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Stem Cell Related Patent Number US6040149
Title: | Assay for identifying agents which act on the ceramide-activated protein kinase, kinase suppressor of ras, and methods of using said agents | Inventors: | Kolesnick, Richard N.; New York, NY, USA | Summary: | Described herein are novel methods of identifying agents capable of inhibiting lipopolysaccharide induced threonine phosphorylation by a ceramide-activated protein kinase. The invention relates to a purified membrane-bound ceramide-activated protein kinase and a process for determining whether an agent is capable of specifically inhibiting the phosphorylation activity of the ceramide-activated protein kinase. Claims of the invention include therapeutic applications in the treatment of inflammatory disorders, HIV, disorders associated with poor stem cell growth, and in the treatment of lipopolysaccharide-related disorders. | Abstract: | The subject invention provides a purified membrane-bound ceramide-activated protein kinase having an apparent molecular weight of about 110 kD as determined by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which protein kinase is capable of specifically phosphorylating the threonine residue in a Thr-Pro- or a Thr-Leu-Pro-containing polypeptide. The subject invention also provides a method of determining whether an agent is capable of specifically inhibiting the phosphorylation activity of the ceramide-activated protein kinase. The subject invention further provides a method of determining whether an agent is capable of specifically stimulating the phosphorylation activity of the ceramide-activated protein kinase. The subject invention further provides a method of treating a subject having an inflammatory disorder. The subject invention further provides a method of treating a human subject infected with HIV so as to reduce the proliferation of HIV in the human subject. The subject invention further provides a method of treating a subject having a disorder associated with poor stem cell growth. The subject invention further provides a method of determining whether an agent is capable of specifically inhibiting the ability of lipopolysaccharide to stimulate the phosphorylation activity of the ceramide-activated protein kinase of the subject invention. Finally, the subject invention provides a method of treating a subject suffering from a lipopolysaccharide-related disorder. | US Patent Website: | Click Here for Full Text of Patent | Title Number: | US6040149 | Application Number: | US1997000785247 | Date Filed: | 10/01/1997 | Date Published: | 21/03/2000 | Assignee: | Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA |
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