New rat melatonin receptor MT1 nucleic acid, polypeptide, and antibodies, useful e.g. for drug screening and for detecting MT1 expression

摘要

A nucleic acid (I) that encodes the rat MT1 melatonin receptor and comprises a 1661 bp sequence (S1) fully defined in the specification, is new. Independent claims are also included for: (1) a nucleic acid (Ia) that: (a) hybridizes to (I) under stringent conditions and encodes a polypeptide with essentially the same properties as MT1; or (b) is deduced from a 363 amino acid sequence (S2) fully defined in the specification; (2) an antisense nucleic acid (Ib) that is a single strand able to hybridize under stringent conditions with the coding strand of (I) or (Ia), inhibiting its expression; (3) a recombinant vector that contains (I) or (Ia); (4) a host cell transformed with the vector of (3); (5) a polypeptide (II) encoded by (I) or (Ia) or its fragments which: (a) has MT-1-like activity; (b) is able to stimulate G protein directly; or (c) is able to inhibit an agonist; (6) primers for amplifying sequences that encode (II); (7) hybridization probes for specific recognition of MT1-encoding sequences; (8) an antibody (Ab) directed against (II), and its fragments; (9) identifying (M1) molecules that bind to MT1 receptors; (10) identifying (M2) agonists or antagonists of MT1 receptors; (11) a DNA chip comprising (I) or (Ia); (12) a kit for detecting an anomalous structure of MT1, comprising Ab or (II); and (13) a protein chip comprising Ab, (II) or its fragments.