Anti-vasa antibodies, and methods of production and use thereof

Abstract

Anti-VASA antibodies (mAbs), particularly humanized mAbs that specifically bind to VASA with high affinity, are disclosed. The amino acid sequences of the CDRs of the light chains and the heavy chains, as well as consensus sequences for these CDRs, of these anti-VASA mAbs are provided. The disclosure also provides nucleic acid molecules encoding the anti-VASA mAbs, expression vectors, host cells, methods for making the anti-VASA mAbs, and methods for expressing the anti-VASA mAbs. Finally, methods of using the anti-VASA mAbs to isolate and/or purify cells expressing VASA are disclosed.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A cell transformed with a nucleic acid molecule encoding a heavy chain or light chain of an antibody that specifically binds to a human VASA protein comprising an immunoglobulin heavy chain and an immunoglobulin light chain,
 a) wherein the variable region of said light chain comprises:
 (i) a CDR1 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 83-88; 
 (ii) a CDR2 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 89-95; and 
 (iii) a CDR3 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 96-104; and 
   b) wherein the variable region of said heavy chain comprises:
 (i) a CDR1 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 105-112; 
 (ii) a CDR2 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 113-121; and 
 (iii) a CDR3 region comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 122-131. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cell of  claim 1 , wherein said nucleic acid molecule is selected from the group consisting of a cloning vector, an expression vector, a heterologous recombination vector, and a viral integration vector. 
     
     
         3 . The cell of  claim 1 , wherein said cell is a mammalian cell. 
     
     
         4 . The cell of  claim 3 , wherein said cell is a rodent cell. 
     
     
         5 . The cell of  claim 3 , wherein said cell is a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell. 
     
     
         6 . The cell of  claim 3 , wherein said cell is a human cell.