Collagen-specific enzyme with platelet aggregation inhibition properties
AssigneesBiophram (UK) Limited, Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
InventorsRoy T. Sawyer, Meir Rigbi, Haim Levy, Fuad Iraqi
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Abstract
The collagenase is like tissue collagenases in that it cleaves collagen at a single site. The collagenase which has a molecular weight of about 50 k daltons, specifically inhibits collagen-induced platelet aggregation, with substantially no effect on platelet count or size, and may be used alone or together with another platelet aggregation inhibitor. The latter may also be a leech-derived biochemical, such as an apyrase, or an inhibitor of the release of platelet aggregation factor by leucocytes.
Claims4
A substantially pure collagenase isolated from leech tissue or from leech secretion, said collagenase being capable of (a) causing hydrolytic scission of peptide bonds in the helical regions of undenatured collagen molecules, (b) causing only one cut per chain of said collagen molecules, and (c) digesting gelatin.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.