Interference No. 105,188
Short v. Punnonnen
variants having an enhanced ability to modulate an immune
response induced by a genetic vaccine vector and having altered
activity through CTLA4 and/or CD28 as compared to a predecessor
B7-2 molecule, e.g., natural or wild-type B7-2. The new
5 polynucleotides obtained in accordance with the procedures
described in the Freeman PCT may encode proteins which upregulate
immune responses by either inhibiting delivery of a costimulatory
signal to T cells or enhancing delivery of a costimulatory signal
to T cells. The altered B7-2 antigens include soluble,
10 multivalent forms of B7-2. While the reference teaches that
enhanced delivery of stimulatory B7-2 may be useful to improve
the efficiency of vaccination against a variety of pathogens, it
also teaches that delivery of nonstimulatory B7-2 may be useful
to construct B7-2 “knock out” animals. In either case, the
15 procedures described by the Freeman PCT are designed to produce
polynucleotides that encode peptides having an altered modulatory
effect on an immune response as compared to the response prior to
alteration.
Whether or not each of the methods expressly described by
20 the Freeman PCT optimizes the modulatory effect of the encoded
protein is indeterminable from the teaching of the Freeman PCT.
We find, however, that all the methods described in the Freeman
PCT were designed to improve the modulatory effect of
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