Diagnostic method for detection of neural crest disease
AssigneeThe Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
InventorsAlonzo Ross, Hilary Koprowski, Meenhard Herlyn
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Abstract
It has been determined that nerve growth factor binds to a cell surface protein of human neural crest origin having a molecular weight of about 75,000 daltons. New monoclonal antibodies specifically imunoprecipitate these receptor molecules, and also inhibit binding of the hormone to the receptor. These monoclonal antibodies show significantly higher reactivity with primary and metastatic melanoma cell lines than with melanocytes. The antibodies are used in a diagnostic method for histochemical detection of human neural crest disease.
Claims13
A method for the identification of human tumors of neural crest origin which comprises:
- isolating a tissue section from a human, said tissue section comprising human cells;
- contacting said tissue section with an antibody specific for human NGF-receptors having an apparent molecular weight of about 75,000 daltons by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and determining the concentration of said antibody bound to said cells in the cytoplasm and at the cell surface.
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