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Immunological Block to Synthetic -Melanocyte-stimulating Hormone: Melanocyte Interaction by Antibodies Isolated from Cell-Column Immunoadsorbents¹

Departments of Microbiology [J. L. W., B. M. E., A. E. H.] and Pediatrics [A. E. H.], The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226 The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226

Antibodies to formalin-fixed, syngeneic melanoma cells were prepared in mice, purified by immunoaffinity chromatography, and tested for binding activity to viable melanoma cells. The radiolabeled antibodies detected 9 x 10⁶ melanoma antigenic sites/cell. The calculated average association constant (K_a) for the antibody population was 7 to 10 x 10⁷ M^–1. The antibody was shown to block the binding of melanocyte-stimulating hormone in competitive cell surface binding studies. Results are discussed conceptually in terms of the potentially important role that the humoral immune response may play in the phenomenon of tumor progression.

¹ This work was supported by grants from The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research and the National Science Foundation.

Received 2/20/79. Accepted 4/27/79.