Serum antibodies to a normal cellular protein (P-65) in patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Samples from the L-428 Hodgkin's cell line and from several other lymphoma cell lines were lysed and the soluble proteins were subjected to one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The separated proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose by the Western Blot technique; antibody reactivity was detected by an immunoperoxidase reaction. Of 152 sera from patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) 26 (17%) reacted with protein P-65 whereas in the control group, consisting of 35 healthy persons and 20 patients with other malignant diseases only 1 serum was reactive. Thus, the difference between the two groups was highly significant (P less than 0.01). These antibodies were most common in stage III HD. Splenectomy had no effect on the incidence of these antibodies, and there seemed to be no correlation with B-symptoms or with the histological subtype.