Patent ID: 6482647
Filing Date: 2002-11-19
Classification: C12N

Abstract:
A method of evolving a cellular receptor for a virus to confer on a cell type enhanced susceptibility to infection of said virus, comprising:(1) recombining a first DNA segment encoding the cellular receptor for a virus or a fragment thereof with at least a second DNA segment, the segments differing from each other in at least two nucleotides, to produce a library of recombinant genes encoding recombinant cellular receptors for the virus; (2) contacting a population of cells of the cell type harboring the recombinant genes and expressing the recombinant cellular receptors for the virus encoded by the recombinant genes on their surface with the virus and selecting or screening for cells that become infected with the virus; (3) recombining at least one recombinant gene, or a fragment thereof, from the cells that become infected with at least one further DNA segment, the same or different from the first and second segments, to produce a further library of recombinant genes; (4) contacting a second population of cells of the cell type harboring the further library of recombinant genes and expressing the recombinant cellular receptors for the virus encoded by the further library on their surface with the virus, and selecting or screening for a further subpopulation of cells that become infected with the virus; and (5) repeating steps (3) and (4) as necessary until at least one recombinant gene from a further library confers on the cell type a desired susceptibility to infection of said virus.