A human monoclonal antibody derived from axillary lymph nodes of a breast cancer patient reactive to a sulfated glycolipid.

A human monoclonal antibody, BMMK-33G, was established by a fusion of human B-lymphoblastoid cells, HO-323, with lymphocytes of axillary lymph nodes obtained from a breast cancer patient. High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)-immunostaining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) revealed that BMMK-33G was interestingly directed to enough sulfatide (Galactosylceramid-I2-sulfate), which is one of the sulfate ester containing glycolipids. By immunohistochemical staining, BMMK-33G intensely reacted to breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer. It also reacted to many normal human tissues including mammary glands, but these stainings were weaker than those for cancer. This report describes BMMK-33G, a human monoclonal antibody against sulfatide which may be very useful for studying not only tumor immunology but also autoimmune diseases.