The inventive technology is directed to the generation of a novel transgenic mammalian model for the study of Laing distal myopathy. The novel animal model of the invention may include a transgenic animal, and preferably a transgenic mouse, expressing the β-myosin R1500P mutation transgene that produces one or more phenotypes associated with MPD1. The β-myosin R1500P mutation transgene may further be selectively expressed in fast muscle tissue of the transgenic animal.

The disclosure features compositions and methods for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss and auditory neuropathy, particularly forms of the disease that are associated with a mutation in otoferlin (OTOF), by way of OTOF gene therapy. The disclosure provides a variety of compositions that include a first nucleic acid vector that contains a polynucleotide encoding an N-terminal portion of an OTOF isoform 5 protein and a second nucleic acid vector that contains a polynucleotide encoding a C-terminal portion of an OTOF isoform 5 protein. These vectors can be used to increase the expression of OTOF in a subject, such as a human subject suffering from sensorineural hearing loss.

A bi-epitope compound of formula I:

##STR00001##

in which: E1 and E2, identical or different, each separately represents a peptide sequence including at least one epitope of an analyte; X and Y, identical or different, each separately represents a linking arm, the carrier molecule is soluble and Z represents an amino acid derivative bearing a thiol function prior to the bonding of same with the carrier molecule. The compound may be contained in a composition, used as a control or standard in an immunoassay and associated method, and/or provided in a kit for implementing an immunoassay.

The invention relates to 55 newly discovered proteins, which are present in isolated purified protein complexes, derived medicinal products, recombinant DNA, engineered DNA, cDNA, monoclonal and natural products or synthesized products as part of nutrition, food, and/or supplemental products and their applications.

Provided is a means for inhibiting a function of CD69, whereby allowing suppression of an inflammatory response. That is, provided are: a composition for treating an inflammatory disease which includes an antibody that specifically recognizes a myosin regulatory light chain polypeptide (hereinafter abbreviated as Myl), preferably Myl9, Myl12a, and Myl12b, and inhibits a result of an effect of coexistence of Myl with CD69; a method of treating an inflammatory disease, including administering, to a subject diagnosed as having an inflammatory disease, a therapeutically effective amount of the antibody; and a method of identifying a compound that inhibits a result of an effect of coexistence of Myl with CD69, and a method of identifying a candidate compound for treating an inflammatory disease, including selecting a compound that inhibits the result.

Synthetic nucleic acids encoding mini and microdystrophin genes comprising the membrane binding motifs or domains of the R10-R11-R12 region are provided. Also provided are vectors, host cells, and related methods of using the same to treat a subject suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD) or X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XLDC), or for ameliorating one or more adverse effects of DMD, BMD, or XLDC. Also provided are a fusion protein comprising a nNOS binding domain of dystrophin R16-R17 that is operably linked to a syntrophin PDZ domain and synthetic nucleic acids comprising the same that can be used to treat subjects with diseases characterized by loss of sarcolemmal neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) activity.

The disclosure provides polynucleotides containing regions of the Myosin 15 (Myo15) promoter, as well as vectors containing the same, that can be used to promote expression of a transgene specifically in hair cells. The polynucleotides described herein may be operably linked to a transgene, such as a transgene encoding a therapeutic protein, so as to promote hair cell-specific expression of the transgene. The polynucleotides described herein may be operably linked to a therapeutic transgene and used for the treatment of subjects having or at risk of developing hearing loss or vestibular dysfunction.

Disclosed are methods of detecting myocardial enhancer RNA levels in mammalian cardiomyocytes. In a further embodiment, a method of disrupting assembly of an enhancer DNA-Myh6 promoter-Myh7 promoter complex, is provided wherein the method comprises providing enhancer RNA to a cardiomyocyte.

A bi-epitope compound of formula I: ##STR00001##
in which: E1 and E2, identical or different, each separately represents a peptide sequence including at least one epitope of an analyte; X and Y, identical or different, each separately represents a linking arm, the carrier molecule is soluble and Z represents an amino acid derivative bearing a thiol function prior to the bonding of same with the carrier molecule. The compound may be contained in a composition, used as a control or standard in an immunoassay and associated method, and/or provided in a kit for implementing an immunoassay.

The present invention relates to an improved variant monoclonal antibody binding to cardiac troponin T and having a better K.sub.D than the parent monoclonal antibody 11-7