Expressed sequence tags and encoded human proteins

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to purified, isolated, or enriched 5' ESTs which include sequences derived from the authentic 5' ends of their corresponding mRNAs.
The term "corresponding mRNA" refers to the mRNA which was the template for the cDNA synthesis which produced the 5' EST.
These sequences will be referred to hereinafter as "5' ESTs.
" The present invention also includes purified, isolated or enriched nucleic acids comprising contigs assembled by determining a consensus sequences from a plurality of ESTs containing overlapping sequences.
These contigs will be referred to herein as "consensus contigated ESTs.
" As used herein, the term "purified" does not require absolute purity; rather, it is intended as a relative definition.
Individual 5' EST clones isolated from a cDNA library have been conventionally purified to electrophoretic homogeneity.
The sequences obtained from these clones could not be obtained directly either form the library or from total human DNA.
The cDNA clones are not naturally occurring as such, but rather are obtained via manipulation of a partially purified naturally occurring substance (messenger RNA).
The conversion of mRNA into a cDNA library involves the creation of a synthetic substance (cDNA) and pure individual cDNA clones can be isolated from the synthetic library by clonal selection.
Thus, creating a cDNA library from messenger RNA and subsequently isolating individual clones from that library results in an approximately 10.
sup.
4 -10.
sup.
6 fold purification of the native message.
Purification of starting material or natural material to at least one order of magnitude, preferably two or three orders, and more preferably four or five orders of magnitude is expressly contemplated.
As used herein, the term "isolated" requires that the material be removed from its original environment (e.
g.
, the natural environment if it is naturally occurring).
For example, a naturally-occurring polynucleotide present in a living animal is not isolated, but the same polynucleotide, separated from some or all of the coexisting materials in the natural system, is isolated