Major Basic Protein Homolog (MBP2): A Specific Human Eosinophil Marker

Reference #:

2005-174

Inventors/Contributors

Gerald J. Gleich, M.D., Douglas A. Plager, Ph.D., David A. Loegering, James J. Checkel, Junger Tang, M.D.

Description

Eosinophils are blood leukocytes that are characteristically associated with allergic reactions. For example, measurement of eosinophils in sputum from patients with asthma is currently recognized as the best marker of disease activity and the best indicator for therapies, especially glucocorticoids. We have isolated an eosinophil granule protein, termed the eosinophil granule major basic protein 2 (MBP2), and we have prepared a panel of monoclonal antibodies to MBP2. Using these monoclonal antibodies we have shown that MBP2 levels are present in normal serum at low concentrations and strikingly elevated in sera from patients with eosinophil-associated diseases. Moreover, whereas an immunoreactive form of MBP1 (a related eosinophil granule protein) is elevated in the sera of pregnant women, MPB2 is not. Also, whereas MBP1 is present in both eosinophils and basophils, MBP2 is detected only in eosinophils. There results indicate that MBP2 is a specific eosinophil marker, and they suggest that MBP2 levels will be useful as an indicator of the severity of eosinophil-associated diseases, especially asthma.

Patent Status

None