Evaluation of mucinous-like cancer antigen (MCA) in women with breast disease: preliminary results.

Mucinous-like cancer antigen (MCA) is a substance which is recognized by a novel monoclonal antibody, designated b12, when directed against a mixture of human breast cancer cell lines. The present study was carried out by means of a solid phase enzyme immuno assay to determine, prior to treatment, circulating levels of MCA in 131 women with malignant and in 99 with benign breast diseases (BBD). Statistical analysis did not reveal any significant difference between MCA values in healthy controls vs. BBD patients. By contrast, MCA levels were significantly higher in cancer patients as compared to the other groups (p less than 0.001). In particular, patients with metastatic disease had the highest MCA concentrations. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 25.5 and 97.5%, respectively. The characteristics of MCA (low sensitivity, high specificity) encourage its evaluation as an indicator of tumor burden.

Preliminary study on serum levels of mucinous like cancer antigen (MCA) in patients with breast disease: comparison with CEA.

MCA (mucinous-like cancer antigen) can be measured in the biological fluids of patients by means of a solid phase enzyme immunoassay. This study describes the results of MCA determination in sera of 230 patients with benign (99) and malignant (131) breast diseases. MCA levels were significantly higher in breast cancer patients than in non cancer patients and in healthy subjects (p less than 0.001). MCA concentrations tended to increase as the stage of the disease advanced. The 95th percentile of MCA value distribution in normal subjects showed a diagnostic sensitivity in breast cancer patients of 16.3% at stage I, 26.2% at stages II-III and 52% at stage IV. In a group of 118 cancer patients, MCA and CEA were tested simultaneously. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of MCA and CEA assays was very similar; nevertheless the association of the two tests showed 11 cases with high levels of MCA and low levels of CEA and 9 patients with high levels of CEA and low levels of MCA. Seventy-four out of 118 patients were negative for both markers and in 22 out of 118 patients markers were positive. The new marker MCA appeared to correlate with breast cancer and gave different information complementary to CEA.

Localization of mucinous-like carcinoma associated antigen (MCA) in breast pathology: comparison with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA).

The topographic distribution of a mucinous-like cancer antigen (MCA) recognized by a monoclonal antibody b-12 (MAb b-12) was assessed in benign (38) and malignant (66) breast tissues. The reactivity of MAb b-12 showed a good selectivity for breast tissues, reacting both with normal tissues and breast cancer. The degree of MCA expression was evaluated in the various groups of breast pathology adopting quantitative criteria of assessment. With the criteria of evaluation adopted, strong staining was observed in 71.4% breast carcinomas. The most positive reaction was demonstrated in mucinous carcinoma. MCA distribution in breast tissue was compared with the distribution of two other antigens, CEA and TPA. Reactivity of MAb b-12 was higher than the reactivity shown by the anti-CEA and anti-TPA antibodies.

Effects of cholesterol and alfa-2-recombinant interferon on cell growth and cell antigen production in the HT 29 cells, an established cell line of human colon adenocarcinoma.

HT 29 cells, an established cell line of human colon adenocarcinoma, were grown in RPMI 1640 medium without or with cholesterol at 25, 50, 100 micrograms/ml concentrations. In some experiments 100 or 200 U/ml alfa-2-A recombinant Interferon were added to the medium. Only in the case of the highest cholesterol concentration there was a reduced number of cells at confluence. Moreover, only the production of CEA increased in the presence of cholesterol. Interferon did not affect cell growth appreciably but stimulated CEA release into the medium during the first three days of culture. Morphological analysis of cells in the presence of cholesterol seems to indicate an attempt of the cells to differentiate.

Effects of alpha, beta and gamma recombinant interferons on CEA production from HT-29 human colon adenocarcinoma cell line.

The human colon adenocarcinoma derived cell line HT-29 is a good in vitro model for the study of CEA production and release under various experimental conditions. Many studies indicate that CEA secretion is correlated with cell proliferation and seems to depend on the growth conditions and differentiation characteristics induced by the culture medium. The present study demonstrates that recombinant interferons alpha, beta and gamma (rIFN alpha, rIFN beta, rIFN gamma) can modify CEA production and release by HT-29 cell-line. rIFN gamma in particular causes an enhancement of CEA production and release in the culture medium. This dose-depending effect is in some way correlated to cell growth inhibition since the enhancement of CEA expression in the interferon treated cells is evident in the presence of a reduction in cell proliferation. The activity of rIFN alpha and rIFN beta on CEA release is much less remarkable than that demonstrated by rIFN gamma, and is probably only due to the fact that HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells respond poorly to the effects of rIFN alpha and rIFN beta at the doses we used. These findings suggest that CEA production, expression and release can be modulated in a variety of ways under the influence of different rIFN treatment and this situation must be taken into account in immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic applications of anti-CEA monoclonal antibodies in the cancer patient.

[Serum lipids in acute myocardial infarction]. / I lipidi ematici nell'infarto miocardico acuto.

The following lipidic fractions were determined in a population of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and in a control group: total cholesterol, triglycerides, total phospholipids, HDL-cholesterol and HDL-phospholipids. The assays were repeated four times during the hospitalization of the patients admitted for AMI. With respect to total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol, our findings correlated well with the results published in literature, inasmuch as they confirmed positive interrelation for total cholesterol/AMI and triglycerides/AMI ratios and a negative interrelation for HDL-cholesterol/AMI ratio. During the 20 days following infarction, these three parameters decreased to significantly lower values. The relationship linking total phospholipids and HDL-phospholipids to myocardial infarction has not yet been sufficiently investigated and the few available seem rather contradictory. The results which we have obtained seem to indicate a connection between increased total phospholipids and AMI, whereas HDL-phospholipids do not seem to provide any discriminant indication.

[Automatic determination of chlorides with a centrifugal analyzer (author's transl)]. / Determinazione automatica dei cloruri con un microanalizzatore centrifugo.

We have applied a photometric method for the determination of chlorides, to the centrifugal analyzer Multistat III. This technique, which was already been utilized on automatic instruments, both of the continuous-flow and discrete type, has been criticised by several Authors on account of the insufficient linearity of its results with high concentration of Cl-. The method described in this paper showed a high degree of precision and accuracy, with a good linearity, better in any case than the linearities previously associated with this analytical procedure. Interferences by bilirubin, hemoglobin and lipids are negligible even at very high levels. This procedure, while requiring only minimal manual intervention, produces final result printouts in less than thirty seconds.