Inventors:
Kevin Michael MCCARTHY - Haverhill MA, US
Robin Allison Heller-Harrison - Andover MA, US
Mark William Leonard - Manchester NH, US
Timothy Shea Charlebois - Andover MA, US
International Classification:
A01K 67/00, C07K 2/00, C12N 5/10, C07H 21/00, C07H 21/04, C12N 15/74
US Classification:
800 13, 530300, 536 231, 435358, 536 245, 536 235, 536 241, 4353201
Abstract:
The present invention is based on the discovery that the transcriptional activity of both hamster mammary tumor 7 (HMT-7) and hamster layilin genes are increased when Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are cultured at temperatures lower than 37° C. The present invention provides novel genomic, cDNA, and protein sequences of HMT-7 and a novel genomic sequence for hamster layilin. Included in the genomic sequences are novel temperature-induced promoter sequences for each; two promoter sequences are provided for HMT-7 and one promoter sequence is provided for layilin. The invention additionally provides antisense and siRNA molecules to the nucleic acid molecules of HMT-7. The invention also provides genetically engineered expression vectors comprising the novel temperature-induced promoters of the invention, which are particularly useful as part of a mammalian temperature-inducible expression system. The invention also provides host cells and/or transgenic animals comprising the novel nucleic acid molecules of the invention. The invention further provides methods of using the polynucleotides of the invention, e.g., for temperature-induced transgene expression.