| abstract |
The present invention provides for an isolated polynucleotide sequence encoding a chimeric CD154, comprising a first nucleotide sequence encoding an extracellular subdomain of non-human CD154, preferably murine CD154, that replaces a cleavage site of human CD154, and a second nucleotide sequence encoding an extracellular subdomain of human CD154 that binds to a human CD154 receptor. The first nucleotide sequence preferably further encodes an extracellular subdomain of non-human CD154 that is critical for expression of said CD154 by cells, such as human CD40+ cells, and another extracellular domain that detects expression of the chimeric CD154 by binding to anti-murine antibodies. The second nucleotide sequence preferably further encodes an extracellular subdomain of human CD154 to which functionally inhibitory anti-CD154 antibodies bind. n The present invention also provides for the chimeric CD154 that is encoded by the above-described polynucleotide sequence, an expression vector and a genetic vector comprising the polynucleotide sequence, a host cell comprising the expression vector or the genetic vector, a process for producing the chimeric CD154, and methods for utilizing the expression vectors and genetic constructs containing the chimeric CD154 polynucleotide sequences. |