Appeal No. 2002-1367 Page 14
Application No. 08/981,964
As Appellants concede, contemporaneous publications are evidence of
the understanding and expectations of those of ordinary skill in the art. See the
Appeal Brief, page 8 (“[S]cientific publications are evidence of what a person of
ordinary skill in the art would have expected when Appellants’ invention was
made.”). Thus, Servouse provides evidence that those skilled in the art expected
the regulation of ACoAT expression to be carried out at the level of transcription.
In addition, Servouse provides evidence to show that ACoAT is regulated
differently from the HMG-CoA reductase that Appellants rely on as an example of
translational regulation. Servouse states that:
• “Measurements of the specific activities of acetoacetyl-CoA
thiolase, HMG-CoA . . . synthase and HMG-CoA reductase (the first
three enzymes of the pathway), show that in cells deprived of
ergosterol, acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase and HMG-CoA synthase are
generally increased. In an excess of ergosterol, in anaerobiosis,
the same enzymes are strongly decreased. . . . In contrast, HMG-
CoA reductase is only slightly affected by these conditions.”
Abstract (emphasis added).
• “The results show that acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase activity presents
the greatest change according to culture conditions, HMG-CoA
reductase activity being only slightly modified.” Page 541, right-
hand column.
• “[T]hese results also strongly suggest that ergosterol may play a
role in the regulation of its biosynthesis, in particular by regulating
acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase and HMG-CoA synthase rather than
HMG-CoA reductase.” Page 546, left-hand column.
The disclosure that ACoAT is regulated differently from HMG-CoA reductase is
evidence that would have led those skilled in the art to discount the possibility
that ACoAT, like HMG-CoA reductase, is regulated at the translational level.
Page: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007