A monoclonal antibody detecting neural and neuroendocrine differentiation.

A monoclonal antibody, named LICR-LON-E36, has been produced to the acidic fraction of soluble protein extracts of human brains. Using immunocytochemistry, it stained normal peripheral nerves, adrenal medulla, pancreatic islets, and enterochromaffin cells, in addition to recognizing an intracytoplasmic epitope in phaeochromocytomas, carcinoid tumors, some small-cell anaplastic lung, and a few breast carcinomas. Microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrophoretic nitrocellulose blotting experiments confirmed that the antibody is not directed at neuron-specific enolase. Its potential use as an immunological probe for neural and neuroendocrine differentiation is discussed.