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Increased Expression of Sialyl-Dimeric Le^x Antigen in Liver Metastases of Human Colorectal Carcinoma¹

Departments of General Surgery [S. D. H., D. M. O.], Tumor Biology [Y. M., T. Y., T. I.], and Pathology [K. R. C.], The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, and The Biomembrane Institute and The University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98119 [S. H.]

We collected a total of 78 tissue specimens, including primary colorectal carcinoma, normal colonic mucosa, and liver metastases of colon carcinoma, to examine whether the extracts of these tissues inhibited the binding of a monoclonal antibody FH6, specific for sialyl-dimeric Le^x antigen. The results of inhibition assays demonstrated that: (a) contents of FH6-reactive molecules were greater in carcinoma tissues than in normal colonic mucosa; (b) metastatic foci in livers contained more FH6-reactive molecules than primary tumors; (c) primary tumors from Dukes' stage B1 patients contained less FH6-reactive molecules than primary tumors from Dukes' stage D patients. The inhibitory activity of these tumor tissue extracts against the binding of a monoclonal antibody FH6 to cultured colon carcinoma cells was eliminated by prior treatment of the extracts with sialidase, confirming that the FH6-reactive materials were sialyl-dimeric Le^x antigen. Electrophoretic separation of tumor tissue extracts on 3% polyacrylamide gels followed by direct staining with monoclonal antibody FH6 revealed that very high molecular weight glycoproteins, presumably mucins, contained sialyl-dimeric Le^x antigen.

¹ This work was supported by USPHS Grant RO1-CA39319 and Texas Higher Education Program Grant 1549 to T. I. and in part by USPHS Grant R35-CA44352 (OIG) to Garth L. Nicolson. S. H. was supported by the Bessie Frisch Memorial Fund.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Department of Tumor Biology, Box 108, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030.

Received 3/ 2/89. Revised 7/13/89. Accepted 9/20/89.