Diagnosis of metastatic cancer by the mts-1 gene

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards the diagnosis of malignant cancer by detection of the mts-1 MRNA or the mts-1 protein, encoded by the mts-1 gene. The present invention contemplates the use of recombinant mts-1 DNA and antibodie4 directed against the mts-1 protein to diagnose the metastatic potential of several types of tumor cells, including, for example, thyroid, epithelial, lung, liver and kidney tumor cells. The present invention is also directed to mammalian cell lines and tumors with high and low metastatic potential which have been developed to serve as tseful model systems for in vitro and in vivo anti-metastasis drug screening.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of treatment of cancer comprising therapeutically administering a reagent directed against the mts-1 protein.  
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein said reagent comprises an antibody reactive with a mammalian mts-1 protein.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein said antibody further comprises a toxin.  
     
     
         4 . A method of treatment of cancer comprising therapeutically administering an oligonucleotide capable of binding to an mts-1 MRNA.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein said oligonucleotide comprises at least 10 nucleotides of an antisense strand of SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:3.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  or  4  wherein said cancer is selected from the group consisting essentially of lung, liver, kidney, thyroid, breast, leukemic, pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, cervical, skin, colon or lymphoid cancer.  
     
     
         7 . A method of inactivating, destroying, or nullifying an mts-1 protein or cells expressing the mts1 protein comprising directing antibodies against said mts-1 protein.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein said antibodies are unconjugated anti-mts-1 antibodies or anti-mts-1 antibodies conjugated to a toxin.  
     
     
         9 . A method of inhibiting metastasis in a cancerous cell which comprises providing to said cancerous cell a nucleic acid encoding an antisense mts1 nucleotide sequence.  
     
     
         10 . A method of inhibiting metastasis in a cancerous cell which comprises providing to said cancerous cell an expression vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding an antisense nucleotide sequence for a mammalian mts-I operably linked to a segment of said vector which can effect expression of an antisense mts-1 RNA.