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:
Feb. 12, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 20, 1997
Alexey G. Ryazanov, Princeton, NJ (US);
William N. Hait, Princeton, NJ (US);
Karen S. Pavur, Highland Park, NJ (US);
University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ (US);
Abstract
A new superfamily of protein kinases has been discovered that centers around eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase (eEF-2 kinase). The protein kinases of this new superfamily have the following characteristics: 1) sequence similarity to eEF-2 kinase; 2) no sequence similarity to the protein kinases of either the serine/threonine/tyrosine kinase or histidine kinase superfamily; and, 3) specifically phosphorylates &agr;-helical regions of proteins as opposed to &bgr;-turns, as seen in all other protein kinases. Assays have been developed utilizing eEF-2 kinase and a phosphorylation target consisting of a novel &agr;-helical 16-amino acid peptide sequence to facilitate high-throughput screening for compounds that can specifically inhibit this protein kinase that has been implicated tumor growth and other hyperproliferitive disorders. Additionally, the disclosed invention includes assessing eEF-2 kinase levels for diagnostic purposes, and therapeutic formulations to inhibit eEF-2 kinase activity.