Human monoclonal antibody to a neuroectodermal tumor antigen (OFA-I-2).

Human IgM kappa monoclonal antibody to human tumors of neuroectodermal origin was produced in the spent medium of an Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell line, L72. Chemically, the antigen was identified as ganglioside GD2 [Gal NAc beta 1----4 (Neu Ac alpha 2----8 Neu Ac alpha 2---3) Gal beta 1----4 Glc----ceramide]. Twenty-seven mg of pure human IgM were obtained from 10 liters of L72 spent medium using salt and hypotonic precipitation, ultracentrifugation, and Sephacryl-S 300 superfine gel filtration. The monoclonal origin of the antibody was determined by agarose isoelectrofocusing. This human monoclonal antibody may be a particularly useful reagent for immunotherapy trials in cancer patients.