Anti-melanoma monoclonal antibody HMB45 identifies an oncofetal glycoconjugate associated with immature melanosomes.

The anti-melanoma monoclonal antibody HMB45 is widely used in diagnostic pathology owing to its great specificity and sensitivity in identifying pigmented tumors such as malignant melanoma. However, little is known regarding the nature of the antigen(s) recognized by this antibody. In the observations reported here, the HMB45-defined antigen was identified in another pigmented tissue, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). A series of immunocytochemical studies demonstrated transient reactivity of the prenatal and infantile human RPE with antibody HMB45; adult RPE is non-reactive with the antibody. By immunoelectron microscopy, the antibody was demonstrated to react with immature melanosomes. Pre-treatment of deparaffinized tissue sections with neuraminidase completely eliminated HMB45 immunoreactivity, suggesting that the antigen(s) recognized is a sialated glycoconjugate. Mannosidase or N-acetylglucosaminidase pre-treatment had no effect on immunoreactivity. Thus, HMB45 may identify an oncofetal antigen present in cutaneous melanocytes, RPE, and melanoma cells, and changes in immunoreactivity with maturation or malignant transformation may be a function of post-translational modification.