Characterization of monoclonal antibody PAM4 reactive with a pancreatic cancer mucin.

A monoclonal antibody (MAb), PAM4, having reactivity with pancreatic carcinoma has been developed. PAM4 is an IgG1 immunoglobulin produced by immunization of mice with mucin purified from the xenografted RIP1 human pancreatic carcinoma. An immunohistochemical study of normal adult tissues showed the PAM4 reactive epitope to be restricted to the gastrointestinal tract and absent from normal pancreas. In neoplastic tissue, PAM4 was reactive with 85% of the pancreatic carcinomas, approximately half of the colon cancers and none of the breast, ovarian, prostate, renal and liver cancers. PAM4 was, in general, non-reactive with pancreatitis specimens whereas CA19.9 and DUPAN2 were strongly reactive with each one. Treatment of the mucin antigen by heating, reduction of disulfide bonds, or protease digestion abolished immunoreactivity with PAM4. Treatment of the mucin by neuraminidase or periodate oxidation reduced immunoreactivity but did not completely abolish it. Our data are consistent with the proposal that the PAM4 epitope is a conformationally dependent peptide epitope and that certain carbohydrate structures are necessary in order to maintain the correct peptide conformation. The high specificity and intense reactivity of PAM4 with pancreatic carcinoma tissue suggests that the antibody may prove useful for in vitro diagnostic assays as well as in vivo targeting of diagnostic and therapeutic agents.

Intralaboratory quality assurance of immunohistochemical procedures. Recommended practices for daily application.

During the past several decades, immunohistologic techniques have been developed that may provide important adjunctive information to the diagnostic pathologist. These procedures are now widely available and commonly used in the pathology laboratory. Proper performance of immunohistochemical procedures and interpretation of their results require development and implementation of appropriate quality control and quality assurance measures. This article reviews the application of quality control standards in the immunohistochemistry laboratory and the integration of these activities into the overall quality assurance program of the department.

Induction of persistent infection in mice and oncogenic transformation of mouse macrophages with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus.

Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) established long-term persistent infection in intracerebrally inoculated athymic nude mice. After intraperitoneal injection into outbred mice, virus was isolated for only 3 days from spleens and livers. In vitro inoculation of outbred mouse spleen fragments with IBRV resulted in persistent infection and subsequent transformation of spleen macrophages. The IBRV-specific membrane and intracellular antigens were detected by indirect immunofluorescence techniques in transformed cells in early in vitro passages. The presence of IBRV genetic formation was confirmed by in situ hybridization. The IBRV-transformed mouse macrophages induced fibrosarcomas and cystic tumors in athymic nude mice. Infective virus could not be rescued from transformed cells by cocultivation with rabbit kidney cells, treatment with iododeoxyuridine, or ultraviolet irradiation.

Properties of mouse embryo fibroblasts transformed in vitro by infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus.

Infection of CD-1 mouse embryo fibroblast(s) (MEF) with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV) strain HMC resulted in persistent infection and subsequent transformation of these cells. IBRV-transformed MEF cultures consisted of short fibroblastoid cells, and IBRV-specific membrane and intracellular antigens were detectable in early in vitro passages by indirect imunofluorescence (IF) techniques. The presence of IBRV genetic information was confirmed in IF-positive and IF-negative cells by in situ hybridization. IBRV-transformed MEF induced fibrosarcomas in athymic nude mice given sc transplants. Infectious virus could not be rescued from the transformed cells or from tumor cells by cocultivation with rabbit kidney cells, by treatment with 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine, or by UV irradiation. Nontransformed control cells did not survive more than 10 in vitro passages and did not induce tumors when transplanted to athymic nude mice. These observations represent new data concerning the mouse cell-transforming potential of IBRV and confirm the presence of at least part of the virus genome in the transformants.