| abstract |
A novel purified phosphoprotein designated mitosin is provided by this invention. Also provided is the amino acid sequence and nucleic acid molecule corresponding to mitosin protein. Diagnostic and therapeutic methods using the protein and nucleic acid molecule also are provided. A nucleic acid molecule encoding mitosin also is provided by this invention, as well as active fragments thereof. The nucleic acid molecules are useful to recombinantly produce mitosin and for use as probes. The compositions and methods of this invention are based on the instant discovery that the intracellular presence of mitosin is necessary for a eukaryotic cell to enter into the M phase of mitosis, and that the degradation of mitosin is necessary for the cell to advance to the next stage. Thus, an anti-mitosin antibody, a mutant or a non-functional analog of mitosin would inhibit the mitotic cell cycle by preventing cells from entering the M phase, and overexpression of mitosin, or a functional equivalent thereof, would inhibit the cycle by preventing cells from leaving the M phase. Such overexpression could be achieved either by addition of the protein or through gene therapy, i.e. delivery of a gene encoding the protein or a functional equivalent thereof. |