Human breast cancer cells share antigens with the myeloid monocyte lineage.

We have examined the expression of several myeloid cell associated antigens, some of which are involved in myelomonocyte adhesion, in seven well characterized human breast cancer cell lines, since common properties of adhesiveness and migration are found in haemopoietic cells and epithelial cancer cells. Five of these cell lines were of metastatic origin and two were derived from primary breast carcinoma. Antigenic expression was evaluated by immunofluorescence (IF), flow cytometry (FCM), radioimmunoassay on live cells (RIA) and immunoperoxidase staining. None of these cell lines expressed T or B lymphoid specific antigens. Myeloid antigens My4, MO1, and MOF11 (derived from the hybridization of mouse X63 - Ag8 cells with spleen cells from Balb/c mice immunized with purified human monocytes) were expressed in the 7 cell lines. Leu M1, Leu M3, My9, and MO2 antigens were expressed in some of the cell lines. Leu M2 and My7 antigens were not expressed or at very low levels. The expression of these myeloid antigens was also tested by immunoperoxidase staining, and found on frozen sections of normal mammary gland, fibroadenoma of the breast, primary breast cancer, and lymph node and skin metastases of breast tumours. This common expression in epithelial breast cells and in myeloid cells might be related to common biological functions such as interaction with extracellular matrix which precedes cell migration, a normal function of macrophages and an abnormal function expressed or amplified in human cancer epithelial cells.