Expression of a Forssman antigenic specificity in the preimplantation mouse embryo.

A monoclonal antibody recognizing a Forssman antigenic specificity has been shown to react with cells of the preimplantation mouse embryo. The antigen is believed to be carried on glycolipid molecules on teratocarcinoma stem cells. This antigen is first detected on the trophectoderm of the early blastocyst. The topography of the expression on the trophectoderm is striking and novel. The antigen is no longer found on these cells after the blastocyst has hatched from the zona pellucida in utero. Inner cell masses are antigen-positive at all times. This is the first study of the distribution of a single antigenic determinant in early mouse embryogenesis.