Prior studies of sera from insect sting-allergic patients have analyzed the relationship of coexisting honeybee venom- and yellow jacket venom-specific IgE. Radioallergosorbent (RAST)-inhibition tests with these venoms revealed four different patterns of activity. In this present study, purified fractions prepared from these venoms were used to analyze these varying patterns. The hyaluronidases of yellow jacket venom and honeybee venom showed extensive cross-reaction. The phospholipases from these venoms showed minimal cross-reactivity; antigen 5 was restricted to yellow jacket venom. There was a high molecular weight component in yellow jacket venom with immunologic properties similar to honeybee venom acid phosphatase. Sera from individual patients showed quantitative and qualitative differences in the reactions to the major components of both venoms. The differences in the RAST-inhibition patterns in patients with elevated levels of both honeybee venom- and yellow jacket venom-specific IgE are accounted for by these differences as well as by differences in the cross-reactivity between the individual components.

The presence of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in saline extracts (SE) prepared from adenocarcinomas of the colon has been confirmed. This antigen was also detected in perchloric acid extracts (PAE) and in boiled and ethanol precipitated extracts (BE) of colonic tumors. CEA was present in BE preparations of feces from 4 of 8 patients with colon cancer. None of the feces BE specimens from 7 normal individuals contained detectable CEA. In addition, CEA was detected in PAE of sputum from patients with cystic fibrosis and asthma and in PAE of feces from patients with cystic fibrosis. CEA was also detected in PAE of normal colonic mucosa. In these non-tumorous specimens, however, the concentration of CEA was about 100 times lower than in tumor tissue.

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