Isolation and immunochemical characterization of antibodies from the sera of cancer patients which are reactive against human melanoma cell membranes by affinity chromatography.

Immunoglobulins were isolated by affinity chromatography from sera of two patients with melanoma, one with sarcoma, and one with carcinoma. The affinity columns were prepared by covalently linking the membrane-rich fraction of biopsied melanoma cells to cyanogen bromide-activated agarose beads. The membrane-rich fractions were prepared by two methods: (a) hypotonic cell lysis, and (b) homogenization and differential centrifugation. Melanoma sera were autologous to melanoma membrane preparations. The isolated immunoglobulins showed immunoreactivity against antigens prepared from melanoma, sarcoma, and carcinoma cells by complement fixation but not against antigens prepared from normal human liver and lung tissues. Absorption of the isolated immunoglobulins with rabbit anti-human immunoglobulin immunobeads resulted in complete elimination of the complement-fixing antibody titer in one instance, whereas reduction occurred in other samples. Similar absorption with rabbit anti-human immunoglobulin M immunobeads resulted in reduction, but not complete elimination, of the antibody titers against target tumor cell preparations. These results suggest the presence of immunoreactive immunoglobulin G in all immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin M in some. Absorption of the isolated immunoglobulins with cultured sarcoma cells reduced but did not completely abolish antibody activity against autologous or allogeneic melanoma target antigen, whereas it did completely abolish activity against sarcoma target antigen. However, absorption with cultured allogeneic melanoma cells abolished the antibody activity against melanoma as well as sarcoma target antigens. The antibody titers of the isolated immunoglobulins were not affected by absorption with cultured lymphoblastoid cells. Since cultured melanoma and sarcoma cells were known to contain oncofetal antigen(s), these results suggest that the isolated immunoglobulins from cancer sera by melanoma membrane affinity chromatography were of at least two specificities: (a) antioncofetal; and (b) antitumor associated. The former group may be comprised of antibody to cross-reactive antigens associated with different histological types of tumors. However, it was apparent that a portion of the antibody activity was against common tumor-associated antigen(s). These results provide further evidence for the presence of common antigen(s) associated with biopsy specimens of human malignant melanoma.