Monoclonal antibodies to endogenous galactose-specific tumor cell lectins.

A monoclonal antibody, 5D7, was obtained after immunization of syngeneic mice with B16 melanoma cell extracts enriched for endogenous lectin activity and screening for inhibition of lectin-mediated hemagglutination. Binding of this antibody to affinity-purified B16 melanoma galactoside-specific lectin was revealed by solid-phase radioimmunoassay and binding to the surface of viable B16 cells was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. Inhibition of lectin activity and cell surface labeling by 5D7 antibody were also found with several types of cultured human and murine cells including melanoma, sarcoma and carcinoma. This monoclonal antibody should be useful for evaluating the role of tumor cell surface lectins in intercellular interactions and metastasis.