Epitopes immunologically related to glycophorin A on human malignant and non-malignant cells in culture.

Nine monoclonal antibodies specific to different antigenic determinants on the cyanogen bromide fragments CNBr3 (1-8) and CNBr1 (9-81) of glycophorin A, the major sialoglycoprotein of human red blood cells, were used for the detection of similar or cross-reactive epitope(s) on nucleated somatic cells. A panel of human malignant and non-malignant cells consisting of erythroleukemia, melanoma and carcinomas of breast, cervix, larynx, nasopharynx and colon, as well as human fibroblasts and mammary cells, were tested using a sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. The presence of glycophorin-like epitopes were demonstrated, in varying concentrations, on all cells tested. These epitropes were found to be localized on the cell membranes by indirect immunofluorescence.