| abstract |
PCT No. PCT/EP91/00614 Sec. 371 Date Nov. 9, 1992 Sec. 102(e) Date Nov. 9, 1992 PCT Filed Mar. 30, 1991 PCT Pub. No. WO91/17248 PCT Pub. Date Nov. 14, 1991.The presence of certain extracellular regions ("ECR") from human and rat variants of the CD44 membrane glycoprotein have been found to be associated with metastasis ability in tumor cells. Isolated polynucleotides encoding the ECRs permit expression of the ECR polypeptide, which in turn can be used as an antigen to obtain monoclonal antibodies that recognize the ECR polypeptide. The anti-ECR monoclonal antibodies have the ability to prevent metastasis by tumor cells that would otherwise metastasize and spread. |