FINE SPECIFICITY OF ANTI-LE(X) MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY TEC-01

TEC-01 monoclonal antibody recognizes the oligosaccharide structure Ga l beta 1-->4[Fuc alpha 1-->3] GlcNAc (Le(x) hapten). To determine its fine specificity, reactivity of TEC-01 antibody with Le(x) glycosphing olipids, isolated from human liver metastasis of adenocarcinoma, and L e(x) neoglycolipid were analysed. Immunostaining of Le(x) glycosphingo lipids, fractionated by thin-layer chromatography, showed that TEC-01 reacted with difucosyl and trifucosyl Le(x) glycosphingolipids but not with Le(x) pentasaccharide ceramide. Interestingly, TEC-01 also react ed with Le(x) neoglycolipid prepared by reductive amination from Le(x) pentasaccharide, lacto-N-fucopentaose III, and L-1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-g lycerophosphoethanolamine. The combined data suggest that TEC-01 recog nizes Le(x) hapten in glycolipids with longer oligosaccharide chain mo iety.