Abstract:
The invention relates to null-PVIIA-related conotoxins and their use as organ protecting agents, i.e., organ protectants. These conotoxins can be used for arresting, protecting or preserving an organ, such as a circulatory organ, a respiratory organ, a urinary organ, a digestive organ, a reproductive organ, an endocrine organ or a neurological organ. These conotoxins can also be used for arresting, protecting or preserving somatic cells.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to the use of null-conotoxin peptides having the general formula Xaa1-Xaa2-Cys-Cys-Xaa3-Xaa4-Pro-Xaa5-Cys-Xaa6-Xaa7-Xaa8-Xaa9-Xaa10-Xaa11-Xaa12-Cys (SEQ ID NO:1) for treating disorders regulated at neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Such disorders include, but are not limited to, cardiovascular disorders, gastric motility disorders, urinary incontinence, nicotine addiction, mood disorders (such as bipolar disorder, unipolar depression, dysthymia and seasonal effective disorder) and small cell lung carcinoma, as well as the localization of small cell lung carcinoma. In this formula, Xaa1 is des-Xaa1, Tyr, mono-iodo-Tyr or di-iodo-Tyr, Xaa2 is any amino acid, Xaa3 is any amino acid, Xaa4 is any amino acid, Xaa5 is any amino acid; Xaa6 is any amino acid, Xaa7 is any amino acid, Xaa8 is any amino acid, Xaa9 is des-Xaa9 or any amino acid, Xaa10 is des-Xaa10 or any amino acid, Xaa11 is des-Xaa11 or any amino acid and Xaa12 is des-Xaa12 or any amino acid. Disulfide linkages exist between the first and third cysteines and the second and fourth cysteines. Pro may be replaced with hydroxy-Pro. The C-terminus may contain a hydroxyl or an amide group, preferably an amide group.
Abstract:
The present invention is relates to a null-carboxylase from Conus snails, a nucleic acid sequence encoding the Conus null-carboxylase and to a method for using the nucleic acid or protein sequences for preparing null-carboxylated proteins.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to contulakin-G (which is the native glycosylated peptide), a des-glycosylated contulakin-G (termed Thr10-contulakin-G), and derivatives thereof, to a cDNA clone encoding a precursor of this mature peptide and to a precursor peptide. The invention is further directed to the use of this peptide as a therapeutic for anti-seizure, anti-inflammatory, anti-shock, anti-thrombus, hypotensive, analgesia, anti-psychotic, Parkinson's disease, gastrointestinal disorders, depressive states, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, tardive dyskinesia, drug dependency, panic attack, mania, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, ulcer, GI tumors, Tourette's syndrome, Huntington's chorea, vascular leakage, anti-arteriosclerosis, vascular and vasodilation disorders, as well as neurological, neuropharmalogical and neuropsychopharmacological disorders.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to the new nullO-conopeptides, their coding sequences and their propeptides and to the use of nullO-conopeptides as a local anesthetic for treating pain. The nullO-conopeptides have long lasting anesthetic activity and are particularly useful for spinal anesthesia, either administered acutely for post-operative pain or via an intrathecal pump for severe chronic pain situations or for treatment of pain in epithelial tissue.
Abstract:
The present invention is relates to a gamma -carboxylase from Conus snails, a nucleic acid sequence encoding the Conus gamma -carboxylase and to a method for using the nucleic acid or protein sequences for preparing gamma -carboxylated proteins.
Abstract:
The invention relates to linear gamma -carboxyglutamate rich conotoxins, derivatives or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and uses thereof, including the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, such as anticonvulsant agents, as neuroprotective agents, as neuroprotective agents or for the management of pain. The invention further relates to nucleic acid sequences encoding the conopeptides and encoding propeptides, as well as the propeptides.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to the use of conantokin peptides, conantokin peptide derivatives and conantokin peptide chimeras, referred to collectively as conantokins, having 10-30 amino acids, including preferably two or more gamma -carboxyglutamic acid residues, for the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, such as anticonvulsant agents, neuroprotective agents or analgesic agents. Neurologic disorders and psychiatric disorders include epilepsy, convulsions, neurotoxic injury (associated with conditions of hypoxia, anoxia or ischemia which typically follows stroke, cerebrovascular accident, brain or spinal cord trauma, myocardial infarct, physical trauma, drowning, suffocation, perinatal asphyxia, or hypoglycemic events), neurodegeneration (associated with Alzheimer's disease, senile dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Down's Syndrome, Korsakoff's disease, schizophrenia, AIDS dementia, multi-infarct dementia, Binswanger dementia and neuronal damage associated with uncontrolled seizures), chemical toxicity (such as addiction, morphine tolerance, opiate tolerance, opioid tolerance and barbiturate tolerance), pain (acute, chronic, migraine), anxiety, major depression, manic-depressive illness, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and mood disorders (such as bipolar disorder, unipolar depression, dysthymia and seasonal effective disorder) and dystonia (movement disorder), sleep disorder, muscle relaxation and urinary incontinence. In addition, the conantokins are useful for treating HIV infection, ophthalmic indications and memory, learning or cognitive deficits.
Abstract:
The invention includes a method of assaying phylogenetically related sequences and generating a set of possible nucleic acid or amino acid sequence combinations. Sequences are analyzed to create an alignment and a set of phylogenetically related sequences are selected. The observed residue(s) or indel(s) occupying each position in the alignment of the selected phylogenetically related sequences are identified and this information is used to generate a set of sequence combinations, wherein the set of possible sequence combinations (nucleic acid or polypeptide) is composed of the union of the observed residues or indels identified at each position.
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to contulakin-G (which is the native glycosylated peptide), a des-glycosylated contulakin-G (termed Thr 10 -contulakin-G), and derivatives thereof, to a cDNA clone encoding a precursor of this mature peptide and to a precursor peptide. The invention is further directed to the use of this peptide as a therapeutic for anti-seizure, anti-inflammatory, anti-shock, anti-thrombus, hypotensive, analgesia, anti-psychotic, Parkinson's disease, gastrointestinal disorders, depressive states, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, tardive dyskinesia, drug dependency, panic attack, mania, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, ulcer, GI tumors, Tourette's syndrome, Huntington's chorea, vascular leakage, anti-arteriosclerosis, vascular and vasodilation disorders, as well as neurological, neuropharmalogical and neuropsychopharmacological disorders.