Ex Parte Baker et al - Page 5

              Appeal No. 2007-0057                                                                  
              Application No. 10/174,586                                                            

                    proteins is not sufficient to impart any particular utility to the              
                    polypeptide.                                                                    
              Examiner’s Answer, pages 5-6.                                                         
                    We do not necessarily agree with the Examiner’s broadly stated                  
              position – that sequence similarity is not evidence of function and therefore         
              cannot form the basis of patentable utility.  We do, however, agree that the          
              evidence of record shows that PRO270 is unlikely to share the activity of             
              thioredoxin and therefore, in this case, the sequence similarity between              
              PRO270 and thioredoxin is not sufficient to establish the utility of PRO270.          
                    Holmgren1 states that “[t]hioredoxin and glutaredoxin are small                 
              proteins containing an active site with a redox-active disulfide; they function       
              in electron transfer via a simple and elegant mechanism, the reversible               
              oxidation of two vicinal protein-SH groups to a disulfide bridge.”  Abstract.         
              Holmgren also states:                                                                 
                          Thioredoxin  has  been  isolated  and  sequenced  from  a                 
                    wide variety of prokaryotic and eukoaryotic [sic] species. . . .                
                    All species have at least one thioredoxin with an Mr around                     
                    12,000 and the same active site, Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys. . . . The                     
                    active  site  region  is  highly  conserved  with  the  consensus               
                    sequence: Val-Asp-Phe-Xaa-Ala-Xaa-Trp-Cys-Gly-Pro-Cys-                          
                    (Lys)-(Met)-(Ile)-Xaa-Pro.                                                      
              Page 13964, right-hand column.                                                        




                                                                                                   
              1 Holmgren, “Minireview:  Thioredoxin and glutaredoxin,” J. Biol. Chem.,              
              Vol. 264, pp. 13963-13966 (1989).                                                     
                                                 5                                                  

Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  Next

Last modified: September 9, 2013