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Biomedical subjects

P Galeffi

Publications and source records attributed to P Galeffi.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Transgenic plants expressing a functional single-chain Fv antibody are specifically protected from virus attack.

Expression of viral genes in transgenic plants is a very effective tool for attenuating plant viral infection. Nevertheless, the lack of generality and risk issues related to the expression of viral genes in plants might limit the exploitation of this strategy. Expression in plants of antibodies against essential viral proteins could provide an alternative approach to engineer viral resistance. Recently, expression of complete or engineered antibodies has been successfully achieved in plants. The engineered single-chain Fv antibody scFv (refs 10, 11) is particularly suitable for expression in plants because of its small size and the lack of assembly requirements. Here we present evidence that constitutive expression in transgenic plants of a scFv antibody, directed against the plant icosahedral tombusvirus artichoke mottled crinkle virus, causes reduction of infection incidence and delay in symptom development.

Antibodies, Viral

'Phytoantibodies': a general vector for the expression of immunoglobulin domains in transgenic plants.

Sequences encoding the immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (VH) domains were engineered in a new general purpose vector to transform plants via Agrobacterium. The expression of an isolated VH domain (IVD) after introduction into the plant genome has been monitored by northern, western and immunohistochemical analysis. Immunoblotting showed that the polypeptide was stably expressed and accounted for up to 1% of the soluble protein fraction. It is therefore proposed that single immunoglobulin domains of suitable specificity expressed in plants may constitute an effective system to inhibit the activity of molecules involved in plant pathology or plant development.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens

The propeptide region of clotting factor IX is a signal for a vitamin K dependent carboxylase: evidence from protein engineering of amino acid -4.

Homologous "propeptide" regions are present in a family of vitamin K-dependent mammalian proteins, including clotting factors II, VII, IX, X, protein C, protein S and bone "gla" proteins. To test the hypothesis that the propeptide is a signal for the correct gamma-carboxylation of the adjacent gamma-carboxy region, we have mutated amino acid -4 of human factor IX from an arginine to a glutamine residue, by M13-directed site-specific mutagenesis of a cDNA clone. After expression of mutant factor IX in dog kidney cells, we find that it is secreted into the medium in a precursor form containing the propeptide, and is inefficiently gamma-carboxylated compared to the control, wild-type, recombinant factor IX. This result supports the hypothesis that the propeptide region is required for efficient gamma-carboxylation of factor IX in dog kidney cells. Furthermore, it confirms previous results that arginine at amino acid -4 is required for correct propeptide processing.

Amino Acid Sequence

Identification and primary sequence of an unspliced human urokinase poly(A)+ RNA.

Human urokinase cDNA clones have been identified from a cDNA library prepared from total RNA of human fibroblasts transformed by simian virus 40 [Okayama, H. & Berg, P. (1983) Mol. Cell. Biol. 3, 280-289]. Synthetic oligonucleotides, corresponding to urokinase protein sequence, were used as probes. The cloned cDNA covers most of the coding sequence and the entire 3' untranslated region. The nucleotide sequence of one of the clones identifies this as a copy of a partially spliced polyadenylylated precursor to urokinase mRNA. The introns separate functionally different domains of the enzyme. Human urokinase mRNA has been identified by RNA blot and its size was estimated at 2500 nucleotides.

Base Sequence