The distribution of an
antigen recognized by murine
monoclonal antibody 1D3 (Bhattacharya, M., Chatterjee, S.K., Barlow, J. J., and Fuji, H.
Cancer Res., 42: 1650-1654, 1982) was investigated in various types of human malignant and normal adult tissues by indirect immunoperoxidase assay in fixed
paraffin-embedded sections. One hundred percent of ovarian
mucinous cystadenocarcinomas expressed high levels of the
antigen with intense staining of 80 to 100% of the tumoral area, thus confirming our previous finding with radioimmunoassay and absorption analyses. About 51% of colonic
carcinomas, 33% of gastric
carcinomas, and 22% of
pancreatic carcinomas were also positive for this high-molecular-weight mucoprotein
antigen. All other ovarian and nonovarian
carcinomas tested including
carcinoma of lung, breast, endometrium, cervix, and prostate were not stained by 1D3. In addition,
sarcomas,
melanomas, and
lymphomas also did not express any detectable level of the
antigen. When surveyed against various normal adult tissues, 1D3 had reactivity limited to the colon. Normal colon, however, exhibited reduced staining intensities compared to
tumors or to the apparently normal colon adjacent to
tumors. The
antigen thus appears to be a colorectal tissue-specific
antigen showing increased levels in ovarian
mucinous cystadenocarcinomas and in some gastrointestinal
tumors. 1D3
antigen is a potential
tumor marker for mucinous ovarian and colonic
tumors.