Appeal No. 1997-3221
Application No. 08/249,241
homologous to rat GluR1, the second clone was found to be homologous to GluR2.
Sun, page 1444, bridging paragraph, columns 1-2. Sun localizes the HBGR2-
encoding gene on chromosome 4q25-34.3. Sun does not disclose any specific
sequence for GluR2.
At this point we find that under high stringency hybridization conditions, a
probe for GluR1 cross-reacts with GluR2. Little more is provided in Sun, other than
the “note” at page 1447 which states “[a]fter submission of this manuscript a paper
[referring to Puckett] appeared reporting … GluH1. This cDNA shows differences
with HBGR1 … in a region corresponding to the alternatively spliced exon identified
in the rodent clones by Sommer [‘92] … and designated as flip and flop forms of
GluR1.” So not only is there cross-reactivity between the receptors, there is also the
possibility of alternative splicing events.
Puckett, relied upon by the examiner (Answer, page 6) to teach isolation of
human GluR1, teaches the use of a reduced stringency hybridization (bridging
paragraph pages 7557-558). Furthermore, Puckett also teaches the existence of
alternative splicing events (page 7560, column 1), later confirmed by Sun’s “note,”
supra.
The examiner relies upon Heinemann to teach GluR2 (Answer, page 4). We
note Heinemann’s Example 8 (page 27) which teaches “cDNA clones encoding the
GluR2 and GluR3 genes were isolated from an adult rat forebrain library using a
low-stringency hybridization screening protocol … and a radiolabeled fragment of
the GluR1 cDNA as [a] probe.”
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