NOVEL PROTEIN COMPONENT AND ENCODING NUCLEIC ACID

摘要

The present invention relates to novel protein as a component of bone marrow cells, blood cells or osteoblasts, or any variant or functional analogue of said peptide. The present peptides, sometimes denoted RP59 peptides, may assist isolation of mesenchymal stem cells for use on implant materials or in areas of degenerative tissue loss, for example in arthritic joints or in the context of periodontal disease. Regeneration after resective bone surgery or after bone damages may also be favoured via the supply of mesenchymal stem or progenitor cells. In addition, RP59 protein may help the assembly of tissue or tissue fragments in vitro, as intended for tissue engineering or regeneration. Diagnosis of bone, bone marrow or blood diseases and diseases may be helped by probes detecting RP59 protein or coding nucleic acid according to the invention. The invention also relates to expression vectors that comprise sequence coding for RP59, to organisms containing said expression vector, to methods for producing the polypeptide, and to methods for treatment and diagnosis of bone, bone marrow or blood disorders.