INVESTIGATION OF VICIA-GRAMINEA LECTIN-BINDING AND VICIA-UNIJUGA LECTIN-BINDING GLYCOPROTEIN AS NOVEL ONCOFETAL ANTIGENS IN CYST AND ASCITIC FLUIDS OF HUMAN OVARIAN-TUMORS IN BENIGN, DYSPLASTIC, AND MALIGNANT STAGES

Perchloric acid-soluble fractions (PASFs) were obtained from cyst flui ds of human benign ovarian mucinous cystadenoma, benign dermoid cyst, ''borderline'' mucinous cystadenoma, and malignant ovarian clear cell carcinoma, and from ascitic fluids of malignant embryonal carcinoma an d malignant serous cystadenocarcinoma. PASFs from benign lesions did n ot react with Arachis hypogaea lectin (PNA), Vicia graminea lectin (VG A), or Vicia unijuga lectin (WA). PASFs from ''borderline'' lesions re acted with PNA but did not react with VGA and VUA. PASFs from malignan t tumors reacted with PNA, VGA, and WA. These PASFs did not react posi tively against anti-M or -N sera. These results show that VGA- and WA- binding glycoprotein (Vgu glycoprotein) exist in PASFs from malignant ovarian tumors, and that PNA-binding glycoprotein was present in PASFs from malignant and ''borderline'' ovarian tumors. Furthermore, we fou nd the existence of Vgu glycoprotein in PASFs from various human cance r cell lines; however, the antigens were not found in PASFs from benig n human cell lines.