Patent ID: 6222094
Filing Date: 2001-04-24
Classification: A01K,A23C,C07K,C12N

Abstract:
A transgenic non-human mammal whose germ cells and mammary gland cells contain an expression system comprising(a) a first DNA sequence coding on expression for a peptide comprising(i) amino acid sequence 21-182 of SEQ ID NO:2,(ii) an amino acid sequence differing from sequence (i) solely by one or more conservative amino acid substitutions,(iii) am amino acid sequence at least 85% identical to sequence (i),(iv) an amino acid sequence which is encoded by a DNA sequence having a coding strand which hybridizes to the complementary strand of the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 when hybridization is carried out at 67.degree. C. in 2.times.SSC and final washing at 67.degree. C. in 1.times.SSC,(v) an effective subsequence of a sequence according to (i) above, or(vi) an amino acid sequence which is at least 85% identical to a subsequence (v), said subsequence (v) and said sequence (vi) being at least 25 amino acids long,said peptide having a biological activity of human kappa casein, and, in the case of (v) or (vi) above, said activity including a non-nutritional biological activity of human kappa casein; and(b) a second DNA sequence preceding said first sequence and operably linked in phase thereto, said second DNA sequence encoding a secretory signal peptide functional in mammary gland cells; and(c) a promoter functional in said mammary gland cells, whereby said mammal, under conditions conducive to expression, expresses said peptide in a mammary gland of said mammal, and secretes said peptide, in milk produced by said mammary gland, at detectable levels.