Production of specific antibody to purified prostatic acid phosphatase

Prostatic acid phosphatase may well be a prime antigenic protein in prostatic tissue and fluid. Extraction of the enzyme in highly purified form from prostatic fluid and benign hypertrophic prostatic tissue provides a unique antigen capable of inducing a prompt and specific antibody response in the goat and rabbit as amnifested by immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, and immunofluorescence techniques. In prostatic cancer patients with elevated serum acid phosphatase levels it is possible to detect humoral circulating PAP antigen by standard immunoelectrophoretic methods and to confirm the existence of the enzyme by radioautography, L-tartrate inhibition, and the Gomori or Burstone staining procedures. Preliminary indirect prostatic immunofluorescence studies consistently demonstrated characteristic fluorescent foci in the paranuclear areas of benign prostatic epithelial cells, the presumed area of synthesis of prostatic acid phosphatase. Consideration has been given to the possibility of the development of a radioimmunoassay for prostatic acid phosphataase utilizing a heterolologous antiserum to the enzyme extracted from human prostatic fluid.