The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 03, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 26, 1996
Adrienne Sue Gordon, Kensington, CA (US);
Ivan Diamond, Berkeley, CA (US);
Doug Paul Dohrman, San Francisco, CA (US);
Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, Emeryville, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to determinable effects of ethanol exposure on the cellular localization and abundance of specific proteins, referred to herein as ethanol indicative proteins. More specifically, the present invention is based, in part, on the discovery that the catalytic C&agr; subunit of cAMP dependent protein kinase (PKA), which is normally localized in the Golgi apparatus area, appears to translocate to the nucleus upon exposure of a cell to ethanol. The present invention is further based on the observation that the &dgr;-subunit of PKC translocates from the Golgi area to the perinucleus and the nucleus in response to ethanol exposure, while the &egr;-subunit of PKC migrates from the perinucleus into the cytoplasm. The present invention further relates to the discovery that the detectable amount of the regulatory subunit RI of PKA decreases, while the detectable amount of &agr;PKC, &dgr;PKC and &egr;PKC increases upon exposure of a cell to ethanol. These discoveries provide the basis for assays that may be used to detect the exposure of cells to ethanol and assays that may be used for the screening of drugs or the development of treatments to modulate the effects of ethanol consumption. The invention further relates to kits for detecting the exposure of cells to ethanol. Kits of the invention may include antibodies, which preferably are labeled, capable of specifically binding to C&agr; or RI of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, or, capable of specifically binding to &agr;PKC, &dgr;PKC or &egr;PKC.