You are here

EXPRESSION--SYNTHETIC DNA SEQUENCES/HTLV-I ENV PROTEN

Award Information
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services
Branch: N/A
Contract: N/A
Agency Tracking Number: 11440
Amount: $50,000.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N/A
Solicitation Number: N/A
Timeline
Solicitation Year: N/A
Award Year: 1989
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): N/A
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
1900 Oak Terrace Ln
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320
United States
DUNS: N/A
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 () -
Business Contact
Phone: () -
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

HUMAN T-CELL LEUKEMIA VIRUS I (HTLV-I) IS A TRANSFORMING RETROVIRUS ETIOLOGICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT T-CELL LEUKEMIA/LYMPHOMA AND TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESIS. THE NUMBER OF HTLV-I SEROPOSITIVE BLOOD DONORS IN THE UNITED STATES IS BECOMING ALARMINGLY HIGH, RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT CONTAMINIATION OF TRANSFUSABLE BLOOD PRODUCTS. DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGHLY SENSITIVE AND HIGHLY SPECIFIC BLOOD-SCREENING ASSAY FOR HTLV-I ANTIBODIES IN SERUM HAS BEEN HINDERED BY LIMITING QUANTITIES OF CERTAIN VIRAL PROTEINS, INCLUDING THE MOST IMMUNOGENIC, WHICH IS ENVELOPE PROTEIN. THE PHASE I STUDY OUTLINES A STRATEGY FOR EXPRESSING SELECTED PROTEINS, AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE ENVELOPE PROTEIN, USING SYNTHETIC DNA CODING SEQUENCES. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS APPROACH WILL ALLOW THESE POLYPEPTIDES TO BE EXPRESSED AT HIGH LEVELS IN E. COLI. THE EXPRESSED POLYPEPTIDES WILL BE ANALYZED BIOCHEMICALLY AND EVALUATED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO DETECT ANTIBODIES TO HTLV-I IN HUMAN SERA. IN PHASE II, PROMISING CANDIDATE ENVELOPE POLYPEPTIDES WILL BE USED TO CONFIGURE AN ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOASSAY (EIA) TO DETECT ANTIBODIES TO HTLV-1 IN HUMAN SERA. THE EIA WILL BE EVALUATED FOR SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY USING SERA FROM A LARGE NUMBER OF NORMAL AND INFECTED INDIVIDUALS. IT IS ENVISAGED THAT A COMPLEMENTARY SET OF RECOMBINANT-DERIVED HTLV-I PROTEINS WILL BE CONFIGURED INTO A HIGH-QUALITY BLOOD-SCREENING ASSAY FOR EXPOSURE TO THIS VIRUS.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

US Flag An Official Website of the United States Government