Of the viral vectors currently being used in clinical trials, over two-thirds of them are retroviral. The present invention describes a retroviral method as well. Cell lines have been created that produce recombinant retroviruses with broad host-range specificity for prolonged periods of time. The invention should be useful in identifying viral receptors, as well as specifically quantifying the entry step of a viral infection. This protein has no sequence homology to any known protein in the database.
Preliminary data indicate that homologous proteins exist in a variety of human tissues.
A potential use for this protein may be in immunosuppression during organ transplantation or in treatment of autoimmune diseases. Again, it might be possible to prevent or retard neuronal degeneration in such conditions through inactivation of this protein. Patent applications filed.