Method for inducing apoptosis using apoptosis-specific EIF5-A
The present invention relates to isolated and/or purified rat apoptosis-specific eucaryotic initiation Factor-5A (eIF-5A) and deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS) nucleic acids and polypeptides. The present invention also relates to methods of modulating apoptosis using apoptosis-specific eIF-5A and DHS, and antisense oligonucleotides and expression vectors of apoptosis-specific eIF-5A and DHS useful in such methods.
1. A method for inducing apoptosis in a mammalian cancer cell comprising directly delivering into the cell an expression vector comprising a promoter sequence operably linked to an isolated nucleotide sequence encoding a mammalian apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polypeptide to provide expression of said apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polypeptide wherein said expression induces apoptosis in the mammalian cancer cell, and wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:3.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cell is comprised within a mammal.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the nucleotide sequence encodes the amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO:3.
4. A method for inducing apoptosis in a human cancer cell comprising directly delivering to the cancer cell an expression vector comprising a promoter sequence operably linked to an isolated nucleotide sequence encoding a human apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polypeptide to provide expression of said human apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polypeptide wherein said expression increases apoptosis in the cancer cell, and wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:3.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the nucleotide sequence encodes the amino acid encoded by SEQ ID NO:3.
6. A method for inducing apoptosis in a mammalian cell comprising directly delivering into the mammalian cell an expression vector comprising an isolated mammalian apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polynucleotide to provide expression of the mammalian apoptosis-specific eIF-5A polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide in the mammalian cell, thereby inducing apoptosis in the mammalian cell, and wherein the nucleotide sequence comprises SEQ ID NO:3.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the nucleotide sequence encodes the amino acid encoded by SEQ ID NO:3.