 Pharmaceutical compositions comprising an adenosine receptor agonist or antagonist |
| OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention novel therapeutic use is provided for certain ... |
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| Engineered protein kinases which can utilize modified nucleotide triphosphate substrates |
| OF THE INVENTION Inhibition of Engineered Kinases FIG. 9 shows a schematic representation of an ... |
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| Method for the production of bacterial toxins |
| The present invention is based upon the discovery that bacterial toxin expression inhibitors ... |
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| Lactone stable formulation of 10-hydroxy 7-ethyl camptothecin and methods for uses thereof |
| OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In its preferred embodiments, this invention involves preparation and ... |
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| Modified protein kinase A-specific oligonucleotides and methods of their use |
| The present invention relates to modified oligonucleotides useful for studies of gene expression ... |
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| Peptides and nucleic acid sequences related to the Epstein Barr virus |
| OF THE INVENTION The term "peptide" as used herein refers to a molecular chain of amino acids with ... |
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| Production of peptides in plants as viral coat protein fusions |
| What is claimed is: 1. A virion particle comprising a coat protein of a Tobamovirus and a fusion ... |
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| Macrolide antibiotics |
| OF THE INVENTION The following reaction Schemes illustrate the preparation of the compounds of the ... |
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| Processes, apparatus and compositions for characterizing nucleotide sequences based on K-tuple analysis |
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Method of enhancing proliferation or differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells using Wnt polypeptides
| Details |
Inventors: Matthews, William; Austin, Timothy W.;
Assignee: Genentech, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA)
Primary Examiner: Fitzgerald; David L.
Assistant Examiner: Basham; Daryl A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Svoboda; Craig G., Marschang; Diane L.
Uses for Wnt polypeptides in hematopoiesis are disclosed. In particular, in vitro and in vivo methods for enhancing proliferation or differentiation of a hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell using a Wnt polypeptide, and optionally another cytokine, are described. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION In one aspect, the present invention pertains to the discovery herein that Wnt polypeptides ("Wnts"), such as Wnt-5a, play a role in hematopoiesis.
In another aspect, the present invention is based on the observation that such Wnts function as hematopoietic regulatory factors and are able to directly stimulate the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells, trigger the formation of multicellular aggregates or `foci` of primitive blast cells, and expand the total number of multipotential colony forming cells via receptor signalling.
Wnts appeared to directly act at the level of the early hematopoietic precursor (i.
e.
, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells).
Such an expanded stem cell population can serve as the source of cells for myelopoiesis, erythropoiesis (e.
g.
, splenic erythropoiesis) and lymphopoiesis.
Accordingly, Wnts can be used to stimulate proliferation and/or differentiation and/or maintenance of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells either in vitro or in vivo (e.
g.
, for treating hematopoietic diseases or disorders).
Thus, the invention provides a method for enhancing proliferation, differentiation and/or maintenance of a cell with a Wnt polypeptide comprising the step of contacting the cell with an amount of Wnt polypeptide which is effective for stimulating proliferation and/or differentiation and/or maintenance (e.
g.
, survival) of the cell.
In preferred embodiments, the cell which is exposed to the Wnt polypeptide is a hematopoietic precursor, e.
g.
, a hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell.
For example, the Wnt polypeptide may be Wnt-1, Wnt-5a or Wnt-10b.
For in vivo use, the Wnt polypeptide of choice may be a long half-life derivative of, for example, a Wnt-5a polypeptide such as Wnt-5a immunoglobulin chimera and/or Wnt-5a polypeptide modified with a nonproteinaceous polymer, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG).
The method contemplated herein may lead to an increase in the proliferation and/or differentiation of lymphoid, myeloid and/or erythroid blood cell lineages from the maintained or expanded hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell population and encompasses both in vitro and in vivo methods
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Gene Therapy 
