INTERFERON TAU MUTANTS AND METHODS FOR MAKING THEM

• Main Authors: SHORTS, LYNNETTE H, PONTZER, CAROL H, CLARK, CHRISTINA DANCZ
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 28.12.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CULTURE MEDIA; ENZYMOLOGY; FERMENTATION OR ENZYME-USING PROCESSES TO SYNTHESISE A DESIREDCHEMICAL COMPOUND OR COMPOSITION OR TO SEPARATE OPTICAL ISOMERSFROM A RACEMIC MIXTURE; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PEPTIDES; PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS ORMEDICINAL PREPARATIONS; SPIRITS; VINEGAR; WINE

The present invention is directed to the field of animal and human health, and more particularly to pharmacological uses of analogs or mutants of interferon-tau (IFN- tau ) that differ from native IFN- tau because of substitutions of amino acids near the amino terminus of the IFN- tau molecule that impart improved biological activity. The IFN- tau mutants described in this disclosure have low toxicity, retain the same or slightly reduced antiviral activity compared with highly effective IFN-alpha, and have enhanced antiproliferative activity compared to native IFN-tau, making them useful in treating viral infections, cancer, and immune system diseases including autoimmune diseases. The present invention is also directed to a method for making novel recombinant proteins, especially interferons, interleukins, and cytokines, polypeptide hormones and other biopharmaceuticals that have improved biological activity over known proteins and/or lower toxicity and/or increased stability.