HELA-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN-2 .2. LOCALIZATIO N IN THE NORMAL AND MALIGNANT-TISSUES

BY means of indirect immunofluorescence test a marked expression of He La-associated antigen-2 (HAA-2) has been revealed in normal human gast ric mucosa, in the small and large bowel cells of human and mouse, and in normal human mammary gland. HAA-2 was found on the surface of gobl et cells of small intestine and in the cytoplasm of large bowel cells of human and mouse. To a lesser extent, HAA-2 was revealed in the norm al tissues of lung and ovary. The brightest staining was seen in all c ases of highly differentiated gastric adenocarcinomas and in the intra ductal carcinoma of breast, to a lesser extent in polyps of endometriu m and sometimes in adenocarcinomas of ovary, intestine and broncho-alv eolar carcinomas. Immunohistochemical staining of various intensity wa s revealed in the sections of 35 from 42 normal tissue specimens, 41 f rom 68 tumors, 7 from 10 metastases in the lymph nodes. HAA-P is not s pecies-Specific since it was observed on the goblet cells of murine (C 57BI/6 strain) small and large bowel. By means of immunofluorescence, the antigen was also revealed on the surface of HEp-2 cells.