5599906 Protease assays

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PATENT ABSTRACTS

5599906 P R O T E A S E ASSAYS Dasmahapatra Bimalendu Nutley, N J, UNITED STATES Assigned to Schering Corporation Hybrid regulatory proteins are provided which contain amino acid sequences that are susceptible to cleavage by specific proteolytic enzymes. When acted upon by such enzymes, the hybrid regulatory proteins are rendered substantially less active, thereby altering the rate of production of products of indicator genes that are controlled by the regulatory proteins. Also provided are DNAs encoding such regulatory proteins, recombinant vectors and transformed eukaryotic cells containing such DNAs, and methods for identifying inhibitors of the specific proteolytic enzymes.

5599918 N U C L E I C ACIDS E N C O D I N G TROPHININ AND TROPHININ-ASSISTING PROTEINS Fukuda Michiko San Diego, CA, UNITED STATES Assigned to La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation The present invention provides substantially purified mammalian trophinin which can mediate cell adhesion. The invention also provides substantially purified trophinin-assisting proteins, which interact with trophinin to mediate cell adhesion. The invention also provides antibodies that are specifically reactive with trophinin or a trophinin-assisting protein. The invention further provides a nucleic acid molecule encoding trophinin or a trophinin-assisting protein, vectors containing the nucleic acid molecules and host cells containing the vectors. The invention also provides a nucleotide sequence that can hybridize to a nucleic acid molecule encoding trophinin or a trophinin-assisting protein. The invention further provides methods to detect trophinin or a trophinin-assisting protein or a nucleic acid molecule encoding trophinin or a trophinin-assisting protein in a sample. The invention also provides methods of effecting cell adhesion by modifying cells to express trophinin

or a trophinin-assisting protein. The invention further provides trophinin antagonists and methods to reduce or inhibit cell adhesion. The method further provides methods to treat cells with trophinin agonists resulting in increased cell adhesion.

5599922 O L I G O N U C L E O T I D E N3'-P5' PHOSPHORAMIDAT Gryaznov Sergei M; Schultz Ronald G; Chen Jer-kan San Mateo, CA, UNITED STATES Assigned to Lynx Therapeutics Inc Modified oligonucleotide 3'-NHP(O)(O-)O-5' phosphoramidates were synthesized on a solid phase support. The phosphoramidate analogs were found to have significantly increased resistance toward phosphodiesterase digestion. Thermal dissociation experiments demonstrated that these compounds form more stable duplexes than phosphediesters with complementary DNA and particularly RNA strands. Further, the phosphoramidate analogs can also form stable triplexes with double-stranded DNA target, where under similar conditions parent phosphodiester compounds failed to do so.

5601720 CONTROLLING A F E R M E N T A T I O N PLANT Schmid Walter CH Opfikon, SWITZERLAND Controlling a fermentation plant working with a horizontal fermentor which operates per the regenerative flow process is particularly difficult, if there is a high proportion of dry substance. Biogenic decomposition in the fermentor was thus far influenced merely by recycling a portion of the ferment from the outlet to the fermentor entrance. According to the invention, the process of control is enhanced by the measurement of the pH and the dry substance portion at various points in the fermentor and controlling the fermentor on the basis of these measurements in such a way that the measurement data lie within certain established ranges. It is additionally possible, moreover, to adjust the pH and the portion of dry