MATRIPTASE, A SERINE PROTEASE AND ITS APPLICATIONS

• Main Authors: DICKSON, ROBERT B, LIN, CHEN-YONG, ENYEDY, ISTVAN, JOHNSON, MICHAEL, WANG, SHAOMENG
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 12.12.2001
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL ORENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES; 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; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEICACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; ORGANIC CHEMISTRY; PEPTIDES; PHYSICS; PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR TOILET PURPOSES; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS ORMEDICINAL PREPARATIONS; SPIRITS; TESTING; VINEGAR; WINE

The invention is directed to a method of detecting a malignancy or a pre-malignant lesion in breast or other tissue, or a pathologic condition, by detecting the presence of single-chain or two-chain forms of matriptase in the tissue. The invention is further directed to a method of treating malignancies, which have the phenotype of matriptase production by administering a tumor formation inhibiting effective amount of concentrate of Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBIC), or other matriptase inhibitor. The invention also is directed to nucleic acids encoding a matriptase protein or fragments thereof, and their use for structure elucidation and modeling to identify other inhibitors of matriptase, as well as to methods of identifying matriptase modulating agents, including activators and inhibitors.