Expression of fetal antigens in tumor cells.

The activities of sera that reacted specifically with the specific cell-surface antigens of polyoma or simian virus 40 tumors could only be inhibited by absorption of the sera with tumor cells transformed by the specific virus, and could not be removed by the absorption with cells from various fetal tissues nor with cells from other tumors. In contrasts, the antisera produced in male C3H/HeN mice by inoculation of irradiated, syngeneic fetal tissue of 1- to 2-weeks gestation, reacted with various tumor cells. The activities of these sera, when tested against cells from tumors induced by polyoma virus or simian virus 40, could also be removed by absorption with cells from tumors induced by viruses other than polyoma or simian virus 40, including leukemia cells induced by Gross virus (C58NT)D, Rauscher virus (RBL-5), and by dimethylbenzanthrene (EL. 4), and cells from mammary tumors (MM102), plasma-cell tumors (MPC-113), and fetal tissues. These results indicated that fetal antigens may be expressed in tumor cells, but they are different from tumor-specific antigens that are specific for a particular tumor or for tumors induced by a particular virus.