National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Japan As Represented by Secretary of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Osamu Nakamura

Hideki Ohba

Seiji Yasuda

Imre Sallay

Fumio Yagi

Sawako Moriwaki

Yoko Fuke

An efficient method for therapeutic treatment of a leukemic patient is disclosed in which the patient's body fluid under external circulation is brought into direct contact with an adsorbent material capable of adsorbing the leukemic cells in the body fluid specifically and selectively. The leukemic cell-adsorbent material, which is used by filling a column to form an adsorbent bed, is a conjugate of a lectin protein extracted from, e.g.,beans or soybeans coupled with a physiologically inert carrier material such as a polysaccharide in the form of beads or a superparamagnetic material in the form of iron oxide-based magnetic beads.

[object Object]

Disclosed is a method for growth inhibition of human leukemic cells or therapeutic treatment method of a leukemic patient by using a medicament of which the effective ingredient is a methylsulfinylalkyl isothiocyanate such as 4-(methylsulfinyl)butyl isothiocyanate and 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate, which can be prepared by extraction from the tissues of certain plants and can induce apoptosis in human leukemic cells. This medicament compound is little growth-inhibitive against normal cells as compared with leukemic cells, so that a remarkable therapeutic effect can be expected.

Leukemic cell growth inhibiting method

An efficient method for therapeutic treatment of leukemia is provided in which a patient's body fluid during external circulation is brought into direct contact with an adsorbent material capable of specifically and selectively adsorbing leukemic cells in the body fluid. The leukemic cell-adsorbing material is a composite of a lectin protein coupled with a physiologically inert carrier material such as a galactan polysaccharide in the form of beads. The lectin protein may be obtained from a mushroom fungus such as or a leguminous seed such as from the jequirity bean plant. The lectin protein and carrier material can be bound by forming chemical linkages between amino groups in the lectin protein and functional groups in the carrier material, and unreacted functional groups of the carrier material may be blocked with an amino acid. A leukemic cell-adsorbing column may be formed by filling the leukemic cell-adsorbing material into a tubular body to form an adsorbent bed. The tubular body may have an inner diameter of from 10 to 20 mm and a height of from 50 to 200 mm.

Leukemic cell-adsorbing material containing lectin protein from Agrocybe cylindracea or jequirity plant seed

Growing community of inventors

Tosu, Japan

Osamu Nakamura