Sensitization of human lymphocytes to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA): neutralization experiments with anti-CEA sera

By means of the macrophage electrophoretic mobility technique we could show lymphocytes of patients suffering from cancers of the digestive system to be sensitized to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). These findings conflict with the common view that CEA is not immunogenic in humans. The aim of the present study was to look as to whether conventional anti-CEA sera can neutralize the activity of a CEA preparation which is responsible for the human lymphocyte response. When 60 ng CEA were preincubated with highly diluted anti-CEA serum and the resulting immune complexes were thereafter co-precipitated by protein A-sepharose, positive lymphocyte responses could no longer be obtained. This effect was observed with 3 anti-CEA sera in 3 cancer patients (colon cancer, stomach cancer, teratocarcinoma), who's lymphocytes responded to CEA by lymphokine release. Normal serum had no neutralizing effect. The anti-CEA sera did not influence the activity of another tumour-relevant extract (teratocarcinoma-derived), to which cancer patients' lymphocytes reacted regardless of the tumour site. The lymphocytes from an oesophagus carcinoma patient, though reacting to the teratocarcinoma preparation, did not respond to CEA, thus, logically, all other tests with normal serum and anti-CEA sera were negative, too. The results show that the digest system cancer-associated lymphocyte reactivity to CEA can be abrogated by conventional anti-CEA sera, which finding indicates that there exist closely CEA-associated "tumour-specific" antigenicities.