Quantitative dot blot analyses of blood‐group‐related antigens in paired normal and malignant human breast tissues

Abstract

Membranes were prepared from 31 breast-cancer specimens and adjacent mammary tissues, dot-blotted to nitrocellulose paper, and reacted with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) (A, B, Lewis a, Lewis b, sialylated Lewis a, Lewis x, and Lewis y) and lectins (Ulex europaeus, peanut agglutinin) having various blood-group specificities. The expression of epithelial membrane antigen was assayed with MAb MA5. The ratio of breast-cancer to normal mammary membrane preparations (C/N ratios) of these reagents was measured by densitometric scanning. We observed a decrease in the levels of A, B, Lewis a, Lewis b, sialylated Lewis a, and Lewis y antigens and an increase of Lewis x, T, and MA5-reactive determinants in breast cancers. The incidence of incompatible A, as well as A and B, antigens was demonstrated for 2 patients of blood group B and O respectively. When the receptor content was plotted against the C/N ratio of these various reagents, a significant inverse relationship between the C/N ratio of Lewis x antigen and estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) content was observed in breast cancers. The mean C/N ratio of Lewis x antigen was significantly higher in the ER-negative/PR-negative (ER-/PR-; 2.33 +/- 1.17), as compared with the ER-positive/PR-positive (ER+/PR+; 0.97 +/- 0.80). According to these observations, Lewis x antigen expression may be influenced by hormonal stimuli such as estrogen and progesterone.

Inhibition of MT-450 rat mammary tumour growth by antibodies recognising subtypes of blood group antigen B

“…Conversely to our ®ndings in the rat MT-W9 model, several studies show that loss of expression of A and B antigens occurs during human breast tumour progression, although inappropriate A and B antigen in human mammary carcinomas has been reported in O individuals (Strauchen et al, 1980;Lee et al, 1985;Vowden et al, 1986;Ura et al, 1992). The studies on ABH expression in human mammary tumours re¯ect the fact that we found very few rat tumour cells which express M-N#1 (Table 1), suggesting that the upregulation of M-N#1 in the MT-W9 model may be paralleled in only a small subset of human tumours.…”

ABO Blood Type/Rh Factor and the Incidence and Outcomes for Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

“…17,31,32 In breast cancer, previous studies have described variable H antigen expression and loss of the A and B antigens, a characteristic shown to increase cell motility. 16,31,33,34 Regarding overall tumor progression, Le Pendu et al 34 hypothesized that the presence of ABH antigens in precancerous epithelial cells may promote resistance to apoptosis, facilitating malignant transformation and escape from immune surveillance, and that at more advanced stages of tumor progression, tumor cells that have lost blood group antigen expression may then demonstrate increased metastatic capacity.…”

“…[13][14][15] Decreased levels of blood group antigens have been detected in breast carcinomas, and altered glycosylation and antigen expression has been implicated in the invasiveness of breast cancer, although the prognostic value of this is still uncertain. [15][16][17][18] Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined as the lack of expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins, accounts for approximately 10-20 % of breast cancers. [19][20][21] TNBC has been associated with higher histological grade and larger tumor size at diagnosis, and patients generally have a shorter diseasefree interval and poorer overall survival.…”

Novel approaches to the treatment of small-cell lung cancer

“…A blood-group-related carbohydrate, the Y difucosylated hapten (Lewis Y antigen), also designated as a cluster-6 antigen on lung tumor cells [28], is associated with 60-90% of human tumors of epithelial origin, including breast, colon, and gastric cancer, and SCLC [45][46][47][48]. Its level of expression correlates with survival in patients with lung cancer [49].…”