PubMed · 4455621
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B K Aikat. 1974. Tumour immunity.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4455621/
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Subacute cerebellar degeneration can be associated with malignancies. If the underlying tumor is a gynecological one, Purkinje cell cytoplasmic antibodies in serum serve as tumor markers.
Alteration of the p53 gene is the most frequent genetic feature of human cancer and leads to overexpression of the altered protein in the tumor cell nucleus. Two diagnostic procedures are currently available to assess p53 mutations: (a) molecular analysis of the gene sequence; and (b) immunohistochemical analysis of p53 protein accumulation. We now report a third approach, serological analysis. Fifteen % of primary breast cancer patients were found to have circulating antibodies to p53 protein by immunoprecipitation or immunoblotting. We have found a close correlation between the presence of such antibodies and bad prognosis such as high histological grade and the absence of hormone receptors. Furthermore, we found that the B-cell response to p53 protein is induced by two immunodominant regions located at the carboxy and amino termini of the protein, outside the central mutational hot spot region. These findings suggest that serological analysis, combined with molecular and histochemical methods, may be suitable for assessing the state of the p53 gene in cancer patients.
An essential element in the development of effective vaccines against human malignant melanoma is the identification of antigens which are relevant for vaccine construction as evidenced by their ability to stimulate antimelanoma immune responses in humans. In this study, we identified immunogenic melanoma antigens using as probes antibodies induced in patients immunized with a vaccine which contains a broad range of potential immunogens. By immunoprecipitation/sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of detergent lysates of radioiodinated melanoma cells, we found that 17 (65%) of 26 patients sequentially immunized with a polyvalent melanoma antigen vaccine developed antibodies to one or more melanoma cell surface antigens with approximate molecular weights of 38,000-43,000, 75,000, 110,000, 150,000, and 210,000. The immunodominant antigens which most frequently stimulated antibody responses were the M(r) 110,000 antigen followed by the M(r) 210,000 and 38,000-43,000 antigens, which induced antibody responses in 62%, 27%, and 19% of patients, respectively. These three antigens were commonly expressed on different melanomas but rarely on nonmelanoma cells and are unrelated to class I or II human leukocyte antigens or to the previously described p97 or M(r) 240,000 proteoglycan melanoma-associated antigens. Thus, these three antigens are attractive candidates for the construction of melanoma vaccines, because they are immunogenic in humans and are preferentially expressed on melanomas.