Human mammary epithelial antigens (HME-Ags) in the circulation of nude mice implanted with a breast tumor and non-breast tumors

✍ Scribed by Masao Sasaki; Jerry A. Peterson; William M. Wara; Roberto L. Ceriani

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 697 KB
• Volume: 48
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(19811115)48:10<2204::aid-cncr2820481015>3.0.co;2-0

✦ Synopsis

Human mammary epithelial antigens (HME-Ags) obtained from the membrane of the human milk fat globule (HMFG) were tested for their possible role as breast tumor markers. Specific antisera raised against HME-Ags were used to monitor plasma concentrations of these antigens in nude mice implanted with a human breast tumor. The level of plasma HME-Ags, determined by radioimmunoassay, was significantly higher in animals transplanted with a human breast tumor (mean * standard error; 687 k 184 ng/ml) than those with other types of human tumors (colon carcinoma: 50 f 29; lung carcinoma: 82 I 78; medulloblastoma: <30; and Wilson melanoma: <30) and healthy control animals (49 k 22). Removal of the breast tumor resulted in a significant drop of HME-Ags level to "background" values, suggesting that animals with the breast tumor did release into the circulation HME-Ags which could be possibly used as breast-tumor markers in breast tumor diagnosis.