Detection of the urinary 'PUM' polymorphism by the tumour-binding monoclonal antibodies Ca1, Ca2, Ca3, HMFG1, and HMFG2.

A series of human urinary mucin-like glycoproteins, previously detected using lectins to stain gels after electrophoresis, and showing genetic polymorphism (Karlsson et al., 1983) can also be detected using the tumour-binding monoclonal antibodies, Ca1, Ca2, Ca3, HMFG1, and HMFG2. The evidence from immunoprecipitation and immunoadsorbant chromatography experiments is that the epitopes recognized by these antibodies are carried on the same molecules as the lectin-binding determinants. The discovery that the antibodies bind specifically to a family of molecules which show genetic polymorphism provides a powerful new tool for the analysis of the material expressed aberrantly in cancer.