The US Patent and Trademark Office published last week three patent applications related to RNA interference.

The first two — numbers 20030195138 and 20030194713 — are assigned to Rigel Pharmaceuticals and are directed to nucleic acids encoding the genes BAP-1 (BRCA1 associated protein-1) and NP95 (nuclear protein 95), respectively. Specifically, the patent applic- ations cover methods for identifying and using a number of agents, including RNAi-based ones, to regulate cell cycle arrest by modulation or BAP-1 or NP95.