Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The
University of Queensland, Australia | Division of Cytopathology, Pathology Department, Royal
Brisbane Hospital, Queensland, Australia | Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Australian Red
Cross Society, Queensland, Australia | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Peter Devine, Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Clinical Sciences Building, Royal Brisbane Hospital, Herston Qld
4029, Australia
Abstract: Monoclonal antibody TH1 (IgM) was prepared by immunizing mice with
deglycosylated (TFMSA-treated) cystic fibrosis mucin. TH1 reacted strongly with
TFMSA treated cystic fibrosis mucin but not with the fully glycosylated mucin,
indicating reactivity with a core mucin epitope. TH1 showed no reactivity with
ovine mucin (98% of glycans as sialyl-Tn) but reacted strongly with
desialylated ovine mucin, indicating the epitope for this mab was the
Tn-antigen (O-linked GalNAc). However, TH1 showed no reactivity with
Tn-positive red blood cells, and the binding of TH1 was not inhibited by GalNAc
at 2.5 mg/ml, illustrating the importance of the peptide sequence to which the
GalNAc is attached. TH1 stained the majority of cancers of the colon, lung,
stomach, ovary, breast, and cervix, and the cellular distribution of this
antigen in normal tissue suggested reactivity with immature mucin. This
antibody appears to be a useful reagent for the detection of immature
mucin.
