Patent ID: 6867186

Claim:
A method of inhibiting a calpain in a cell, the method comprising contacting the cell with an effective amount of a fusion protein comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portion comprising a signal sequence capable of delivering the fusion protein into the cell, the second portion comprising a biologically active variant of a calpastatin peptide comprising the sequence Xaa-Xaa-Leu-Gly-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Xaa-Thr-Ile-Pro-Pro-Xaa-Tvr-Xaa-Xaa-Leu-Leu-Xaa (SEQ ID NO:24), wherein Xaa at position 1 is Glu, ASP, or Lys; Xaa at position 2 is Lys, Glu, Ala, or Asn; Xaa at position 5 is Glu, Lys, or Ile; Xaa at position 6 is Are, Lys, or Asp; Xaa at position 7 is Asp or Glu; Xaa at position 8 is Asp, Val, Ser, Gly, or Glu; Xaa at position 13 is Glu, Lys, or Asp; Xaa at position 15 is Are, Lys, or Gin; Xaa at position 16 is Glu, His, Lys, or Leu; Xaa at position 19 is Glu, Asp, Asn, or Val; and the Leu at position 3, the Gly at position 4, the Thr at position 9, the lie at position 10, the Pro at position 11, the Pro at position 12, the Tyr at position 14, the Leu at position 17, or the Leu at position 18 is replaced with a conservative amino acid residue.