| 摘要 |
The present invention provides for a stable, biologically active CNTF/receptor complex, and hybrids or routants thereof. The invention is also based in part on the discovery that the CNTF/receptor complex promotes differentiation through a signal transduction pathway on target cells that do not express the CNTF receptor. The invention further provides for a specific CNTFR mutant that promotes signal transduction without binding CNTF. The invention also provides for a CNTF/receptor blocking mutant, a mutant possessing a high binding affinity to CNTF, but possessing no signal transducing function. The present invention also identifies receptor components shared by the IL-6, CNTF, LIF and OSM signal transduction pathways, and the initiation of signal transduction based upon the presence of such components. The present invention additionally provides for therapeutic and diagnostic applications dependant on the ability of the CNTF/receptor complex, hybrid or mutant to elicit a physiological response on the appropriate target cell.
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