Appeal 2007-1623
Application 09/981,845
dental implants and certain extracellular matrix proteins may be a
prerequisite for reproducible direct apposition of bone to titanium implants.”
(Specification 1: 17-31.)
The Specification discloses that osteopontin (OPN) binds to integrin-
type receptors and influences a wide range of biological processes (id. at 1:
32 to 2: 10). “[T]he RGD sequence [in osteopontin] appears to mediate cell
attachment via integrin receptors and thereby activate signal transduction
pathways with[in] the cell. Cleavage of osteopontin by thrombin has been
reported to enhance the ability of cells to attach and spread in vitro . . . ,
suggesting that thrombin cleavage makes the RGD motif more accessible.”
(Id. at 2: 11-16.)
“[T]he naturally occurring human osteopontin secreted from human
osteoblast cells” is disclosed to have the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ
ID NO: 1 (id. at 11: 5-6). SEQ ID NO: 1 is 314 amino acids in length. The
Specification discloses several smaller, osteopontin-related peptides,
including the one having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 11
(id. at 12: 3-19). SEQ ID NO: 11 has the following sequence: RSRRATEV
FTPVVPTVDTYDGRGDSVVYGRRSKSKKFRRPAGAAGGPAGPAGPA
GPAGPAGPA (id. at 12: 9-10). The underlined amino acids are part of the
amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 (amino acids 142 to 177); i.e., they
are a part of osteopontin. The amino acids before and after the underlined
amino acids are not part of osteopontin.
The Specification provides a working example that describes the
attachment and spreading behavior of osteoprogenitor cells on plates coated
with SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 15 (id. at 53-55). (SEQ ID NO: 15 is
2
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013