[Basal cell cross-reacting antigen in normal and neoplastic human tissues]

The method of immunofluorescence was used to study location of the basal cell cross-reacting antigen shared by group A streptococcus, and multilayer epithelium of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, oesophagus, vagina, cervix, urinary bladder, eye conjunctiva, epithelial cells of the mammary and salivary gland ducts of man. The cross-reacting antigen possessing tissue specificity was found in human tumor cells histogenetically associated with the tissues carrying the antigen (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, larynx, cervix) but not in the cells of tumors of different genesis (infiltrative mammary gland carcinoma, adenocarcinomas of the stomach and intestines). The results obtained will serve as the basis for the development of an immunological method for differential diagnosis of poorly-differentiated human tumors and for some problems of histogenesis of neoplasias.