IgG epitope and applications thereof as a target are provided. The IgG epitope is the C.sub.H1 domain of non-B cell-derived IgG, and there is N-glycosylated sialic acid modification at the Asn162 site of the domain. The realization of its antigen functions must depend on the sialylation of the site. The present invention further discloses the applications of the IgG epitope as a drug target in preparing drugs for diagnosis and/or treatment of epithelial tumors. In addition, our studies showed that this antigen depends on the sialylation of Asn162 site as a drug target, and the sialylation of this site must depend on sialyltransferase ST3GAL4, indicating that the enzyme can be used as a drug target for preparing tumor therapeutic drugs. Further, integrin ?4 is co-expressed and co-localized with IgG containing the epitope. IgG can be used as a marker for preparing drugs for the auxiliary detection of epithelial tumors.

Methods for treatment and diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders in humans are described.

The present invention concerns methods of diagnosing and treating a malignant neoplasm of the CNS by detecting mammalian tissue expressing integrin alpha 10 subunit or a fragment or variant thereof, and administering a drug specific for integrin alpha 10 subunit.

The present invention relates to the discovery that a secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2-IIA) plays an active role in mediating cellular signaling leading to an inflammatory response or cell proliferation by way of its specific binding with integrin at site 2 of integrin . More specifically, the invention provides a method for identifying inhibitors of inflammatory or proliferative signaling by screening for compounds that interrupt the specific binding of sPLA2 and integrin at site 2. The invention also provides the novel use of a substance that suppresses the specific binding between sPLA2 and site 2 of integrin for the purpose of treating or preventing a condition involving an undesired inflammatory response or cell proliferation.

The present invention provides methods and systems to accurately detect and measure levels of endogenous antibodies, for examples endogenous IgA, to particular antigens in a biological sample from a companion animal, which is useful to diagnose inflammatory conditions, including bowel disease (IBD), gastrointestinal infections, and food sensitivities in companion animals, e.g., dogs or cats, and to distinguish among such gastrointestinal disorders. Such methods and systems identify whether a sample from the patient is associated with an inflammatory condition, infection, and/or food sensitivity condition, by using non-invasive means, thus conveniently providing information useful for guiding treatment decisions.

The invention relates methods of determining therapeutic doses for conditions mediated by integrin and methods of therapy for conditions mediated by integrin comprising administering an integrin modulating compound in an amount that achieves receptor occupancy of the integrin. The invention further relates to dosage forms for daily administration of integrin modulating compounds that are useful for treating conditions mediated by at least one integrin including, e.g., fibrosis such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IFF) and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP).

The invention provides a method for inducing human primordial germ cell-like (PGC-like) cells from human pluripotent stem cells, with high efficiency and high reproducibility, and a cell surface marker for identifying human PGC-like cells. In particular, the invention provides a method for producing a human PGC-like cell from a human pluripotent stem cell, includes a step of producing a mesoderm-like cell by culturing a human pluripotent stem cell in a culture medium comprising activin A and a GSK3 inhibitor, and a step of culturing the mesoderm-like cell in a culture medium containing BMP. The invention also provides a method for producing an isolated human PGC-like cell, which includes the aforementioned two steps and the additional step of selecting a cell positive to at least one cell surface marker selected from the group consisting of PECAM (CD31), INTEGRIN6 (CD49f), INTEGRIN3 (CD61), KIT (CD117), EpCAM, PODOPLANIN and TRA1-81.

The invention relates to a method for diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma in a patient, including detecting, in a blood sample obtained from said patient, an indicator protein selected from integrin subunit alpha(v) and integrin subunit beta(6) or their heterodimer.

A diagnostic system for assessing cardiovascular health is provided that incorporates a microfluidic platform and sensors that capture inflammatory monocytes. The portable microfluidic platform shears activated monocytes in a small volume of blood (50 L) over a glass substrate that mimics the stress and molecular constituents of an inflamed artery. The sensor utilizes CD11c antibodies and/or VLA-4 ligands to capture cells. The device captures a subset of inflammatory subset of activated white blood cells that play a critical role in the progression of cardiovascular disease and whose numbers in the blood and the efficiency of capture directly correlate with risk and pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The risk of future cardiac events can be assessed. The system can facilitate early detection of cardiovascular disease and can guide risk factor modification and therapy following treatment.

Methods and apparatus for assaying the level of analytes in a sample, related to VLA-4, are disclosed. A method of decreasing the level of an anti-integrin antibody in a subject is described including a) contacting a biological sample from a subject with a detectable capture agent associated with a substrate, wherein the capture agent can bind an anti-integrin antibody in the sample; b) detecting binding of the capture agent with the level of the anti-integrin antibody; and c) treating the subject with plasma exchange until the level of the anti-integrin antibody in the sample reaches a predetermined level.