Monoclonal antibodies that bind to galactosylgloboside (SSEA-3 antigen)

The 3-fucosyllactosamine (3-FL) antigenic determinant, Gal(beta 1-4)[Fuc(alpha 1-3)]-GlcNAc-R, is very immunogenic in BALB/c mice. A panel of monoclonal antibodies was raised against a novel glycosphingolipid that contains a terminal 3-FL structure (structure 1): (formula: see text) Surprisingly, most of these antibodies reacted with the internal galactosylgloboside structure rather than with the terminal 3-FL epitope. The specificities of two of these antibodies, 5A3 and 8A7, were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunostaining procedures, and compared with MC631 (anti-SSEA-3), the only other monoclonal antibody known to bind to galactosylgloboside. 5A3 and 8A7 bound equally well to structure 1 and to galactosylgloboside. These antibodies also bound to structure 1 from which the terminal galactose, or the galactose and fucose, had been removed, but not to globoside or sialylated galactosylgloboside. In contrast, MC631 did not bind to structure 1 but, as described previously, did bind to globoside and sialylated galactosylgloboside. Galactosylgloboside is a developmentally regulated antigen of mouse embryos, human teratocarcinomas, and mouse embryonic brain. Antibodies 5A3 and 8A7 will complement MC631 in the analysis of the distribution and regulation of galactosylgloboside.