Quantitation of the number of molecules of glycophorins C and D on normal red blood cells using radioiodinated Fab fragments of monoclonal antibodies

Two rat monoclonal antibodies (BRAC 1 and BRAC 11) have been produced. BRAC 1 recognizes an epitope common to the human erythrocyte membrane glycoproteins glycophorin C (GPC) and glycophorin D (GPD). BRAC 11 is specific for GPC. Fab fragments of these antibodies and BRIC 10, a murine monoclonal anti-GPC, were radioiodinated and used in quantitative binding assays to measure the number of GPC and GPD molecules on normal erythrocytes. Fab fragments of BRAC 11 and BRIC 10 gave values of 143,000 molecules GPC per red blood cell (RBC). Fab fragments of BRAC 1 gave 225,000 molecules of GPC and GPD per RBC. These results indicate that GPC and GPD together are sufficiently abundant to provide membrane attachment sites for all of the protein 4.1 in normal RBCs.     

MHB5 Changes in Sexual Function and Bother in Men Treated for Prostate Cancer: Results from the Capsure™ Database

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of treatment choice radical prostatectomy (RP) with or without nerve sparing or pelvic irradiation (XRT) on sexual function and sexual bother after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical factors.
METHODS: We studied 131 men (mean age 64 ± 6.7 yrs) from the CaPSURE™ database, a longitudinal prostate cancer registry. Patients had undergone either RP or XRT and had a minimum of one year of follow-up with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) information. Covariates and sexual bother are measured with the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index on 0–100 scales (higher scores representing better outcomes), then regressed against selected independent variables.
RESULTS: Multivariable regression analysis showed that sexual function scores were significantly lower in the RP groups than in the XRT group (p < 0.001) three months after treatment. Improvement in sexual function over time was better in those undergoing RP with nerve sparing, compared to non-nerve sparing group showed a trend toward greater improvement in sexual function compared to XRT (p=0.12) Younger age was a significant predictor of sexual function and post-treatment improvement, but disease stage was not. No significant differences were found in sexual bother scores among the three treatments.
CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in sexual function are found between patients undergoing RP versus XRT for prostate cancer. Men undergoing nerve sparing RP showed greater improvements in sexual function than either XRT or non-nerve sparing RP patients. Sexual bother from dysfunction may be explained by non-treatment-related variables.