Metastasis inducing DNA's

Abstract

The invention relates to metastasis inducing DNA's, a method of identifying such DNA's and their use in diagnosis and therapy. It includes a method of screening and recovering Met-DNA comprising the steps of: (1) transferring fragments of human DNA from malignant, metastatic cancer cells into a cell line that produces only benign, non-metastasizing tumours when injected into a syngeneic animal; (2) injecting the transformed cells into a syngeneic animal; (3) selecting those animals in which metastasizing tumours have been identified; and (4) recovering the Met-DNA therefrom.

1 . A probe specific to a regulatory DNA which is not expressed as an mRNA but is capable of inducing metastasis, said regulatory DNA consisting essentially of a human DNA fragment of less than 1.5 kb in length and comprising the sequence of SEQ. ID. NO. 4, obtained from a malignant, metastasis cancer cell, wherein said probe is less than 6000 base pairs in length.  
     
     
         2 . A probe specific to a regulatory DNA which is not expressed as an mRNA but is capable of inducing metastasis, wherein said regulatory DNA has the sequence of SEQ. ID. NO. 4 and wherein said probe is less than 6000 base pairs in length.