ASSAY FOR INHIBITORS OF FARNESYL-PROTEIN TRANSFERASE

Abstract: The present invention relates to an assay useful in determining the farnesyl-protein transferase inhibitory activity of pharmaceutical agents. The assay employs purified human farnesyl-protein transferase which is prepared by gene expression in Escherichia coli.

Description: TITLE OF THE INVENTION ASSAY FOR INHIBITORS OF FARNESYL-PROTEIN TRANSFERASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The ras gene is found activated in many human cancers, including colorectal carcinoma, exocrine pancreatic carcinoma, and myeloid leukemias. Biological and biochemical studies of Ras action indicate that Ras functions like a G-regulatory protein, since ras must be localized in the plasma membrane and must bind with GTP in order to transform cells (Gibbs . et al.. Microbiol. Rev.. 53, 171- 286 (1989)). Forms of ras in cancer cells have mutations that distinguish the encoded protein from Ras in normal cells. At least 3 post-translational modifications are involved with Ras membrane localization, and all 3-modifications occur at the C-terminus of Ras. The Ras C-terminus contains a sequence motif termed a "CAAX" or "Cys-Aaal-Aaa2-Xaa" box (Aaa is an aliphatic amino acid and Xaa is any aminυ acid) (Willumsen et al.. Nature. 310, 583-586(1984)). Other proteins having this motif include the Ras-related GTP-binding proteins such as Rho, fungal mating factors, the nuclear lamins, and the gamma subunit of transducin. Farnesyl-protein transferase (FPTase) catalyzes the addition of the isoprenoid farnesyl, from farnesyl diphosphate, to a cysteine residue of such protein substrates having the CAAX terminus (Reiss, Y., Goldstein, J. L., Seabra, M. C, Casey, P. J. and Brown, M. S. (1990) Cell 62, 81-88; Schaber, M. D., O'Hara, M. B., Garsky, V. M., Moser, S. D., Bergstrom, J. D., Moores, S. L., Marshall. M. S., Friedman, P. A., Dixon, R. A. F. and Gibbs, J. B. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14701-14704; Manne, V., Roberts, D., Tobin, A., O'Rourke, E., De Virgilio, M., Meyers, C, Ahmed, N., Kurz, B., Resh, M., Kung, H.-F. and Barbacid, M. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 7541-7545). Farnesylation of Ras facilitates its membrane binding which is essential for efficient cell transformation by oncogenic forms of Ras (Willumsen, B. M., Norris, K., Papageorge, A. G., Hubbert, N. L. and Lowy, D. R. (1984) EMBO J. 3, 2581-2584). Thus, inhibitors of FPTase may be antitumor agents. CAAX tetrapep tides are substrates for FPTase with kinetic properties similar to polypeptide substrates indicating that the critical determinants required for enzyme recognition are contained within the CAAX box (Reiss et al., Cell, supra; Schaber et al., J. Biol. Chem., supra ; Pompliano, D.L., Rands, E., Schaber, M.d., Mosser, S.D., Anthony, NJ. and Gibbs, J.B. (1992) Bϊochem. 31, 3800- 3807; Goldstein, J.L. Brown, M.S., Stradley, S.J., Reiss, Y. and Gierasch, L.M. (1991) /. Biol. Chem. 266, 15575-15578). Mammalian FPTase is an αβ heterodimeric protein. Complementary DNAs encoding part or all of the α subunit of FPTase from bovine and rat brain have been isolated(Kohl, N.E. et al., (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 18884-18888; Chen et al. (1991) Cell, 66, 327-334; Chen et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 11368-11372). The proteins that they encode share >95% amino acid sequence identity with one another and 30% identity with the RΛ 2-encoded subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae FPTase (He, B. et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 11373-11377; Kohl et al., supra). A cDNA encoding the β subunit of rat brain FPTase has been isolated and the protein it encodes shares 37% amino acid sequence identity with the DPR 1 /RAM] (RAM1) encoded subunit of S. cerevisiae FPTase(Goodman, L.E. et al. (1988) Yeast, 4, 271-281 ; Chen et al. (1991) Cell, 66, 327-334) However these cDNAs have not been used for expression of the complete FPTase that is readily isolatable in large quantities. Previously, amounts of FPTase useful in assessing the inhibitory activity of pharmaceutical agents have been isolated from animal tissue such as rat or bovine brain. However , relatively low amounts of FPTase are present in rat and bovine brain and purification of the enzyme involves a number of separation steps. Human FPTase, the ideal enzyme to employ in an assay directed at discovering a human anticancer agent, has not been employed previously because of the limited amounts of human FPTase available from human cell culture lines and human tissue and the hazards of working with human cells and tissue. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The instant invention provides a transformed bacterial cell line capable of expressing a modified mammalian farnesyl- protein transferase (FPTase) especially human farnesyl-protein transferase. The instant invention also provides a method of preparing and purifying a mammalian FPTase in experimentally useful quantities which comprises expressing the modified mammalian farnesyl-protein transferase and purifying the modified FPTase on an antibody column. The instant invention also provides an assay useful for the determination of FPTase inhibitory activity of pharmaceutical agents which comprises contacting the pharmaceutical agent to be assessed with substantially pure mammalian FPTase. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 (A-B): DNA sequence of the bovine cDNA that encodes the β subunit of bovine brain FPTase enzyme. The numbering of the DNA sequence is on the left of each line of DNA sequence. The numbering of the amino acid sequence is at the right of each line of amino acid sequence. Figure 2: DNA sequence of the human cDNA that encodes the cc subunit of human FPTase enzyme. The numbering of the DNA sequence is on the left of each line of DNA sequence. The numbering of the amino acid sequence is at the right of each line of amino acid sequence. Figure 3(A-B): DNA sequence of the human cDNA that encodes the β subunit of human FPTase enzyme. The numbering of the DNA sequence is on the left of each line of DNA sequence. The numbering of the amino acid sequence is at the right of each line of amino acid sequence. Figure 4: The plasmid, pRD426, which contains a cDNA sequence encoding the β subunit of bovine FPTase. The restriction sites for the enzymes EcoRI and Sspl are indicated. The distances between the restriciton sites are indicated in kilobases (kB). The part of the plasmid encoding the β subunit of bovine FPTase is also indicated by an arc. Figure 5(A-C): DNA sequence of the insert used to generate the pRD516 plasmid which incorporates, the human cDN As that encode the α and β subunits of human FPTase enzyme. The numbering of the DNA sequence is on the left of each line of DNA sequence. The numbering of the amino acid sequence is at the right of each line of amino acid sequence. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A bacterial cell is transformed with a plasmid containing cDNAs encoding α and β subunits of a mammalian FPTase operationally linked by codons in one subunit which contain the ribosomal binding site necessary for translation of the other subunit by the bacterial cell. The bacterial cell may be any cell capable of expressing the translationally coupled FPTase subunits. Such a cell line may be selected from strains of Escherichia coli, such as DH5, HB101, BL21 (DE3) and the like. The cDNAs encoding the α and β subunits of a mammalian FPTase may be selected from subunits such as the and β subunits of human FPTase, bovine FPTase or rat FPTase and the like. The cDNA encoding an subunit of one of the mammalian FPTases, for example human FPTase, may be combined with the cDNA encoding the β subunit of a different mammalian FPTase, for instance bovine FPTase. The preferred combination of cDNAs is the cDNAs encoding for the α and β subunits of human FPTase. The plasmid vector into which the cDNAs encoding the and β subunits of a mammalian FPTase are cloned may be any vector compatable with transformation into the selected bacterial cell line. Such vectors include, but are not limited to, derivatives of ColEl (such as pBR322, pUC8, pUC9, pUC18, pUC19, and the like) (Yanish-Perron et al, 1985, Gene,33: 103-119) or P15a (such as pACYC177, pACYC184, and the like ) (A.C.Y.C. Chang and S,N, Cohen,1978, J. Bacteriology, 134: 1 141 -1 156). To operationally link the cDNAs encoding the α and β subunits of a mammalian FPTase to the plasmid, a promoter sequence is necessary. Such promoters include, but are not limited to, the tac promoter (E. Ammon et al., 1983, Gene, 25:167-178), lac promoter (U. Siebenlist etal., 1980, Cell A 20: 269-281) and trp promoter (G.N. Bennet et al., 1978, J. Mol. Biol, 121:113-137). Such promoters use E.coli RNA polymerase to transcribe DNA into mRNA. In one embodiment of the instant invention the promoter is the tac promoter found in the plasmid pBTacl (commercially available from Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals). Other promoter/RNA polymerase systems useful in carrying out the instant invention include DNA bacteriophage promoters and their cognate RNA polymerase. Examples of such systems include the bacteriophage T7 promoter and T7 RNA polymerase (F.W. Studier and B.A. Moffat, 1986, J. Mol. Biol, 189: 113-130). It is expected that the bacteriophage T7 promoter and RNA polymerase would give higher levels of protein expression than the tac promoter. To ensure translation of the transcribed cDNA sequences, a ribosomal binding site must be operationally linked to the FPTase α and β subunit coding sequences. An example of a ribosomal binding site for the β subunit is GGAGG while a ribosomal binding for the α subunit is GGAG encoded in the Glu- Glu-Phe epitope tag which can be placed at the C-terminal end of the β subunit coding sequence. The transformed cell line is grown and harvested and the mammalian FPTase expressed by the cells is isolated and purified. Isolation and purification of the mammalian FPTase may be accomplished by any of the techniques well known to persons skilled in the art. Preferably an epitope tag is incorporated in the FPTase when it is expressed and the cell lysate is exposed to a • column containing an antibody which binds to the tagging amino acid sequence. Most preferably the FPTase is tagged with a C-terminal EEF epitope and the column utilized is a column containing monoclonal antibody YL1/2 (described in J.V. Kilmartin et al., J. Cell Biology, 93: 576-582(1982)). The purified, recombinantly expressed, mammalian FPTase is employed in an assay to determine the inhibitory activity against FPTase mediated famesylation of Ras by various pharmaceutical compounds. Ras protein is exposed to a labelled farnesyl diphosphate, such as [3H]farnesyl diphosphate and the like, in the presence of the pharmaceutical compound whose activity is to be determined and in a suitable incubation medium, such as a mixture of 50 mM HEPES (pH 7.5), 5 mM MgCl2 and 1-2 mM dithiothreitol, and the like. The purified mammalian FPTase is then added to the assay mixture and the assay mixture is incubated for a period of time such as 10-30 minutes at 30°C. The assay mixture is then quenched and the Ras protein is separated from free FPP by techniques well known in the art. (see for example M. D. Schaber et al. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 14701-14704 and S.L. Moores et al. (1991), J. Biol. Chem., 266: 14603-14610) The isolated Ras protein is then analyzed by a scintillation counting technique to provide a relative value for the amount of Ras protein that had been famesylated. This value may be compared to the relative value of the amount of Ras famesylated in the absence of the pharmaceutical agent and to the relative value of the amount of Ras famesylated in the presence of other pharmaceutical agents. The invention is further defined by reference to the following examples, which are illustrative and not limiting. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius. EXAMPLE 1 0 Labelled Probe from cDNA Encoding for the oc Subunit of Bovine FPTase A probe is used comprising an approximately 1000 bp 5 DNA fragment that spans the open reading frame of the α subunit of bovine FPTase described by Kohl et al. J. Biol. Chem. 266, 18884- 18888 (1991). This fragment was made by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and has as its ends: (5' end: seq ID 1) ° AAGCTT-AACC-ATG-GAC-GAC-GGG— α subunit— T(AA- HindlTl Met Ala Ala Gly (seq ID 21) Stop GCTT) Hind ID 5 EXAMPLE 2 cDNA Encoding for the β Subunit of Bovine FPTase Two overlapping, complimentary oligonucleotides 5 -ATCCAGGCCACCACCCACTTCCTGCAGAAGCCT 3 * (seq ID 2) and 5'-CTCCTCAAAGCCAGGCACAGGCTTCTGCAGGAA-3' (seq ID 3) were made based on codon preferrence usage (Lathe, R. (1985) J. Mol. Biol. 183, 1-12) for the codons of the peptide IQATTHFLQKPVPGFEE (seq ID 4) from the β subunit of rat brain FPTase (Reiss, Y., Seabra, M. C, Armstrong, S. A., Slaughter* C. A., Goldstein, J. L. and Brown, M. S. /. Biol. Chem. 266, 10672- 10677 (1991)). These two oligonucleotides were annealed and filled in with the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase and all four [32p]- labelled deoxynucleotide triphosphates for use as a probe. The double stranded fragment was then heated to separate the strands. A bovine brain oligo(dT) primed cDNA library in λgtlO was screened using the plaque hybridization method and employing this probe. Filters from plaque lifts of the bovine brain cDNA library were prehybridized and hybridized in 5 x SSC, 10X Denhardt's solution (lx Denhardt's solution is 20 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 20 mg/ml polyvinylpyrollidone, 20 mg/ml Ficoll), 0.1 % (wt./vol.) SDS at 50OC overnight . The filters were washed in 5X SSC at 50°C and autoradiographed. Positive plaques were selected, grown up and the DNA analyzed by restriction and sequence analysis. EXAMPLE 3 Labelled Probe from cDNA Encoding for the β Subunit of Bovine FPTase A probe comprising an approximately 1660 bp EcoRl- Sspl DNA fragment from pRD426 encoding the bovine β subunit cDNA obtained as described in Example 2 was prepared by restriction digestion. The restriction sites are shown in Figure 4. The EcoRI site, upstream of the start of the cDNA, comes from the linker used in the cDNA cloning, while the Sspl site is approximately 300 bp downstream of the stop codon for the β subunit coding sequence in the nontranslated region of the cDNA. The fragment has the following structure: GAATTC-bpl-61 of cDNA-ATG-β subunit coding seq.-TAG- EcoRl M . Stop ~300bp-AATATT Sspl EXAMPLE 4 cDNA Encoding for the Subunit of Human FPTase A human placental cDNA library in λgtl l (Clonetech) was probed using the labelled DNA fragment from the bovine FPTase cDNA described in Example 1 above. Filters from the plaque lifts of the human placental cDNA library were prehybridized and hybridized as described in Example 2 except at 65 °C. The filters were then washed as described in Example 2 at 65°C. Positive clones from the screens were utilized as described in Example 7 below. EXAMPLE.5 cDNA Encoding for the β Subunit of Human FPTase A human placental cDNA library in λgtl 1 (Clonetech) was probed using the labelled DNA fragment from the bovine FPTase cDNA described in Example 3 above. Filters from the plaque lifts of the human placental cDNA library were prehybridized and hybridized as described in Example 2 except at 65°C. The filters were then washed as described in Example 2 at 65°C. Positive clones from the screens were utilized as described in • Example 7 below. EXAMPLE 6 DNA Sequencing of cDNAs The cDNAs obtained as described in Examples 2, 4 and 5 were sequenced using the Sequenase II dideoxy sequencing kit (U.S. Biochemical Corp.) as described by the manufacturer using plasmid DNAs as templates. DNA and protein sequence analysis was performed using the Genetics Computer Group software package and the multiple sequence alignment program CLUSTAL (Devereux . et al. (1984) Nucl. Acids Res. 12, 387-395 and Higgins, D.G. and Sharp, P.M. (1988) Gene, 73, 237-244.) DNA subcloning, PCR and other DNA manipulations were performed as described in Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E. F. and Sambrook, J. (1982) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY and Saiki, R. K., Gelfand, D. H., Stoffel, S. Scharf, S. J., Higuchi, R., Horn, G. T., Mullis, K. B. and Erlich, H. A. (1988) Science 239, 487-491. The DNA sequences of the FPTase cDNAs were submitted to GenBank and were given the accession numbers L00633 (bovine β subunit)(cDNA: seq ID 5;amino acid: seq ID 6), L00634 (human α subunit) (cDNA: seq ID 7;amino acid: seq ID 8) and L00635 (human β subunit)(cDNA: seq ID 9;amino acid: seq ED 10). Figures 1-3 show the respective sequences. EXAMPLE 7 Construction of Plasmid for Expression of hFPTase in E. coli. The coding region of the subunit of human FPTase was modified by PCR (Saiki et al.) such that EcoRI sites were placed immediately upstream and downstream of the α subunit coding sequence and cloned into pUC18 to create pRD452. The sequence of the insert of pRD452 is as follows: GAATTC-ATG- codon for aa9-aa?7Q-TAA-GAATTC-f_SacI-A tI- EcoR M stop EcoRI Smal-BamHl-Hincll-Pstl-HindIIl)p\JCl 8 polylinker. pRD452 was cut with Sacl, which only cuts in the polylinker region of the plasmid, the ends were blunted with T4 DNA polymerase and dNTPs and then recircularized. This plasmid was partially digested with EcoRI, the ends filled in with the Klenow fragment of E. coli DNA polymerase and dNTPs and recircularized. A plasmid from this step, in which the EcoRI site down stream of the coding sequence of the oc subunit of human FPTase was filled in, was identified and is named pRD494. The sequence of the insert in pRD494 is the following:(3' end: seq ID 11) GAATTC-ATG- codon for aa2-aa 379 -TAA-GAATTAATTC- EcoRl M stop (Kpnl-Smal-Bam -Hincl -Pstl-Sphl-HindΩΪ). The Sad restriction endonuclease site in this plasmid was completely lost. Synthetic oligonucleotides encoding an approximately 70bp EcoRl-Banll fragment at the 5'-end of the oc subunit coding sequence were made that contained primarily A or T at the third position of each codon, and inserted into pRD494 that had been cut with EcoRI and BanU to create pRD493. The sequence of the cc subunit coding sequence and the surrounding restriction sites in pRD493 are as follows:(5' end: seq ID 12; 3' end: seq ID 11) GAATTC-ATG GCT GCT ACT GAA GGT GTT GGT GAA GCT EcoRI M A A T E G V G E A GCA CAG GGT GGT-codon for aai5-aa 379 of the oc subunit of A Q G G (seq ID 22) FPTase -TAA-GAATTAATTC-(Kpnl-Smal-BamHl-Hincll-Pstl- stop Sphl-Hindll ) Using PCR, the sequence upstream of the start codon of the α subunit in pRD493 was changed to include a Seal site immediately upstream of the start codon. The sequence of the oc subunit coding sequence and the surrounding restriction sites in pRD515 are as follows:(5' end: seq ID 13; 3' end: seq ID 11) GAATTC-ATGACT-ATG GCT GCT ACT GAA GGT GTT GGT EcoRI Seal M A A T E G V G GAA GCT GCA CAG GGT GGT-codon for aai5-aa 378 of the cc E A A Q G G subunit of FPTase -TAA-GAATTAATTC-(Kpnl-Smal-BamHl- stop Hincii-Psti-Sphi-mndW). The 5' end of the cDNA encoding the β subunit of hFPTase was changed using PCR such that an EcoRI site was placed immediately upstream of the coding sequence. The 3 * end of the cDNA for the β subunit was changed using PCR such that the codons for Glutamic acid-Glutamic acid-Phenylalanine-stop were placed after the last codon for the β subunit. Additionally, a Pad site was placed spanning the stop codon and an EcoRI site was placed downstream of the Pa restriction site. This EcoRI fragment was cloned into the EcoRI site of pBCKS+ (Stratagene) to make pRD463. The insert and the adjoining sequences in pRD463 are as follows:(5' end: seq ID 14; 3' end: seq ID 15) GAATTC-AAC-ATG-β subunit hFPTase codons for aa 2 -aa 437 - EcoRl M GAG-GAG-TTT-TAA-TTAA-GAATTC GATATC AAGCTT E E F stop Pa EcoRI EcoRV Hindlll The 5' end of the cDNA encoding the β subunit of hFPTase was modified by PCR such that an EcoRI site was placed immediately adjacent to the start codon and a 0.7 kb EcoRl-Kpnl fragment containing codons for aaι-aa242 of the β subunit was cloned into Eco l+Kpnl cut pUC18 creating pRD464. The ends of the insert in pRD464 are as follows: GAATTC-ATG-β subunit hFPTase codons for aa 2 -aa 2 40- EcoRl M GGG GTACC G Kpnl The 0.7kb EcoRl-Kpnl fragment of pRD464 containing the 5' end of the β subunit gene and the 0.6 kb Kpnl-HindJH fragment from pRD463 containing the 3' end of the β subunit gene were cloned into the expression vector pBTacl(Boehringer-Mannheim) that had been cut with EcoRI and HindYΩ. creating pRD466. The ends of the insert in pRD466 are as follows:(3' end: seq ID 16) tac promoter- RB S-G A ATTC- ATG-β subunit hFPTase codons for EcoRI M aa9-aa/ -GAG-GAG-TTT-TAA-TTAA-GAATT GATATC E E F stop Pad EcoRI EcoRV AAGCTT HindUl The plasmid pRD466 was partially cleaved with EcoRI and the ends filled in with the Klenow fragment of E. coli DNA polymerase and dNTPs, the ends religated and transformed into E. coli . A plasmid from this transformation was identified in which the EcoRI site after the β subunit stop codon was filled in, while the EcoRI site upstream of the β subunit coding sequence was intact. The insert in this plasmid, designated pRD478, has the following sequence: (3' end: seq ID 17) tac promoter- RBS-GAATTC-ATG-β subunit hFPTase codons for EcoRI M aa?-aa^7-GAG-GAG-TTT-TAA-TTAA-GAATTATTC-GATATC E E F stop Pad EcoRW AAGCTT HindJΩ. The 5' end of the β subunit coding sequence was modified using PCR and a ribosomal binding site (Shine, J. and Dalgarno,L. (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 71, 1342-1346) was placed between an EcoRI site and the β subunit coding sequence. A 0.3 kb EcoRl- BamH fragment from this PCR was used to replace the EcόR - Bam l fragment in pRD478, creating pRD486. The insert in pRD486 has the following sequence:(5' end: seq ID 18; 3' end: seq ID 17) tac promoter- GAATTC-TAAGGAGGAAAAAAAA-ATG-β subunit EcoRI RBS M hFPTase codons for aa?-aa^7-GAG-GAG-TTT-TAA-TTAA- E E F stop Pad GAATTATTC-GATATC AAGCTT EcoRV Hindlll The plasmid pRD486 was cleaved with Pad and the ends blunted with T4 DNA polymerase. This DNA was ligated to a 1.1 kB Seal- Hindi fragment from pRD515 that contained the coding sequence for the oc subunit of hFPTase. In the resulting plasmid, pRD516, the coding sequences for the oc and β subunits of human FPTase are transcribed on a single mRNA driven by the tac promoter on the plasmid. Translation of the oc subunit is coupled (Schoner, B. E., Belagaje, R. M. and Schoner, R. G. (1990) Methods in Enz. 185, 94- 103) to the translation of the β subunit since the ribosomal binding site (RBS) for the oc subunit is the sequence GGAG (Shine, J. and Dalgarno,L.,.sw/?rα) that is within the Glu-Glu-Phe coding sequence appended onto the β subunit coding sequence. The sequence of the DNA fragment containing the coding sequences for the oc and β subunits of human FPTase in pRD516 is shown in Figure 5.(cDNA: seq ID 19; amino acid: seq ID 20). EXAMPLE 8 Expression and Purification of Human FPTase - ~ To express human FPTase the plasmid pRD516 was transformed into E. coli DH5a and grown in LB + 100 μg/ml ampicillin at 37°C until the cultures were in late log to early stationary phase of growth (ATCC-69091). The cells were harvested and FPTase was purified as described below. Human FPTase was isolated from E.coli cultures by resuspending a cell pellet in 50mM Tris-Cl pH7.5, ImM EDTA, ImM EGTA, ImM DTT, ImM phenylmethylsulfonyl flouride(PMSF), 2μg/ml leupeptin, 2μg/ml antipain, 10 μg/ml aprotinin (approx. 5g cells/10ml solution). The resuspended cells were broken by sonication and the cell debris pelleted by centrifugation at 30,000 x g at 4°C for 30 min. The soluble fraction was diluted with an equal volume of 0.15M NaCl, 6mM NaPθ4, pH7.2 (PBS) and applied at a flow rate of approximately 0.5ml/min to a 2ml column of the monoclonal antibody YLl/2(4mg antibody/ml resin) coupled to cyanogen bromide activated Sepharose(Stammers et al.) After loading the protein onto the column, the column was washed with 10-20 ml of 1/2 x PBS containing 2mM DTT, 0.1% Tween-20, ImM PMSF, 2μg/ml leupeptin, 2μg/ml antipain, 10 μg/ml aprotinin. The column was then washed with 100-200 ml of 1/2 x PBS containing 2mM DTT. FPTase was eluted with 3 x 3ml of 5mM Asp-Phe dipeptide (Sigma), 100 mM Tris-Cl pH 7.5, 2mM DTT. The column was regenerated by washing with PBS + 2M NaCl and then storing in PBS + 0.02% (wt./vol.) NaN3. The FPTase was obtained in >20% purity and in a 0.1 to 1.0% yield based on the total starting soluble E. coli protein. In some cases the FPTase was further purified. This is not necessary for drug screening. To further purify the FPTase the protein eluted from the antibody column was chromatographed by HPLC on a MonoQ HRlO-10 column(Pharmacia) where buffer A was 50mM Tris-Cl pH7.5, 5mM MgCl2, 5mM DTT and buffer B was buffer A + IM NaCl. The column was run at lml/min. and the gradient was 0-20% B in 10 min., 20-40% B in 30 min., 40-100% B in 20 min. FPTase eluted at approximately 30-35% B. EXAMPLE 9 ASSAY OF PURIFIED FPTase ACTIVITY IN THE ABSENCE OF INHIBITOR Activity of the purified human FPTase described in Example 8 was assayed in the biosynthetically forward direction at 30°C. Reactions were never allowed to proceed to more than 10% completion based on the limiting substrate. For calculations, the molecular mass of the transferase was assumed to be 93 kD and that of Ras-CVLS to be 21 kD (D. L. Pompliano et al., Biochem. 31, 3800-3807 (1992) and S.L. Moores et al. (1991), J. Biol. Chem., 266: 14603-14610) ). A typical reaction contained the following: 50 mM HEPES pH7.5, 5 mM MgCl2, 5 mM DTT, 10 mM ZnCl2, 0.1 % (wt./vol) polyethylene glycol (ave mol wt. 20000) with [3H]- famesyl diphosphate (1-3000 nM) and Ras-CVLS protein (20-10000 nM) as substrate. After thermally preequilibrating the asssay mixture in the absence of the enzyme, the reaction was initiated by adding the transferase. Aliquots (50-500 mL) were withdrawn at timed intervals and diluted into 10% HC1 in ethanol (1-2 mL). The quenched reaction aliquots were allowed to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes (to hydrolyze unreacted farnesyl diphosphate). After adding 100% ethanol (2 mL), the aliquot workups were vacuum filtered through Whatman GF/C filters using a Brandel cell harvester. Filters were washed four times with 2 mL 100% ethanol, mixed with scintillation fluid (10 mL) and then counted in a Beckman LS3801 scintillation counter. Kinetic data was obtained for the purified human FPTase obtained as described in Example 8 and bovine brain FPTase, obtained as described in S.L. Moores et al., J. Biol. Chem., 266, 14603 (1991) and is listed in Table 1. TABLE 1 FPTase source FPP KmCnM) Ras-CVLS KmfnM) Acat s^i) human pFPTase-ccβ 9.8±1.7 392±20 O.OIO±O.OOI bovine brain pFPTase 9.3±1.0 620±80 0.013±0.001 EXAMPLE 10 ASSAY OF COMPOUNDS FOR FPTase INHIBITORY ACTIVITY [3H]Farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) (20 Ci/mmol) was purchased from New England Nuclear. In general, inhibitory activity assays were carried out at 30°C. A typical assay reaction contained (in a final volume of 50μL): [3H]farnesyl diphosphate, Ras protein (3.5μM), 50 mM HEPES, pH 7.5, 5 mM MgCl2,l mM dithiothreitol, and the compound to be assayed. After thermally pre- equilibrating the assay mixture, the reaction was initiated by the addition of the purified mammalian FPTase and the reaction was stopped at timed intervals by the addition of IM HC1 in ethanol (1 mL). The quenched reactions were allowed to stand for 15 minutes. After adding 2 mL of 100% ethanol, the mixtures were vacuum filtered through Whatman GF/C filters. Filters were washed four times with 2 mL aliquots of 100% ethanol, mixed with scintillation fluid (10 mL) and then counted in a Beckmann LS3801 scintillation counter. Inhibitory activity values for known compounds in the assay employing the once purified human FPTase and an assay employing bovine brain FPTase are compared in Table 2 below: Inhibitor FTase tetrapeptide CVIM * tetrapeptide CIFM tetrapeptide CVIL * 20,000 6,200 unlabelled FPP * 200 250 unlabelled GGPP 200 240 Compound A 20 18 * = alternative substrates CVIM = cysteinyl-valinyl-isolleucinyl-methionine CIFM = cysteinyl-isolleucinyl-phenylalaninyl-methionine CVIL = cysteinyl-valinyl-isolleucinyl-leucine GGPP = geranyl-geranyl-diphosphate Compound A= (R,S)-[l-hydroxy-(E,E) : 3,7,l l-trimethyl-2,6,10- dodeca-trienyl]phosphonic acid (Pompliano, D. L. et al., Biochem. 31, 3800-3807 (1992)). SEQUENCE LISTING (1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (i) APPLICANT: Omer, Charles A Diehl, Ronald E Gibbε, Jackson B Kohl, Nancy E (ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: Assay for Inhibitors of Farnesyl-Protein Transferase (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 22 (iv) CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: (A) ADDRESSEE: Merck & Co., Inc. (B) STREET: P.O.Box 2000 (C) CITY: Rahway (D) STATE: New Jersey (E) COUNTRY: United States of America (F) ZIP: 07065-0907 (v) COMPUTER READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: Patentin Release #1.0, Version #1.25 (vi) CURRENT APPLICATION DATA: (A) APPLICATION NUMBER: 07/968,782 (B) FILING DATE: 10/30/92 (C) CLASSIFICATION: 435 (viii) ATTORNEY/AGENT INFORMATION: (A) NAME: Muthard, David A (B) REGISTRATION NUMBER: 35,297 (C) REFERENCE/DOCKET NUMBER: 18858 (ix) TELECOMMUNICATION INFORMATION: (A) TELEPHONE: (908)594-3903 (B) TELEFAX: (908) 594-4720 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID N0:1: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 22 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID N0:1: AAGCTTAACC ATGGACGACG GG 22 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2: ATCCAGGCCA CCACCCACTT CCTGCAGAAG CCT 33 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3: CTCCTCAAAG CCAGGCACAG GCTTCTGCAG GAA 33 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4: He Gin Ala Thr Thr His Phe Leu Gin Lys Pro Val Pro Gly Phe Glu 1 5 10 15 Glu (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 1314 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5: ATGGCTTCTC CGAGTTCCTT CACCTACTGT TGCCCTCCAT CTTCCTCCCC TATCTGGTCA 60 GAACCGCTGT ACAGTCTGAG GCCAGAGCAC GCGCGGGAGC GGTTGCAGGA CGACTCGGTG 120 GAAACAGTCA CGTCCATAGA ACAGGCAAAA GTAGAAGAAA AGATCCAAGA GGTCTTCAGT 180 TCTTACAAGT TCAACCACCT TGTACCAAGG CTTGTTTTGC AGAGAGAGAA GCACTTCCAT 240 TATCTGAAAA GAGGCCTCCG ACAGCTGACA GATGCCTACG AGTGTCTGGA TGCCAGCCGC 300 CCATGGCTCT GCTACTGGAT CCTGCATAGC CTGGAACTCC TGGATGAGCC CATCCCCCAG 360 ATGGTGGCCA CAGACGTGTG TCAGTTCCTG GAGTTGTGTC AGAGCCCAGA AGGCGGCTTT 420 GGAGGGGGCC CTGGCCAGTA CCCACACCTT GCACCCACGT ATGCAGCGGT CAACGCGCTG 480 TGCATCATTG GCACCGAGGA GGCCTATGAC GTCATTAACA GAGAGAAGCT TCTCCAGTAT 540 TTGTACTCGC TGAAGCAACC CGATGGCTCT TTTCTCATGC ACGATGGAGG TGAGGTGGAC 600 GTGAGAAGTG CATACTGTGC TGCCTCGGTA GCTTCGTTGA CCAACATCAT CACCCCAGAC 660 CTGTTTGAGG GCACTGCTGA ATGGATCGCA AGGTGTCAGA ATTGGGAAGG TGGGATTGGC 720 GGGGTACCAG GAATGGAAGC CCATGGCGGC TACACGTTCT GTGGCCTGGC TGCGCTGGTC 780 ATCCTCAAGA AGGAGCGCTC CTTGAACTTG AAGAGCTTAC TACAATGGGT GACAAGCCGG 840 CAGATGAGGT TTGAAGGTGG ATTTCAGGGC CGCTGCAACA AGCTGGTAGA CGGCTGCTAC 900 TCCTTCTGGC AGGCGGGTCT CCTGCCCCTG CTTCACCGCG CGCTGCACGC CCAAGGTGAC 960 CCTGCCCTCA GCATGAGTCG CTGGATGTTT CACCAGCAGG CCCTGCAGGA GTACATCCTG 1020 ATGTGCTGCC AGTGCCCCAC CGGGGGGCTT CTGGACAAAC CTGGCAAGTC CCGGGACTTC 1080 TACCACACCT GCTACTGCCT GAGTGGCCTG TCCATAGCCC AGCACTTCGG CAGCGGAGCC 1140 ATGTTGCACG ATGTGGTCTT GGGTGTACCT GAAAACGCCC TGCAGCCCAC TCACCCTGTG 1200 TACAATATTG GACCAGACAA AGTGATCCAG GCTACCATGC ACTTTCTGCA GAAGCCAGTT 1260 CCAGGCTTTG AGGAGCATGA GGATGAGGCA TCAGCAGAGC CTGCCACTGA CTAG 1314 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 437 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6: Met Ala Ser Pro Ser Ser Phe Thr Tyr Cys Cys Pro Pro Ser Ser Ser 1 5 10 15 Pro He Trp Ser Glu Pro Leu Tyr Ser Leu Arg Pro Glu His Ala Arg 20 25 30 Glu Arg Leu Gin Asp Asp Ser Val Glu Thr Val Thr Ser He Glu Gin 35 40 45 Ala Lys Val Glu Glu Lys He Gin Glu Val Phe Ser Ser Tyr Lys Phe 50 55 60 Asn His Leu Val Pro Arg Leu Val Leu Gin Arg Glu Lys His Phe His 65 70 75 80 Tyr Leu Lys Arg Gly Leu Arg Gin Leu Thr Asp Ala Tyr Glu Cys Leu 85 90 95 Asp Ala Ser Arg Pro Trp Leu Cys Tyr Trp He Leu His Ser Leu Glu 100 105 110 Leu Leu Asp Glu Pro He Pro Gin Met Val Ala Thr Asp Val Cys Gin 115 120 125 Phe Leu Glu Leu Cys Gin Ser Pro Glu Gly Gly Phe Gly Gly Gly Pro 130 135 140 Gly Gin Tyr Pro His Leu Ala Pro Thr Tyr Ala Ala Val Asn Ala Leu 145 150 155 160 Cys He He Gly Thr Glu Glu Ala Tyr Asp Val He Asn Arg Glu Lys 165 170 175 Leu Leu Gin Tyr Leu Tyr Ser Leu Lys Gin Pro Asp Gly Ser Phe Leu 180 185 190 Met His Asp Gly Gly Glu Val Asp Val Arg Ser Ala Tyr Cys Ala Ala 195 200 205 Ser Val Ala Ser Leu Thr Asn He He Thr Pro Asp Leu Phe Glu Gly 210 215 220 Thr Ala Glu Trp He Ala Arg Cys Gin Asn Trp Glu Gly Gly He Gly 225 230 235 240 Gly Val Pro Gly Met Glu Ala His Gly Gly Tyr Thr Phe Cys Gly Leu 245 250 255 Arg Ala Leu Val He Leu Lys Lys Glu Arg Ser Leu Asn Leu Lys Ser 260 265 270 Leu Leu Gin Trp Val Thr Ser Arg Gin Met Arg Phe Glu Gly Gly Phe 275 280 285 Gin Gly Arg Cys Asn Lys Leu Val Asp Gly Cys Tyr Ser Phe Trp Gin 290 295 300 Ala Gly Leu Leu Pro Leu Leu His Arg Ala Leu His Ala Gin Gly Asp 305 310 315 320 Pro Ala Leu Ser Met Ser Arg Trp Met Phe His Gin Gin Ala Leu Gin 325 330 335 Glu Tyr He Leu Met Cys Cys Gin Cys Pro Thr Gly Gly Leu Leu Asp 340 345 350 Lys Pro Gly Lys Ser Arg Asp Phe Tyr His Thr Cys Tyr Cys Leu Ser 355 360 365 Gly Leu Ser He Ala Gin His Phe Gly Ser Gly Ala Met Leu His Asp 370 375 380 Val Val Leu Gly Val Pro Glu Asn Ala Leu Gin Pro Thr His Pro Val 385 390 395 400 Tyr Asn He Gly Pro Asp Lys Val He Gin Ala Thr Met His Phe Leu 405 410 415 Gin Lys Pro Val Pro Gly Phe Glu Glu His Glu Asp Glu Ala Ser Ala 420 425 430 Glu Pro Ala Thr Asp 435 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 1140 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7: ATGGCGGCCA CCGAGGGGGT CGGGGAGGCT GCGCAAGGGG GCGAGCCCGG GCAGCCGGCG 60 CAACCCCCGC CCCAGCCGCA CCCACCGCCG CCCCAGCAGC AGCACAAGGA AGAGATGGCG 120 GCCGAGGCTG GGGAAGCCGT GGCGTCCCCC ATGGACGACG GGTTTGTGAG CCTGGACTCG 180 CCCTCCTATG TCCTGTACAG GGACAGAGCA GAATGGGCTG ATATAGATCC GGTGCCGCAG 240 AATGATGGCC CCAATCCCGT GGTCCAGATC ATTTATAGTG ACAAATTTAG AGATGTTTAT 300 GATTACTTCC GAGCTGTCCT GCAGCGTGAT GAAAGAAGTG AACGAGCTTT TAAGCTAACC 360 CGGGATGCTA TTGAGTTAAA TGCAGCCAAT TATACAGTGT GGCATTTCCG GAGAGTTCTT 420 TTGAAGTCAC TTCAGAAGGA TCTACATGAG GAAATGAACT ACATCACTGC AATAATTGAG 480 GAGCAGCCCA AAAACTATCA AGTTTGGCAT CATAGGCGAG TATTAGTGGA ATGGCTAAGA 540 GATCCATCTC AGGAGCTTGA ATTTATTGCT GATATTCTTA ATCAGGATGC AAAGAATTAT 600 CATGCCTGGC AGCATCGACA ATGGGTTATT CAGGAATTTA AACTTTGGGA TAATGAGCTG 660 CAGTATGTGG ACCAACTTCT GAAAGAGGAT GTGAGAAATA ACTCTGTCTG GAACCAAAGA 720 TACTTCGTTA TTTCTAACAC CACTGGCTAC AATGATCGTG CTGTATTGGA GAGAGAAGTC 780 CAATACACTC TGGAAATGAT TAAACTAGTA CCACATAATG AAAGTGCATG GAACTATTTG 840 AAAGGGATTT TGCAGGATCG TGGTCTTTCC AAATATCCTA ATCTGTTAAA TCAATTACTT 900 GATTTACAAC CAAGTCATAG TTCCCCCTAC CTAATTGCCT TTCTTGTGGA TATCTATGAA 960 GACATGCTAG AAAATCAGTG TGACAATAAG GAAGACATTC TTAATAAAGC ATTAGAGTTA 1020 TGTGAAATCC TAGCTAAAGA AAAGGACACT ATAAGAAAGG AATATTGGAG ATACATTGGA 1080 AGATCCCTTC AAAGCAAACA CAGCACAGAA AATGACTCAC CAACAAATGT ACAGCAATAA 1140 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 379 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8: Met Ala Ala Thr Glu Gly Val Gly Glu Ala Ala Gin Gly Gly Glu Pro 1 5 10 15 Gly Gin Pro Ala Gin Pro Pro Pro Gin Pro His Pro Pro Pro Pro Gin 20 25 30 Gin Gin His Lys Glu Glu Met Ala Ala Glu Ala Gly Glu Ala Val Ala 35 40 45 Ser Pro Met Asp Asp Gly Phe Val Ser Leu Asp Ser Pro Ser Tyr Val 50 55 60 Leu Tyr Arg Asp Arg Ala Glu Trp Ala Asp He Asp Pro Val Pro Gin 65 70 75 80 Asn Asp Gly Pro Asn Pro Val Val Gin He He Tyr Ser Asp Lys Phe 85 90 95 Arg Asp Val Tyr Asp Tyr Phe Arg Ala Val Leu Gin Arg Asp Glu Arg 100 105 110 Ser Glu Arg Ala Phe Lys Leu Thr Arg Asp Ala He Glu Leu Asn Ala 115 120 125 Ala Asn Tyr Thr Val Trp His Phe Arg Arg Val Leu Leu Lys Ser Leu 130 135 140 Gin Lys Asp Leu His Glu Glu Met Asn Tyr He Thr Ala He He Glu 145 150 155 160 Glu Gin Pro Lys Asn Tyr Gin Val Trp His His Arg Arg Val Leu Val 165 170 175 Glu Trp Leu Arg Asp Pro Ser Gin Glu Leu Glu Phe He Ala Asp He 180 • 185 190 Leu Asn Gin Asp Ala Lys Asn Tyr His Ala Trp Gin His Arg Gin Trp 195 200 205 Val He Gin Glu Phe Lys Leu Trp Asp Asn Glu Leu Gin Tyr Val Asp 210 215 220 Gin Leu Leu Lys Glu Asp Val Arg Asn Asn Ser Val Trp Asn Gin Arg 225 230 235 240 Tyr Phe Val He Ser Asn Thr Thr Gly Tyr Asn Asp Arg Ala Val Leu 245 250 255 Glu Arg Glu Val Gin Tyr Thr Leu Glu Met He Lys Leu Val Pro His 260 265 270 Asn Glu Ser Ala Trp Asn Tyr Leu Lys Gly He Leu Gin Asp Arg Gly 275 280 285 Leu Ser Lys Tyr Pro Asn Leu Leu Asn Gin Leu Leu Asp Leu Gin Pro 290 295 300 Ser His Ser Ser Pro Tyr Leu He Ala Phe Leu Val Asp He Tyr Glu 305 310 315- 320 Asp Met Leu Glu Asn Gin Cys Asp Asn Lys Glu Asp He Leu Asn Lys 325 330 335 Ala Leu Glu Leu Cys Glu He Leu Ala Lys Glu Lys Asp Thr He Arg 340 345 350 Lys Glu Tyr Trp Arg Tyr He Gly Arg Ser Leu Gin Ser Lys His Ser 355 360 365 Thr Glu Asn Asp Ser Pro Thr Asn Val Gin Gin 370 375 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 1314 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9: ATGGCTTCTC CGAGTTCTTT CACCTACTAT TGCCCTCCAT CTTCCTCCCC CGTCTGGTCA 60 GAGCCGCTGT ACAGTCTGAG GCCCGAGCAC GCGCGAGAGC GGTTGCAGGA CGACTCGGTG 120 GAAACAGTCA CGTCCATAGA ACAGGCAAAA GTAGAAGAAA AGATCCAAGA GGTCTTCAGT 180 TCTTACAAGT TCAACCACCT TGTACCAAGG CTTGTTTTGC AGAGGGAGAA GCACTTCCAT 240 TATCTGAAAA GAGGCCTTCG ACAACTGACA GATGCCTATG AGTGTCTGGA TGCCAGCCGC 300 CCATGGCTCT GCTATTGGAT CCTGCACAGC TTGGAACTGC TAGATGAACC CATCCCCCAG 360 ATAGTGGCTA CAGATGTGTG TCAGTTCCTG GAGCTGTGTC AGAGCCCAGA AGGTGGCTTT 420 GGAGGAGGAC CCGGTCAGTA TCCACACCTT GCACCCACAT ATGCAGCAGT CAATGCATTG 480 TGCATCATTG GCACCGAGGA GGCCTATGAC ATCATTAACA GAGAGAAGCT TCTTCAGTAT 540 TTGTACTCCC TGAAGCAACC TGACGGCTCC TTTCTCATGC ATGTCGGAGG TGAGGTGGAT 600 GTGAGAAGCG CATACTGTGC TGCCTCCGTA GCCTCGCTGA CCAACATCAT CACTCCAGAC 660 CTCTTTGAGG GCACTGCTGA ATGGATAGCA AGGTGTCAGA ACTGGGAAGG TGGCATTGGC 720 GGGGTACCAG GGATGGAAGC CCATGGTGGC TATACCTTCT GTGGCCTGGC CGCGCTGGTA 780 ATCCTCAAGA GGGAACGTTC CTTGAACTTG AAGAGCTTAT TACAATGGGT GACAAGCCGG 840 CAGATGCGAT TTGAAGGAGG ATTTCAGGGC CGCTGCAACA AGCTGGTGGA TGGCTGCTAC 900 TCCTTCTGGC AGGCGGGGCT CCTGCCCCTG CTCCACCGCG CACTGCACGC CCAAGGTGAC 960 CCTGCCCTTA GCATGAGCCA CTGGATGTTC CATCAGCAGG CCCTGCAGGA GTACATCCTG 1020 ATGTGCTGCC AGTGCCCTGC GGGGGGGCTT CTGGATAAAC CTGGCAAGTC GCGTGATTTC 1080 TACCACACCT GCTACTGCCT GAGCGGCCTG TCCATAGCCC AGCACTTCGG CAGCGGAGCC 1140 ATGTTGCATG ATGTGGTCCT GGGTGTGCCC GAAAACGCTC TGCAGCCCAC TCACCCAGTG 1200 TACAACATTG GACCAGACAA GGTGATCCAG GCCACTACAT ACTTTCTACA GAAGCCAGTC 1260 CCAGGTTTTG AGGAGCTTAA GGATGAGACA TCGGCAGAGC CTGCAACCGA CTAG 1314 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 437 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10: Met Ala Ser Pro Ser Ser Phe Thr Tyr Tyr Cys Pro Pro Ser Ser Ser 1 5 10 15 Pro Val Trp Ser Glu Pro Leu Tyr Ser Leu Arg Pro Glu His Ala Arg 20 25 30 Glu Arg Leu Gin Asp Asp Ser Val Glu Thr Val Thr Ser He Glu Gin 35 40 45 Ala Lys Val Glu Glu Lys He Gin Glu Val Phe Ser Ser Tyr Lys Phe 50 55 60 Asn His Leu Val Pro Arg Leu Val Leu Gin Arg Glu Lys His Phe His 65 70 75 80 Tyr Leu Lys Arg Gly Leu Arg Gin Leu Thr Asp Ala Tyr Glu Cys Leu 85 90 95 Asp Ala Ser Arg Pro Trp Leu Cys Tyr Trp He Leu His Ser Leu Glu 100 105 110 Leu Leu Asp Glu Pro He Pro Gin He Val Ala Thr Asp Val Cys Gin 115 120 125 Phe Leu Glu Leu Cys Gin Ser Pro Glu Gly Gly Phe Gly Gly Gly Pro 130 135 140 Gly Gin Tyr Pro His Leu Ala Pro Thr Tyr Ala Ala Val Asn Ala Leu 145 150 155 160 Cys He He Gly Thr Glu Glu Ala Tyr Asp He He Asn Arg Glu Lys 165 170 175 Leu Leu Gin Tyr Leu Tyr Ser Leu Lys Gin Pro Asp Gly Ser Phe Leu 180 185 190 Met His Val Gly Gly Glu Val Asp Val Arg Ser Ala Tyr Cys Ala Ala 195 200 205 Ser Val Ala Ser Leu Thr Asn He He Thr Pro Asp Leu Phe Glu Gly 210 215 220 Thr Ala Glu Trp He Ala Arg Cys Gin Asn Trp Glu Gly Gly He Gly 225 230 235 240 Gly Val Pro Gly Met Glu Ala His Gly Gly Tyr Thr Phe Cys Gly Leu 245 250 255 Ala Ala Leu Val He Leu Lys Arg Glu Arg Ser Leu Asn Leu Lys Ser 260 265 270 Leu Leu Gin Trp Val Thr Ser Arg Gin Met Arg Phe Glu Gly Gly Phe 275 280 285 Gin Gly Arg Cys Asn Lys Leu Val Asp Gly Cys Tyr Ser Phe Trp Gin 290 295 300 Ala Gly Leu Leu Pro Leu Leu His Arg Ala Leu His Ala Gin Gly Asp 305 310 315 320 Pro Ala Leu Ser Met Ser His Trp Met Phe His Gin Gin Ala Leu Gin 325 330 335 Glu Tyr He Leu Met Cys Cys Gin Cys Pro Ala Gly Gly Leu Leu Asp 340 345 350 Lys Pro Gly Lys Ser Arg Asp Phe Tyr His Thr Cys Tyr Cys Leu Ser 355 360 365 Gly Leu Ser He Ala Gin His Phe Gly Ser Gly Ala Met Leu His Asp 370 375 380 Val Val Leu Gly Val Pro Glu Asn Ala Leu Gin Pro Thr His Pro Val 385 390 395 400 Tyr Asn He Gly Pro Asp Lys Val He Gin Ala Thr Thr Tyr Phe Leu 405 410 415 Gin Lys Pro Val Pro Gly Phe Glu Glu Leu Lys Asp Glu Thr Ser Ala 420 425 430 Glu Pro Ala Thr Asp 435 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 13 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11: TAAGAATTAA TTC 13 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 48 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12: GAATTCATGG CTGCTACTGA AGGTGTTGGT GAAGCTGCAC AGGGTGGT 48 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 54 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13: GAATTCATGA CTATGGCTGC TACTGAAGGT GTTGGTGAAG CTGCACAGGG TGGT 54 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 12 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14: GAATTCAACA TG 12 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 34 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15: GAGGAGTTTT AATTAAGAAT TCGATATCAA GCTT 34 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 33 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16: GAGGAGTTTT AATTAAGAAT TGATATCAAG CTT 33 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 37 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17: GAGGAGTTTT AATTAAGAAT TATTCGATAT CAAGCTT 37 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 25 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18: GAATTCTAAG GAGGAAAAAA AAATG 25 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 2546 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19: GAATTCTAAG GAGGAAAAAA AAATGGCTTC TCCGAGTTCT TTCACCTACT ATTGCCCTCC 60 ATCTTCCTCC CCCGTCTGGT CAGAGCCGCT GTACAGTCTG AGGCCCGAGC ACGCGCGAGA 120 GCGGTTGCAG GACGACTCGG TGGAAACAGT CACGTCCATA GAACAGGCAA AAGTAGAAGA 180 AAAGATCCAA GAGGTCTTCA GTTCTTACAA GTTCAACCAC CTTGTACCAA GGCTTGTTTT 240 GCAGAGGGAG AAGCACTTCC ATTATCTGAA AAGAGGCCTT CGACAACTGA CAGATGCCTA 300 TGAGTGTCTG GATCGGAGCC GCCCATGGCT CTGCTATTGG ATCCTGCACA GCTTGGAACT 360 GCTAGATGAA CCCATCCCCC AGATAGTGGC TACAGATGTG TGTCAGTTCC TGGAGCTGTG 420 TCAGAGCCCA GAAGGTGGCT TTGGAGGAGG ACCCGGTCAG TATCCACACC TTGCACCCAC 480 ATATGCAGCA GTCAATGCAT TGTGCATCAT TGGCACCGAG GAGGCCTATG ACATCATTAA 540 CAGAGAGAAG CTTCTTCAGT ATTTGTACTC CCTGAAGCAA CCTGACGGCT CCTTTCTCAT 600 GCATGTCGGA GGTGAGGTGG ATGTGAGAAG CGCATACTGT GCTGCCTCCG TAGCCTCGCT 660 GACCAACATC ATCACTCCAG ACCTCTTTGA GGGCACTGCT GAATGGATAG CAAGGTGTCA 720 GAACTGGGAA GGTGGCATTG GCGGGGTACC AGGGATGGAA GCCCATGGTG GCTATACCTT 780 CTGTGGCCTG GCCGCGCTGG TAATCCTCAA GAGGGAACGT TCCTTGAACT TGAAGAGCTT 840 ATTACAATGG GTGACAAGCC GGCAGATGCG ATTTGAAGGA GGATTTCAGG GCCGCTGCAA 900 CAAGCTGGTG GATGGCTGCT ACTCCTTCTG GCAGGCGGGG CTCCTGCCCC TGCTCCACCG 960 CGCACTGCAC GCCCAAGGTG ACCCTGCCCT TAGCATGAGC CACTGGATGT TCCATCAGCA 1020 GGCCCTGCAG GAGTACATCC TGATGTGCTG CCAGTGCCCT GCGGGGGGGC TTCTGGATAA 1080 ACCTGGCAAG TCGCGTGATT TCTACCACAC CTGCTACTGC CTGAGCGGCC TGTCCATAGC 1140 CCAGCACTTC GGCAGCGGAG CCATGTTGCA TGATGTGGTC CTGGGTGTGC CCGAAAACGC 1200 TCTGCAGCCC ACTCACCCAG TGTACAACAT TGGACCAGAC AAGGTGATCC AGGCCACTAC 1260 ATACTTTCTA CAGAAGCCAG TCCCAGGTTT TGAGGAGCTT AAGGATGAGA CATCGGCAGA 1320 GCCTGCAACC GACGAGGAGT TTTAACTATG GCTGCTACTG AAGGTGTTGG TGAAGCTGCA 1380 CAGGGTGGTG AGCCCGGGCA GCCGGCGCAA CCCCCGCCCC AGCCGCACCC ACCGCCGCCC 1440 CAGCAGCAGC ACAAGGAAGA GATGGCGGCC GAGGCTGGGG AAGCCGTGGC GTCCCCCATG 1500 GACGACGGGT TTGTGAGCCT GGACTCGCCC TCCTATGTCC TGTACAGGGA CAGAGCAGAA 1560 TGGGCTGATA TAGATCCGGT GCCGCAGAAT GATGGCCCCA ATCCCGTGGT CCAGATCATT 1620 TATAGTGACA AATTTAGAGA TGTTTATGAT TACTTCCGAG CTGTCCTGCA GCGTGATGAA 1680 AGAAGTGAAC GAGCTTTTAA GCTAACCCGG GATGCTATTG AGTTAAATGC AGCCAATTAT 1740 ACAGTGTGGC ATTTCCGGAG AGTTCTTTTG AAGTCACTTC AGAAGGATCT ACATGAGGAA 1800 ATGAACTACA TCACTGCAAT AATTGAGGAG CAGCCCAAAA ACTATCAAGT TTGGCATCAT 1860 AGGCGAGTAT TAGTGGAATG GCTAAGAGAT CCATCTCAGG AGCTTGAATT TATTGCTGAT 1920 ATTCTTAATC AGGATGCAAA GAATTATCAT GCCTGGCAGC ATCGACAATG GGTTATTCAG 1980 GAATTTAAAC TTTGGGATAA TGAGCTGCAG TATGTGGACC AACTTCTGAA AGAGGATGTG 2040 AGAAATAACT CTGTCTGGAA CCAAAGATAC TTCGTTATTT CTAACACCAC TGGCTACAAT 2100 GATCGTGCTG TATTGGAGAG AGAAGTCCAA TACACTCTGG AAATGATTAA ACTAGTACCA 2160 CATAATGAAA GTGCATGGAA CTATTTGAAA GGGATTTTGC AGGATCGTGG TCTTTCCAAA 2220 TATCCTAATC TGTTAAATCA ATTACTTGAT TTACAACCAA GTCATAGTTC CCCCTACCTA 2280 ATTGCCTTTC TTGTGGATAT CTATGAAGAC ATGCTAGAAA ATCAGTGTGA CAATAAGGAA 2340 GACATTCTTA ATAAAGCATT AGAGTTATGT GAAATCCTAG CTAAAGAAAA GGACACTATA 2400 AGAAAGGAAT ATTGGAGATA CATTGGAAGA TCCCTTCAAA GCAAACACAG CACAGAAAAT 2460 GACTCACCAA CAAATGTACA GCAATAAGAA TTAATTCGGT ACCCGGGGAT CCTCTAGAGT 2520 CTAAGAATTA ATTCGATATC AAGCTT 2546 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 819 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20: Met Ala Ser Pro Ser Ser Phe Thr Tyr Tyr Cys Pro Pro Ser Ser Ser 1 5 10 15 Pro Val Trp Ser Glu Pro Leu Tyr Ser Leu Arg Pro Glu His Ala Arg 20 25 30 Glu Arg Leu Gin Asp Asp Ser Val Glu Thr Val Thr Ser He Glu Gin 35 40 45 Ala Lys Val Glu Glu Lys He Gin Glu Val Phe Ser Ser Tyr Lys Phe 50 55 60 Asn His Leu Val Pro Arg Leu Val Leu Gin Arg Glu Lys His Phe His 65 70 75 80 Tyr Leu Lys Arg Gly Leu Arg Gin Leu Thr Asp Ala Tyr Glu Cys Leu 85 90 95 Asp Ala Ser Arg Pro Trp Leu Cys Tyr Trp He Leu His Ser Leu Glu 100 105 110 Leu Leu Asp Glu Pro He Pro Gin He Val Ala Thr Asp Val Cys Gin 115 120 125 Phe Leu Glu Leu Cys Gin Ser Pro Glu Gly Gly Phe Gly Gly Gly Pro 130 135 140 Gly Gin Tyr Pro His Leu Ala Pro Thr Tyr Ala Ala Val Asn Ala Leu 145 150 155 160 Cys He He Gly Thr Glu Glu Ala Tyr Asp He He Asn Arg Glu Lys 165 170 175 Leu Leu Gin Tyr Leu Tyr Ser Leu Lys Gin Pro Asp Gly Ser Phe Leu 180 185 190 Met His Val Gly Gly Glu Val Asp Val Arg Ser Ala Tyr Cys Ala Ala 195 200 205 Ser Val Ala Ser Leu Thr Asn He He Thr Pro Asp Leu Phe Glu Gly 210 215 220 Thr Ala Glu Trp He Ala Arg Cys Gin Asn Trp Glu Gly Gly He Gly 225 230 235 240 Gly Val Pro Gly Met Glu Ala His Gly Gly Tyr Thr Phe Cys Gly Leu 245 250 255 Ala Ala Leu Val He Leu Lys Arg Glu Arg Ser Leu Asn Leu Lys Ser 260 265 270 Leu Leu Gin Trp Val Thr Ser Arg Gin Met Arg Phe Glu Gly Gly Phe 275 280 285 Gin Gly Arg Cys Asn Lys Leu Val Asp Gly Cys Tyr Ser Phe Trp Gin 290 295 300 Ala Gly Leu Leu Pro Leu Leu His Arg Ala Leu His Ala Gin Gly Asp 305 310 315 320 Pro Ala Leu Ser Met Ser His Trp Met Phe His Gin Gin Ala Leu Gin 325 . 330 335 Glu Tyr He Leu Met Cys Cys Gin Cys Pro Ala Gly Gly Leu Leu Asp 340 345 350 Lys Pro Gly Lys Ser Arg Asp Phe Tyr His Thr Cys Tyr Cys Leu Ser 355 360 365 Gly Leu Ser He Ala Gin His Phe Gly Ser Gly Ala Met Leu His Asp 370 375 380 Val Val Leu Gly Val Pro Glu Asn Ala Leu Gin Pro Thr His Pro Val 385 390 395 400 Tyr Asn He Gly Pro Asp Lys Val He Gin Ala Thr Thr Tyr Phe Leu 405 410 415 Glh Lys Pro Val Pro Gly Phe Glu Glu Leu Lys Asp Glu Thr Ser Ala 420 425 430 Glu Pro Ala Thr Asp Glu Glu Phe Met Ala Ala Thr Glu Gly Val Gly 435 440 445 Glu Ala Ala Gin Gly Gly Glu Pro Gly Gin Pro Ala Gin Pro Pro Pro 450 455 460 Gin Pro His Pro Pro Pro Pro Gin Gin Gin His Lys Glu Glu Met Ala 465 470 475 480 Ala Glu Ala Gly Glu Ala Val Ala Ser Pro Met Asp Asp Gly Phe Val 485 490 495 Ser Leu Asp Ser Pro Ser Tyr Val Leu Tyr Arg Asp Arg Ala Glu Trp 500 505 510 Ala Asp He Asp Pro Val Pro Gin Asn Asp Gly Pro Asn Pro Val Val 515 520 525 Gin He He Tyr Ser Asp Lys Phe Arg Asp Val Tyr Asp Tyr Phe Arg 530 535 540 Ala Val Leu Gin Arg Asp Glu Arg Ser Glu Arg Ala Phe Lys Leu Thr 545 550 555 560 Arg Asp Ala He Glu Leu Asn Ala Ala Asn Tyr Thr Val Trp His Phe 565 570 575 Arg Arg Val Leu Leu Lys Ser Leu Gin Lys Asp Leu His Glu Glu Met 580 585 590 Asn Tyr He Thr Ala He He Glu Glu Gin Pro Lys Asn Tyr Gin Val 595 600 605 Trp His His Arg Arg Val Leu Val Glu Trp Leu Arg Asp Pro Ser Gin 610 615 620 Glu Leu Glu Phe He Ala Asp He Leu Asn Gin Asp Ala Lys Asn Tyr 625 630 635 640 His Ala Trp Gin His Arg Gin Trp Val He Gin Glu Phe Lys Leu Trp 645 650 655 Asp Asn Glu Leu Gin Tyr Val Asp Gin Leu Leu Lys Glu Asp Val Arg 660 665 670 Asn Asn Ser Val Trp Asn Gin Arg Tyr Phe Val He Ser Asn Thr Thr 675 680 685 Gly Tyr Asn Asp Arg Ala Val Leu Glu Arg Glu Val Gin Tyr Thr Leu 690 695 700 Glu Met He Lys Leu Val Pro His Asn Glu Ser Ala Trp Asn Tyr Leu 705 710 715 720 Lys Gly He Leu Gin Asp Arg Gly Leu Ser Lys Tyr Pro Asn Leu Leu 725 730 735 Asn Gin Leu Leu Asp Leu Gin Pro Ser His Ser Ser Pro Tyr Leu He 740 745 750 Ala Phe Leu Val Asp He Tyr Glu Asp Met Leu Glu Asn Gin Cys Asp 755 760 765 Asn Lys Glu Asp He Leu Asn Lys Ala Leu Glu Leu Cys Glu He Leu 770 775 780 Ala Lys Glu Lys Asp Thr He Arg Lys Glu Tyr Trp Arg Tyr He Gly 785 790 795 800 Arg Ser Leu Gin Ser Lys His Ser Thr Glu Asn Asp Ser Pro Thr Asn 805 810 815 Val Gin Gin (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:21: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 4 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:21: Met Ala Ala Gly 1 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:22: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 14 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:22: Met Ala Ala Thr Glu Gly Val Gly Glu Ala Ala Gin Gly Gly 1 5 10

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A plasmid operably containing cDNAs encoding an oc subunit and a β subunit of a mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme. 2. The plasmid according to Claim 1 which further operably contains a cDNA which encodes a glutamic acid-glutamic acid-phenylalanine epitope between the α subunit and β subunit of the mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme. 3. The plasmid according to Claim 1 wherein the mammalian farnesyl protein transferase is human farnesyl protein transferase. 4. The plasmid according to Claim 3 wherein the cDNAs are contained in a vector which is pRD516. 5. A bacterium transfected with the plasmid according to Claim 1. 6. The bacterium according to Claim 5 wherein the bacterium is an Escherichia coli . 1. A bacterium transfected with the plasmid according to Claim 2. 8. A bacterium transfected with the plasmid according to Claim 3. 9. A bacterium transfected with the plasmid according to Claim 4 wherein the bacterium is an Escherichia coli and is designated ATCC-69091. 10. A mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme expressed by the bacterium according to Claim 5. 11. The mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme according to Claim 10 which has greater than 20% purity. 12. A mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme expressed by the cell according to Claim 7 which has greater than 20% purity. 13. A mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme expressed by the cell according to Claim 8 which has greater than 20% purity. 14. A method of assessing the inhibitory activity of a pharmaceutical compound against a mammalian farnesyl protein transferase enzyme which comprises measuring the famesylation of a protein substrate mediated by the mammalian farnesyl protein tranferase enzyme according to Claim 10 in the presence of said pharmaceutical compound. 15. The method of assessing the inhibitory activity of a pharmaceutical compound against a mammalian famesyl protein transferase enzyme according to Claim 13 wherein the mammalian famesyl protein transferase enzyme is human famesyl protein transferase enzyme.

Inventors: DIEHL RONALD E, GIBBS JACKSON B, KOHL NANCY E, OMER CHARLES A, DIEHL, RONALD, E., GIBBS, JACKSON, B., KOHL, NANCY, E., OMER, CHARLES, A.
Applicants: DIEHL RONALD E, GIBBS JACKSON B, KOHL NANCY E, MERCK & CO INC, OMER CHARLES A, DIEHL, RONALD, E., GIBBS, JACKSON, B., KOHL, NANCY, E., MERCK & CO., INC., OMER, CHARLES, A.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C07H15
IPC codes: C07H21, C12N1, C12N9, C12N15, C12Q1, C12R1