polypeptide and to uses and applications of such nucleic acid as are described above in relation to the specific embodiment of the invention which involves an amino acid substitution at position 717 (as defined in relation to APP770).
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method for detecting the presence, in a nucleic acid or other sample removed from a subject, of the gene for Alzheimer's disease comprising identifying a genetic alteration in a gene sequence coding for APP. Such genetic alterations may include mutations, insertions or deletions.
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Chartier-Harlin Marie-Christine
Goate Alison Mary
Hardy John Anthony
Mullan Michael John
Owen Michael John
Crouch Deborah
Elan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
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