US 5,593,846 A · Methods for the detection of soluble .beta.-amyloid peptide

Abstract

Soluble .beta.-amyloid peptide (.beta.AP) is measured in biological fluids at very low concentrations, typically in the range from 0.1 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml. The measurement of .beta.AP concentrations in animals or conditioned medium from cultured cells can be used for drug screening, where test compounds are administered to the animals or exposed to the cultured cells and the accumulation of .beta.AP in the animal or culture medium observed. It has been found that elevated levels of .beta.AP in body fluids, such as blood and cerebrospinal fluid, is associated with the presence of a .beta.AP-related condition in a patient, such as Alzheimer's Disease. Methods for diagnosing and monitoring .beta.AP-related conditions comprise measuring the levels of .beta.AP in such body fluids from a patient.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method for detecting a soluble .beta.-amyloid peptide (.beta.AP) in a fluid sample in the presence of .beta.-amyloid precursor protein (APP) or fragments thereof, said method comprising:

capturing soluble .beta.AP from the sample using a first binding substance under conditions in which the first specific binding substance binds to an epitope at a junction region on the .beta.AP and which is substantially free from cross-reactivity with APP and fragments thereof other than .beta.AP, wherein the junction region is centered at the site between .beta.AP amino acid residues 16 and 17 and is a target for normal proteolytic cleavage;
and detecting capture of the soluble .beta.AP using a labeled second binding substance which binds to an epitope on a second region of the soluble .beta.AP other than the epitope on the .beta.AP which is bound by the first binding substance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Methods for the detection of soluble .beta.-amyloid peptide

Life of this patent

Methods for the detection of soluble .beta.-amyloid peptide

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16