Methods of detecting pregnancy-associated plasma protein-a2 (papp-a2)
OwnerClaus Oxvig, Michael Toft Overgaardinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention provides pregnancy associated plasma protein A2 (PAPP-A2), its nucleotide and amino acid sequences, antisense molecules to the nucleotide sequences which encode PAPP-A2, expression vectors for the production of purified PAPP-A2, antibodies capable of binding specifically to PAPP-A2, hybridization probes or oligonucleotides for the detection of PAPP-A2-encoding nucleotide sequences, genetically engineered host cells for the expression of PAPP-A2, and methods for screening for pathologies in pregnant and non-pregnant patients. Methods for screening for altered focal proliferation states in pregnant and/or non-pregnant patients, which include detecting levels of PAPP-A2, are also described.
Claims33
A method for detecting PAPP-A2 or measuring the level of PAPP-A2 in a sample from an individual, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a1) determining the presence or amount of a PAPP-A2 polynucleotide in the sample;
- and/or
- (a2) determining the presence or amount of a PAPP-A2 polypeptide in the sample;
- and/or
- (a3) determining the presence or amount of a PAPP-A2 proteolytic activity in the sample;
- and
- (b) analyzing the results of the determining step(s) to ascertain the presence or absence of PAPP-A2 or the level of PAPP-A2 in the sample.
A kit of parts comprising:
- (a) a PAPP-A2 polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of:
- (i) a polynucleotide comprising nucleotides 1 to 5376 of SEQ ID NO:1;
- (ii) a polynucleotide corresponding to the coding sequence of PAPP-A2 as deposited in the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen and Zellkulturen GmbH (DSMZ) under accession number DSM 13783;
- (iii) a polynucleotide encoding the amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO:2;
- and
- (iv) a polynucleotide, the complementary strand of which hybridizes under stringent conditions with a polynucleotide as defined in (i), (ii), or (iii) above;
- and/or
- (b) a PAPP-A2 polypeptide selected from the group consisting of:
- (v) a polypeptide whose amino acid sequence consists of residues 1-1794 of SEQ ID NO:2;
- (vi) a polypeptide whose amino acid sequence consists of residues 234-1791 of SEQ ID NO:2;
- (vii) a polypeptide whose amino acid sequence consists of residues 23-1794 of SEQ ID NO:2;
- and
- (viii) a polypeptide whose amino acid sequence is at least 95% identical to that of polypeptide (ii), but differs from polypeptide (ii) solely by addition or deletion of 1-10 amino acid residues at either the amino or carboxy terminal and/or having one or more conservative substitutions, wherein the polypeptide has a proteolytic activity against insulin-like growth factor binding protein 5 (IGFBP5);
- and/or
- (c) a PAPP-A2 antibody, or antigen binding fragment thereof, that is capable of recognizing a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 or competes with a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO:2 for binding to a cell surface receptor with an affinity for said polypeptide;
- and/or
- (d) a PAPP-A2 nucleic acid probe;
- and/or
- (e) one or more reagents for use in determining a PAPP-A2 proteolytic activity;
- and
- a container for any of the abovementioned components.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.