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US 7,682,799 B2Granted
Cell division marker
AssigneeUniversity of Massachusetts
InventorsStephen J. Doxsey, Chun-Ting Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This application relates to a newly identified animal cell structure, the midbody scar. This structure is a remnant of the midbody that is retained by one daughter cell following cytokinesis and persists through multiple subsequent cell cycles. The midbody scar can be useful as a marker of dividing cells or of a cell's replicative age.
Claims12
A method of detecting the presence of a midbody scar in a mammalian cell, the method comprising:
- contacting a mammalian cell suspected to have a midbody scar with an antibody or antigen-binding portion thereof that binds specifically to a polypeptide component of a midbody scar selected from the group consisting of mitotic kinesin-like protein 1 (MKLP1), Epsilon tubulin (ε-tubulin), Centrosomal Protein 55 kDa (Cep55), and Aurora B kinase;
- detecting binding of the antibody to its antigen;
- and
- identifying a midbody scar in the mammalian cell if binding of the antibody to its antigen is detected in a ring structure not at a midbody or centrosome, thereby detecting a midbody scar.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.