| abstract |
Provided is a novel method for differentially detecting and enumerating metastatic cells present in a sample of a complex biological fluid, comprising the steps of obtaining a sample of body fluid from an individual, adding to the sample at least two detector molecules, wherein a first detector molecule has binding specificity for a cell molecule comprising IL-2Ra, and a second detector molecule has binding affinity for a cell molecule comprising an epithelial cell antigen, and the detectable moiety on the first detector molecule has a peak emission spectrum which is distinguishable from the peak emission spectrum of the detectable moiety on the second detector molecule; and analyzing cells present in the sample in a flow cytometer which is capable of detecting and distinguishing the emission spectra of the first and second detector molecules, and light scattering for each cell present in the sample. Also provided is a clinical diagnostic kit comprising a detector molecule having binding specificity for human IL-2Ra, and a detector molecule having binding specificity for an epithelial cell antigen expressed by human cells, wherein the detectable moiety on the detector molecule having binding specificity for human IL-2Ra has a peak emission spectrum which is distinguishable from the peak emission spectrum of the detectable moiety on the detector molecule having binding specificity for an epithelial cell antigen expressed by human cells. The figure is a histogram showing an epithelial cell antigen (Ber-EP4 + gataed cells (FS)) and IL-2Ra + cells (CD25). |