Purified lectin and methods of use
US6084072A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 30, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jul 4, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 30, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S436/827
- WIPO fieldPharmaceuticals
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Amaranthin, a new lectin isolated from the seeds of Amaranthus caudatus, is purified and characterized. Amaranthin, designated ACA (Amaranthus caudatus agglutinin), has a high affinity for the T-antigen glycoconjugate and variants thereof expressed by proliferating colorectal epithelium. ACA selectively binds glycoconjugates in the lower half of the colonic crypt and is useful as a marker of colonic epithelial cell differentiation in the human colon. ACA also binds to glycoconjugates in neoplastic colonic tissues, and binds to preneoplastic polypoid and flat colonic tissue from patients with familial polyposis coli. ACA is also readily adapted for quantitative measurement of lectin-binding sites. ACA binding assays can thus be used for detecting early stage abnormalities of proliferation and differentiation in normal-appearing preneoplastic colorectal epithelium and to diagnose neoplastic premalignant and malignant colorectal lesions.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.