Histological reactivity of a monoclonal antibody against rat colon cancer cells on human and rat normal gut and colonic tumours.

A monoclonal antibody, F11C, was raised against rat colon cancer cells. Its immunoreactivity on normal human and rat gut as well as human and rat colonic tumours was studied by the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex technique. In both normal rat and human gastrointestinal tract, F11C stained surface epithelial cells from the fundus to distal colon, mainly as supranuclear vesicles. These vesicles appeared to be part of the Golgi apparatus on electron microscopy with immunogold labelling. Twenty primary rat colon tumours and 28 of 43 human colon tumours were also stained, with a heterogeneous pattern but much more strongly than the normal colonic mucosa. Biochemical purification suggested that in rat tumours F11C epitope was carried by a high molecular weight glycoprotein. Absorption experiments with synthetic oligosaccharides showed that F11C monoclonal antibody reacted with blood group A-related oligosaccharides. Nevertheless, F11C reactivity on human tissues was not related to the individual ABO or Lewis phenotype.