Appeal No. 2002-1630 Page 4
Application No. 09/175,713
The specification provides working examples showing construction of
polynucleotides encoding human stromal cell-derived factor 1α (hSDF-1α) and
stromal cell-derived factor 1β (hSDF-1β), having either a methionine or a
GroHEK peptide attached to the amino terminus. See pages 42-45. The
specification discloses that met-hSDF-1β stimulates higher calcium flux in cells
than does unmodified hSDF-1β (pages 45-46) and that met-hSDF-1β and
unmodified hSDF-1β are equally effective in blocking binding of other compounds
to the chemokine receptor (pages 47-48). Finally, the specification discloses that
met-hSDF-1β down-modulates expression of the chemokine receptor more
effectively than unmodified hSDF-1β, and that this property results in an
“enhanced ability of met-hSDF-1β to inhibit HIV infection,” since the chemokine
receptor is a co-receptor for HIV binding. See pages 48-52.
Discussion
1. Claim construction
Claims 1-5, 10-14, 17, and 18 stand or fall together, as do claims 6-9.
Appeal Brief, page 4. We will consider claims 5 and 6 as representative.
Claim 5 is directed to a composition comprising a polynucleotide encoding
an amino-terminal modified chemokine. The modified chemokine “comprises at
least one methionine, at least one aminooxypentane residue, or at least one
GroHEK peptide covalently attached to the amino terminus of the chemokine,”
and is “derived from” one of forty-nine enumerated chemokines. The
specification states that
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