Dana-farber-cancer Institute Inc.

Ruth Sager

Zhiqiang Zou

Anthony Anisowicz

Sam W Lee

Phong Le

Douglas Trask

Catherine Tomasetto

Catherine Laure Tomasetto

An isolated DNA encoding a polypeptide substantially identical to maspin (SEQ ID NO:1); a substantially purified preparation of maspin; an antibody specific for maspin; and use of such DNAs and antibodies in diagnostic, screening, and therapeutic methods.

Maspin, a serpin with tumor suppressing activity

Method of detecting cancer

A method of determining whether a test cell from a given human tissue type is (a) normal, or (b) cancerous or precancerous, by contacting the mRNA of the test cell with a nucleic acid probe which contains a nucleotide sequence at least 15 nucleotides in length which is complementary to a portion of the coding sequence of a candidate tumor suppressor gene, which gene is one that is expressed at a given control level in normal cells of that tissue type; and determining the approximate amount of hybridization of the probe to the mRNA of the test cell, an amount of hybridization one-third or less that seen with the mRNA of a normal cell of that tissue type being an indication that the test cell is cancerous or precancerous. Alternatively, an antibody specific for the candidate tumor suppressor gene product can be substituted for the nucleic acid probe as a means for determining the level of expression of the gene in the test cell. The invention also includes methods of treating a cancerous cell by increasing the level of expression of a candidate tumor suppression gene in the cell; novel candidate tumor suppressor genes; and their use in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.

Cancer diagnosis using nucleic acid hybridization

Maspin, a serpin with tumor suppresing activity

Nucleic acid encoding clone 19 gene product, and protein which interacts specifically with an antibody specific to the gene product of clone 19.

cDNA probe differentiating normal and cancer tissues

A method for promoting maturation of a hematopoietic precursor cell of an animal, which method includes the step of contacting the cell with a maturation-promoting amount of GRO, a polypeptide growth factor.

Growing community of inventors

Brookline, MA, United States of America

Ruth Sager