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S H Itzkowitz

Publications and source records attributed to S H Itzkowitz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Immunogenicity of synthetic TF-KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin) and sTn-KLH conjugates in colorectal carcinoma patients.

Mucins of colorectal carcinomas overexpress the cancer-associated disaccharides Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF) and sialyl-Tn antigen (sTn), making these antigens suitable for active specific immunotherapy. Patients at high risk for recurrent colon cancer, but free from disease after surgical resection, were immunized with synthetic TF and sTn covalently attached by a two-carbon crotyl linker to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Four groups of patients were treated with TF-KLH without adjuvant, TF-KLH plus the immunological adjuvant Detox, sTn-KLH plus Detox, or sTn-KLH plus the immunological adjuvant QS-21, and the serological response was monitored. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), dot-blot immunostains, and inhibition assays were used to identify antibody responses against synthetic TF and sTn epitopes and against natural antigens, including asialoglycophorin expressing TF antigen, and ovine submaxillary mucin and the human colon cancer line LS-C expressing sTn antigen. Our results demonstrate that vaccines containing TF or sTn-KLH conjugates plus immunological adjuvants Detox and especially QS-21 induced high IgM and IgG antibody titers against the respective synthetic disaccharide epitopes. However, when tested against natural antigens expressing these disaccharide epitopes, IgM antibodies showed weak to moderate reactivity, while IgG antibodies were almost totally unreactive. On the basis of these results we are continuing to test modifications of synthetic TF and sTn epitopes to identify those that induce IgM and IgG antibodies that are more reactive with these antigens as they are expressed on tumor mucins.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1995

Sialosyl-Tn antigen: initial report of a new marker of malignant progression in long-standing ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Expression of the mucin-associated carbohydrate antigen sialosyl-Tn (STn) correlates with malignant transformation in sporadic colonic neoplasms. The aim of this study was to analyze STn antigen expression in patients with long-standing ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: STn antigen was assessed by immunohistochemistry in archival tissues. Study A was a retrospective chronological case-control study. Serial surveillance colonoscopic biopsy specimens without inflammation or dysplasia were analyzed in 7 patients who developed colon cancer and in 8 controls who did not develop colon cancer. Study B analyzed the anatomic distribution of STn expression in 17 cancer-bearing (case) and 6 cancer-free (control) colectomy specimens from patients with UC. In some colectomy specimens, STn was compared with aneuploidy, which was determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: In study A, among the 7 patients with UC who developed cancer, 6 patients (86%) expressed STn in at least one prior nondysplastic surveillance biopsy specimen from the same site. Only 3 of 8 control patients (38%) expressed STn. In study B, STn was expressed in 40 of 82 specimens (49%) from cancer-bearing colons but only 8 of 62 specimens (13%) from cancer-free colons. STn was expressed in most aneuploid areas but was also found in diploid, nondysplastic mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: STn antigen seems to be a promising marker of cancer risk in patients with UC.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1994

Use of model cell lines to study the biosynthesis and biological role of cancer-associated sialosyl-Tn antigen.

Sialosyl-Tn (STn) is a mucin-associated carbohydrate antigen that is not expressed by most normal epithelial cells but becomes expressed in several types of adenocarcinomas, where it is often associated with a poor prognosis. Little is known about the regulation of the STn phenotype in tumor cells and the immune response to STn antigen. In the present study, we established clonal cell lines in which virtually all of the cells were STn positive (designated LS-C) or STn negative (designated LS-B). These two cell lines, derived from a single parental cell line, LS174T, have the same total protein electrophoretic profiles but carry markedly different oligosaccharide structures on their mucin; the mucin from LS-C cells has only the Tn and STn structures, whereas LS-B cell mucin lacks these simple structures but carries more complex oligosaccharides. These results indicate that lack of STn expression by cells can be due to the lack of STn synthesis rather than inaccessibility of antibodies to bind to STn by steric hindrance. Both clones were similar in their growth rates, response to gamma-interferon, and sensitivity to lysis by lymphokine-activated killer cells. These cells may be important models for understanding the regulation of glycosylation at the cellular level and for further studies of tumor biology and immune response to STn antigen.

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate↗
PubMed1994

Mucin-associated sialosyl-Tn antigen expression in gastric cancer correlates with an adverse outcome.

The expression of sialosyl-Tn (STn) antigen was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in primary gastric cancers. Twenty-one of 31 (68%) gastric cancers expressed STn, regardless of tumour location, stage or histological type. Eighty-one per cent of patients with STn-positive tumours died of their disease or had recurrent cancer, compared with 20% of patients with STn-negative tumours (P < 0.002). STn may be a useful prognostic marker in patients with gastric cancer.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Monoclonal antibody COL-1 reacts with restricted epitopes on carcinoembryonic antigen: an immunohistochemical study.

We used a monoclonal antibody, MAb COL-1, which recognized a restricted epitope on the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) molecule, to stain a wide variety of human normal and cancerous tissues. None of the 35 different types of normal tissue stained with COL-1. Of 59 types of benign and malignant tissues, COL-1 reacted with neoplasms of epithelial origin, especially the gastrointestinal tract, breast, lung, and bladder. In benign adenomatous colon polyps, villous adenomas were more frequently stained than tubular adenomas. Normal colon tissue from individuals without colon disease was unreactive, but very weak reactivity was noted in normal-appearing mucosa several centimeters remote from colon cancers. In contrast, another anti-CEA antibody with a less restricted epitope reacted frequently with both normal and remote colon mucosa. These results indicate that MAb COL-1 recognizes a restricted CEA epitope expressed only on pre-malignant or malignant cells and therefore may be a useful reagent for immunopathology.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1993

Expression of sialosyl-Tn in intestinal type cancer cells of human gastric cancers.

A sample of 219 primary stomach cancers, 143 advanced cancers and 76 early cancers were examined for mucin histochemical staining (the paradoxical concanavalin A method, the galactose oxidase-Schiff [GOS] reaction, and the sialidase-GOS reaction) and immunohistochemical reactivity (pepsinogen [Pg] I, Pg II, SH-9 and TKH-2). Gastric cancer cells were clearly classified according to mucin histochemistry into a gastric type, including mucus neck cell, pyloric gland cell and surface mucus cell types, and an intestinal type, including goblet-cell, and intestinal absorptive cell types. TKH-2 monoclonal antibody, which recognizes the mucin-associated sialosyl-Tn antigen, reacted with the mucin of goblet cells in both the normal small intestine and in the intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. Sixty-five of 106 (61%) differentiated adenocarcinomas and 76 of 113 (67%) undifferentiated adenocarcinomas had over 10% of their cancer cells positive for TKH-2. The TKH-2-positive cancers were primarily classified as a goblet-cell type by mucin-histochemical staining and the other immunohistochemical staining methods. Therefore, it is concluded that sialosyl-Tn is an excellent marker of small intestinal mucins and is indicative of a small intestinal type of differentiation in two-thirds of gastric cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Mucin gene expression in colonic tissues and cell lines.

Complementary DNA clones encoding four different mucin core peptides have been isolated. However, the expression of these mucin genes in the colon has not been systematically studied. The present investigation used Northern blot analysis to study the expression of MUC1, MUC2, MUC3, and MUC4 mRNA in paired normal and cancerous colonic tissues, and nine colon cancer cell lines. Results were correlated with the clinicopathological features of the tumors and with the immunohistochemical expression of several carbohydrate tumor-associated antigens that may reside on mucins. MUC1 mRNA was expressed in all colonic tissues, and levels in paired normal and cancer tissues were similar in most cases. MUC2 and MUC3 mRNAs were expressed in both normal and cancer tissues, but levels were often decreased in the cancers. MUC4 mRNA was present in normal mucosa with comparable or sometimes greater expression in cancers. There was no apparent correlation between the expression of any particular mucin gene or pattern of mucin genes and the site, stage, or histological type of tumor. In addition, the expression of mucin-associated carbohydrate antigens did not correlate with any individual mucin gene or group of mucin genes. In colon cancer cell lines all four MUC genes were expressed rather weakly or not at all. These results indicate that the human colon expresses a broad repertoire of mucin genes which are differentially regulated in malignancy. Whether this differential regulation of mucin genes affect the behavior of the tumor and results in the altered glycosylation commonly seen in these requires further investigation.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Mucin oligosaccharide biosynthesis in human colonic cancerous tissues and cell lines.

BACKGROUND: The Tn, sialosyl-Tn, and T antigens are carbohydrate-associated antigens that represent initial steps in mucin O-linked glycosylation. Previous immunohistochemical studies have shown that these three antigens are rarely, if ever, expressed in normal colonic mucosa; however, most colonic cancerous tissues express these structures. Little is known about the factors that control the expression of these antigens in colonic tissues or cell lines. One hypothesis is that cancers have increased levels of the glycosyltransferase activities responsible for synthesizing these antigens. METHODS: The current study analyzed antigen expression by immunohistochemistry and glycosyltransferase enzyme activities for Tn, sialosyl-Tn, and T antigens in colonic tissues and cell lines to (1) compare values between normal and cancerous tissues and (2) correlate these results with tumor stage, histologic findings, and location. RESULTS: All nine colonic cancer cell lines expressed Tn antigen; sialosyl-Tn and T antigens were expressed by the more mucin-producing cell lines. Sialosyl-Tn transferase activity was higher in the more mucinous cell lines; T transferase activity was higher in those with less mucin. In paired specimens of normal and cancerous tissues, levels of each of the three glycosyltransferases were similar. In cancerous tissues, enzyme activity did not correlate with tumor location, stage, or histologic type. There also was no correlation between glycosyltransferase activity and expression of the relevant antigen. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, because normal and malignant colonic tissues have comparable levels of Tn, sialosyl-Tn, and T glycosyltransferases, the absence of these antigens in normal mucosa apparently is related to other factors such as antigen masking.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Mucins bearing the cancer-associated sialosyl-Tn antigen mediate inhibition of natural killer cell cytotoxicity.

The sialosyl-Tn (STn) antigen is a mucin-associated carbohydrate antigen expressed by a variety of adenocarcinomas. In the colon, expression of this antigen has been associated with a poor prognosis, independent of tumor stage or histology. The present study was performed to determine whether this adverse clinical outcome might be due to an interaction between STn-positive mucin and natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. Ovine submaxillary mucin (OSM), a mucin highly rich in STn antigen, partially inhibited NK cell cytotoxicity against K562 target cells, but only at high concentrations. Low concentrations of OSM were not inhibitory but became markedly inhibitory in the presence of ammonium ions. Two other STn-positive submaxillary mucins also markedly inhibited NK cytotoxicity when combined with ammonium ions. Removal of sialic acid from OSM reversed the OSM/ammonium-mediated inhibition of NK cell activity. Unlike the submaxillary mucins, two mucins derived from human breast and lung cancer cells which lack the STn antigen, did not inhibit NK cell activity in this system. Likewise, four other non-mucin glycoproteins which lack STn expression did not inhibit NK cells despite having levels of sialic acid that were, in some cases, comparable to submaxillary mucin. These results indicate that mucins bearing the cancer-associated STn antigen can effectively inhibit NK cell cytotoxicity in the presence of ammonium ions. While this NK cell inhibition is likely to be caused by ammonium, mucin markedly enhances this effect, thereby implicating a novel immunomodulatory property of mucin.

Ammonium Chloride↗
PubMed1992

Blood group-related carbohydrate antigen expression in malignant and premalignant colonic neoplasms.

Cell surface glycoconjugates of colonic epithelial cells carry certain carbohydrate antigens related to blood group substances. During the progression to malignancy, these oligosaccharide immunodeterminants undergo specific types of alterations. In colon cancers, the blood group antigens A, B, H, and Le(b), which are normally expressed only in the proximal colon, can be re-expressed in distal colon cancers or deleted in proximal colon cancers. Also, an antigen which is incompatible with the individual's blood type can be expressed. Similar alterations occur in adenomatous polyps, but with reduced frequency. The simple form of blood group-related Le(x) and Le(y) antigens found in normal mucosa can undergo modification by oligosaccharide elongation, internal fucosylation, and sialylation into novel structures found in carcinomas as well as in adenomas with greatest malignant potential. Finally, antigens representing the first steps of glycosylation, Tn, T, sialosyl-Tn (STn), which are normally cryptic in the colon, can be unmasked due to incomplete glycosylation in adenomatous polyps and cancers. Several of these antigens, such as extended Le(x), extended Le(y), T, and sialosyl-Tn, are quite cancer-specific in that they are rarely expressed in normal mucosa or hyperplastic polyps, but preferentially occur in adenomas of greatest malignant potential. As such, these antigens might be useful as candidate intermediate endpoint biomarkers.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1992

Mucin associated Tn and sialosyl-Tn antigen expression in colorectal polyps.

Sialosyl-Tn antigen and its immediate precursor, Tn antigen, are carbohydrate structures associated with the earliest steps of mucin O-linked glycosylation. Both antigens have been shown previously to be highly sensitive and specific markers of colorectal cancer. One hundred and three colorectal polyps (79 adenomatous; 24 hyperplastic) were examined for expression of Tn antigen using vicia villosa isolectin B4, and for sialosyl-Tn antigen by monoclonal antibody TKH2. Tn antigen was expressed by all of the polyps studied. Sialosyl-Tn, on the other hand was expressed weakly by a few cells in 7 of 24 (29%) hyperplastic polyps. Among the adenomatous polyps, 56% expressed sialosyl-Tn and expression correlated with larger adenoma size, greater villous component, and more severe grades of dysplasia. In individuals with two or more synchronous adenomas, the level of sialosyl-Tn expression within an adenoma was associated with the severity of cytological atypia. All the adenomas that contained a focus of invasive carcinoma expressed sialosyl-Tn. These results indicate that colorectal polyps manifest incomplete glycosylation, exposing antigens in the innermost region of mucin oligosaccharides. In addition, the correlation of sialosyl-Tn antigen expression with the adenoma-carcinoma sequence may make this a useful marker for studying malignant progression in the colon.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1990

Sialosyl-Tn. A novel mucin antigen associated with prognosis in colorectal cancer patients.

Colon cancers typically produce mucin. However, it is not known whether tumor mucin plays a biological role in cancer cell behavior. To address this issue, the expression of a mucin-associated antigen, sialosyl-Tn, was examined by immunohistochemical study in 128 primary colorectal carcinoma specimens from 137 patients who underwent curative surgical resection. Antigen expression was correlated with disease-free and overall 5-year survival. Sialosyl-Tn antigen expression occurred in 112 (87.5%) tumors, and was independent of age, gender, tumor location, Dukes' stage, depth of invasion, degree of differentiation, and ploidy status. Survival at 5 years for patients with sialosyl-Tn-negative versus sialosyl-Tn-positive tumors was 100% versus 73% (P less than 0.05) and disease-free survival was 94% versus 73%, respectively (P = 0.12). Although more advanced Dukes' stage, deeper invasion, and aneuploidy were all associated with poorer overall 5-year survival, antigen-negative tumors within each of these groups had much better prognoses than antigen-positive tumors. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that tumor ploidy (P less than 0.001) and sialosyl-Tn expression (P less than 0.05) were the two variables of most importance for predicting both disease-free and overall survival. The authors conclude that sialosyl-Tn expression is an independent predictor of poor prognosis in colon cancer, and therefore suggest that qualitative mucin alterations may reflect important differences in the biological behavior of these neoplasms.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Blood group antigen synthesis and degradation in normal and cancerous colonic tissues.

ABH antigens are expressed by colonic epithelial cells throughout the colon during fetal life but only in proximal segments during adulthood. Malignant and premalignant colonic tumors frequently exhibit ABH reappearance (distal lesions) or ABH deletion (proximal lesions) and occasionally express incompatible A or B substances. Mechanisms governing these developmental and cancer-associated alterations are unknown. Therefore, experiments were performed to assess the activities of biosynthetic (glycosyltransferase) and degradative (glycosidase) enzymes in normal and cancerous tissues of the proximal and distal colon. In normal colonic mucosa, A, B, and H transferase activities were similar in proximal and distal segments. Analysis of enzyme substrate affinities and product characterization confirmed that the ABH transferases in colonic tissues were similar to the gene-specified transferases in human serum. Glycosidase enzyme activities were also comparable in proximal and distal normal colon. Cancers had lower A and B transferase but similar H transferase activities compared with paired normal mucosa. Thus, the absence of ABH antigen expression in normal distal colon is not caused by insufficient glycosyltransferase activity or excessive glycosidase activity.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1990

Expression of native and deglycosylated colon cancer mucin antigens in normal and malignant epithelial tissues.

Immunohistochemical techniques were used to determine the distribution and cellular location of the mature and precursor forms of a colonic-type mucin in normal and malignant epithelial tissues. The antisera used in this study were prepared against native human colon cancer mucin (LS), partially deglycosylated mucin (HFA or GalNAc-apomucin), and fully deglycosylated mucin (HFB or apomucin). These antisera reacted with most mucin-producing cells of the normal gastrointestinal tract, salivary ductular cells, bronchial epithelial cells, some bronchial mucous glands, and squamous epithelial cells of the esophagus. Breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate, liver, and thyroid were nonreactive. In most normal organs, HFB reactivity was present in the supranuclear and perinuclear cytoplasm and LS and HFA were located primarily in goblet cell vacuoles, apical cytoplasm, and luminal secretions. These findings are consistent with the expected subcellular locations of apomucin and more "mature" mucins. LS, HFA, and HFB were frequently expressed in adenocarcinomas of the colon, stomach, pancreas, and lung. Lymphoma, sarcoma, and melanoma specimens were nonreactive. Alterations in the expression of these mucin antigens in malignant tissues included loss of subcellular compartmentalization, increased intensity of staining, and disappearance of staining. In addition, de novo expression of HFB was observed in one of five breast carcinomas and three of five ovarian mucinous cystadenocarcinomas. These data demonstrate that LS, HFA, and HFB are useful for studying the organ specificities and biosynthetic pathways of one type of mucin in normal and malignant tissues.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1989

ABH blood group antigen expression, synthesis, and degradation in human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines.

The synthesis of blood group ABH antigens is under genetic control, where the primary gene products are glycosyltransferases. Several studies have demonstrated cancer-associated alterations in ABH antigen expression in human colon cancer tissues. However, the mechanism(s) responsible for these alterations has not been elucidated. Therefore, experiments were conducted using nine established colon cancer cell lines (four type O, three type A, and two type B) to examine ABH antigen expression by immunocytochemistry and correlate this with activities of ABH biosynthetic (glycosyltransferase) and degradative (glycosidase) enzymes. The products of the glycosyltransferase enzymes were characterized by high performance liquid chromatography and paper chromatography, and substrate affinities (apparent Km values) of the cancer cell-derived glycosyltransferases were analyzed. The present data demonstrate: (a) all cell lines except H-498 (blood type A) expressed the appropriate ABH glycosyltransferase as well as all three glycosidases; (b) product characterization and substrate dependence experiments suggested that the cancer cell-derived ABH glycosyltransferase enzymes had properties that were similar to those of the ABH enzymes in human serum; (c) H-498 cells exhibited A antigen deletion with accumulation of H precursor substance, most likely due to insufficient A transferase activity; (d) SW1417 cells (blood type B) demonstrated B antigen deletion without precursor accumulation, despite adequate levels of B transferase and low alpha-galactosidase activity; and (e) weak incompatible A antigen expression occurred in LoVo (type B) and SW1116 (type O) cells, and weak incompatible B antigen expression occurred in H-498 (type A) and SW1116 cells. However, since these cells lacked incompatible A or B transferase activity, these incompatible antigens are probably not the true A or B antigens. Thus, the colon cancer cell lines used in this study exhibit all of the ABH alterations previously described in colon cancer tissues and appear to be useful experimental models for studying the molecular events involved in cancer-associated ABH expression.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1989

Deglycosylation of mucin from LS174T colon cancer cells by hydrogen fluoride treatment.

Mucin from xenografts of LS174T human colon cancer cells was treated with anhydrous HF for 1 h at 0 degree C to give a product (HFA) with over 80% of the glucosamine and hexose removed, but retaining some galactosamine, and for 3 h at room temperature to give a product (HFB) devoid of carbohydrate. Rabbit antibodies against HFA bound to HFA much more than to HFB, and bound to native mucin to an intermediate extent. Antibodies to HFB bound to HFB more than to HFA, and did not bind to native mucin. Both HFA and native mucin bound a number of lectins, but HFB did not. By SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and size-exclusion h.p.l.c., native mucin and HFA are of apparent molecular mass greater than 400 kDa, whereas HFB is heterogeneous and of low molecular mass. On Western blots, antibody to HFA detected both high-molecular-mass mucin and a 90 kDa protein in homogenates of LS174T cells. Antibody to HFB detected a major 70 kDa band as well as higher-molecular-mass species. In tissue sections of normal colon and colon cancers, antibody to HFA showed both cytoplasmic and extracellular staining, whereas antibody to HFB generally stained only cytoplasmic antigens. These results indicate that anti-HFB antibody is specific for apo-mucin, whereas anti-HFA antibody is specific for GalNAc-apo-mucin.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG-72) expression in ulcerative colitis.

Monoclonal antibody (MAb) B72.3 reactive with the high-molecular-weight (Mr greater than 10(6) tumor-associated glycoprotein (TAG)-72 is being increasingly utilized in vivo and in vitro for a variety of purposes in colon cancer patients. Recent evidence has suggested that the TAG-72 antigen expression may be enhanced in inflammatory bowel disease, particularly ulcerative colitis (Thor et al., 1986a: Cancer Res., 46, 3118-3124). We have utilized 117 paraffin-embedded formalin-fixed colonic specimens from 56 ulcerative colitis patients which demonstrate a spectrum of epithelial abnormalities (reactive atypia, dysplasia, and carcinoma) as well as 11 inflammatory controls to evaluate TAG-72 expression. Our selected patient population all had pan-colitis and demonstrated a generally increasing incidence of dysplasia or carcinoma with duration of disease (20% at 0 to 10 years, 50% at 11 to 20 years, 59% at 21 to 30 years, and 100% at more than 31 years). TAG-72 expression was similar in the control and non-dysplastic colonic epithelia, and increased with low- or high-grade dysplasia as well as carcinomatous lesions (mean cellular reactivities 23.7%, 26.5%, 36.7%, 70% and 84.3%, respectively). Epithelium with low-grade dysplasia exhibited a focal perinuclear, superficial crypt staining (when present). High-grade dysplastic epithelium showed pancytoplasmic, pan-cryptic reactivity. Invasive disease showed cytoplasmic as well as extracellular mucin staining. Biopsies from patients with active disease showed significantly more immunoreactive cells for TAG-72 than patients with quiescent disease. For any given biopsy specimen the percentage of cells reactive did not always correlate with the degree of dysplasia. TAG-72 expression in quiescent disease generally increased with duration of disease, in contrast to active disease which showed no correlation between MAb B72.3 staining and duration of disease. The frequent expression of TAG-72 in actively inflamed colonic mucosa (ulcerative colitis and other colitides) may limit the clinical utility of this antigen for detecting colon cancer in ulcerative colitis patients by serological assay or in vivo radiolocalization techniques. The tendency for TAG-72 expression to correlate with disease duration in patients with quiescent disease and to increase with more severe degrees of dysplasia suggests that the expression of this gene product correlates with the dysplasia-to-carcinoma sequence.

Adolescent↗