Tumor-associated expression of glycosphingolipid Hanganutziu-Deicher antigen in human cancers

Expression of heterophile Hanganutziu-Deicher (HD) antigen on the cell surface of various human malignant tumor tissues was studied by membrane immunofluorescence staining with chicken antiserum against N-glycolylneuraminyllactosylceramide (HD3) and fluorescein-conjugated rabbit anti-chicken IgG. The HD antigen was demonstrated in samples from 38 of 77 (38/77, 49%) cases, consisting of gastric (9/16), breast (8/14), colorectal (3/12), nasopharyngeal (4/7), and uterine (2/3) carcinomas, leukemias (5/10), malignant lymphomas (2/5), and other cancers (5/10). Histological examination indicated that expression of the antigen by the gastric, colorectal and breast carcinomas and leukemias was not related to their histological types. The cytoplasm and the surface of the malignant glandular epithelial cells were both specifically stained by immunofluorescence staining of frozen sections in one colon adenocarcinoma. Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) were extracted from the colon cancer tissue and two HD antigen-active GSLs were detected on thin-layer chromatography (TLC) by enzyme-immunostaining using affinity-purified chicken anti-HD3 and horseradish peroxidase-conjugated rabbit anti-chicken IgG. One migrated to the same position as HD3 on TLC, and the other to a position similar to that of authentic N-glycolylneuraminylneolactotetraosylceramide.