Compositions, methods and kits for diagnosing and treating cd206 expressing cell-related disorders

A method of treating a CD206 expressing cell-related disorder comprising the steps of:

• (a) administering a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition to a subject, said composition including a carrier molecule having a therapeutic agent attached thereto, said carrier molecule comprising:
• i. a dextran backbone;
• and
• ii. at least one receptor substrate conjugated, directly or indirectly, to said dextran backbone, said at least one receptor substrate chosen so as to specifically bind to CD206;
• wherein said carrier molecule is water soluble.

A method of diagnosing and/or treating tuberculosis comprising the steps of:

• (a) administering a pharmaceutical composition to a subject, said composition including a carrier molecule having a detectable moiety and/or therapeutic agent attached thereto, said carrier molecule comprising:
• i. a dextran backbone;
• ii. at least one receptor substrate conjugated, directly or indirectly, to said dextran backbone, said at least one receptor substrate chosen so as to specifically bind to CD206;
• and
• iii. at least one radioactive isotope or cytotoxic agent conjugated, directly or indirectly, to said dextran backbone;
• and
• (b) optionally, after said administering step, detecting the presence of said radioactive isotope in the subject's lung tissue.

An ex vivo method for quantitating the number of cells expressing CD206 in a bodily fluid obtained from a mammalian subject, comprising the steps of:

• (a) contacting the bodily fluid obtained from the mammalian subject with a carrier molecule having at least one detectable moiety attached thereto such that the carrier molecule binds to cells expressing CD206 which are present in the bodily fluid, the carrier molecules comprising:
• i. a dextran backbone, and
• ii. at least one receptor substrate conjugated, directly or indirectly, to said dextran backbone, said at least one receptor substrate chosen so as to specifically bind to CD206,
• wherein said carrier molecule is water soluble;
• (b) separating insoluble cells from unbound carrier molecules to provide a cell fraction;
• and
• (d) measuring the level of detectable moiety in the cell fraction in order to quantitate the number of cells expressing CD206.

A diagnostic kit for quantitating the number of cells expressing CD206 in a bodily fluid obtained from a mammalian subject, comprising:

• (a) a first sealed container containing a carrier molecule with at least one spectroscopically detectable moiety attached thereto, the carrier molecule comprising:
• i. a dextran backbone, and
• ii. at least one receptor substrate conjugated, directly or indirectly, to said dextran backbone, said at least one receptor substrate chosen so as to specifically bind to CD206,
• wherein said carrier molecule is water soluble;
• (b) a second sealed container containing a diluent;
• (c) at least one centrifuge vial;
• and
• (d) at least one cuvette.