Patent ID: 8318155
Filing Date: 2012-11-27
Classification: A61P,C12N

Abstract:
1. A nucleic acid cleaving agent capable of specifically cleaving a target cleavage site in a nucleic acid which comprises: (1) a nucleic acid cleaving moiety comprising a) an amino acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having a nuclease activity or b) an amino acid sequence encoding a peptide that is capable of binding to a metal complex and acting as a nucleic acid cleaving moiety upon binding, and (2) at least two zinc finger proteins bound to said nucleic acid cleaving moiety, wherein at least one of said zinc finger proteins is capable of specifically binding to a nucleotide sequence located upstream from said target cleavage site, and at least one of the remaining zinc finger proteins is capable of specifically binding to a nucleotide sequence located downstream from the target cleavage site, wherein each of the zinc finger proteins are independently bound to the nucleic acid cleaving moiety by a peptide linker and wherein said peptide linker is an oligopeptide linker independently containing 5 to 50 amino acid residues, and wherein the structural order of components of the nucleic acid cleaving agent is zinc finger protein-peptide linker-nucleic acid cleaving moiety-peptide linker-zinc finger protein.