Abstract: Hydrophobically-modified proteins and methods of making them are described. A hydrophobic moiety is attached to a surface amino acid residue of the protein. The hydrophobic moiety can be a lipid or a peptide. Alternatively, the protein can be derivatized by a wide variety of chemical reactions that append a hydrophobic structure to the protein. The preferred protein is of mammalian origin and is selected from the group consisting of Sonic, Indian, and Desert hedgehog. The hydrophobic moiety is used as a convenient tether to which may be attached a vesicle such as a cell membrane, liposome, or micelle.

Abstract: The present invention relates to novel, bifunctional inhibitors of both platelet activation and thrombin. These bifunctional inhibitors are characterized by two domains -- a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitory domain and a thrombin inhibitory domain. The invention also relates to DNA sequences which encode the bifunctional inhibitors of this invention, recombinant DNA molecules which contain these DNA sequences and host transformed with these DNA molecules. The invention further relates to he recombinant expression of the bifunctional inhibitors of this invention by transformed hosts as well as to methods for purifying such recombinant bifunctional inhibitors. This invention also provides compositions and methods employing the novel bifunctional inhibitors alone or together with a fibrinolytic agent.

Abstract: This invention features a method of isolating a mutant strain of Escherichia coli, having a defective periplasmic protease, the method comprising the steps of: mutagenizing an E. coli cell, wherein the cell comprises: (a) an inner and an outer membrane, (b) a periplasmic space between the membranes, (c) a protein which in a first state is mobile, being able to move through the outer membrane and enter medium surrounding the cells, the protein in the first state being detectable in the medium, and in a second state is not mobile, remaining inside the cell, and (d) a periplasmic protease which converts the protein from the second state to the first state in the cell, and selecting a mutant cell which produces a reduced level of the detectable protein in the medium compared to the E. coli cell, wherein the mutant cell comprises the defective periplasmic protease.This invention also features mutant strains of E. coli having a defective periplasmic protease.