REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION IN MAMMALIAN CELLS AND VIRAL REPLICATION BY A TETRACYCLIN REPRESSOR

摘要

The present invention is directed to DNA constructs suitable for geneexpression in mammalian cells and which are characterized bythe presence of a mammalian promoter under the control of a tetoperator/repressor system. The DNA may be used as part of a system forexpressing recombinant protein. In addition, the tet operator/repressor systemcan be used to engineer cis- and trans-destructive viruseswhich are capable of replicating in the presence of the tet repressor, but notin the absence of the repressor. These viruses can be usedeither directly in the treatment of patients with corresponding viraldiseases, as vehicles for the delivery of nucleic acids that can serve astherapeutic agents and as part of vaccines designed to immunize people oranimals against viral diseases.