To A, Coleman D V, Dearnaley D P, Ormerod M G, Steele K, Neville A M
J Clin Pathol. 1981 Dec;34(12):1326-32. doi: 10.1136/jcp.34.12.1326.
A new human antigen, designated epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), has recently been described on surface membranes of a wide variety of normal epithelium but not on connective tissue cells. The antigen is only weakly expressed on normal or reactive mesothelium. Increased expression of the antigen has been observed in most neoplasms of epithelial origin and in malignant mesothelioma. We have investigated the possibility of using this difference in the expression of the antigen to distinguish between mesothelial cells and malignant cells in cytological smears of serous effusions. This distinction cannot always be made on morphological grounds alone and problems of differential diagnosis are encountered in about 15% of all specimens of serous effusions sent for cytological examination. Using antisera to EMA we have applied an indirect immunoalkaline phosphatase technique to alcohol-fixed smears prepared from serous effusions and have found that intense staining of the antigen is confined to effusions from patients in whom there is either clinical or cytological evidence of malignancy. The technique proved to be especially useful in cytologically equivocal cases, where there were problems of differential diagnosis.
一种新的人类抗原，命名为上皮膜抗原（EMA），最近在多种正常上皮细胞的表面膜上被发现，但在结缔组织细胞上未发现。该抗原在正常或反应性间皮上仅微弱表达。在大多数上皮源性肿瘤和恶性间皮瘤中观察到该抗原表达增加。我们研究了利用该抗原表达差异来区分浆液性积液细胞学涂片中的间皮细胞和恶性细胞的可能性。这种区分不能仅基于形态学依据，在所有送检细胞学检查的浆液性积液标本中，约15%会遇到鉴别诊断问题。我们使用抗EMA血清，将间接免疫碱性磷酸酶技术应用于由浆液性积液制备的酒精固定涂片，发现抗原的强烈染色仅限于有临床或细胞学恶性证据的患者的积液。该技术在细胞学上模棱两可、存在鉴别诊断问题的病例中被证明特别有用。
