Monoclonal antibody against a lactose epitope of glycosphingolipids binds to melanoma tumour cells

Mice were immunized with a neoglycoprotein consisting of a chemically modified carbohydrate moiety (reductively aminated 3'-sialyllactose) linked to human serum albumin. By this procedure an antibody response to the normally non-immunogenic carbohydrate structure was obtained. Hybridomas were established, and monoclonal antibodies were selected in ELISA based on their binding to the saccharide hapten, or to a lactosylceramide-mimicking neoglycolipid, lactose-bis-sulfone. One of the selected antibodies, 2H4, was of particular interest, since it also bound to glycolipids present on melanoma cells. FACS analysis of a panel of 14 melanoma cell lines showed that the 2H4 antibody bound to the majority of these. In frozen, non-fixed sections or paraffin sections of biopsies the monoclonal antibody 2H4 stained melanoma cells, but not tumour infiltrating lymphocytes or normal skin. Detailed immunochemical analysis of 2H4, using thin layer chromatography revealed that it recognized an internal lactose epitope in several glycosphingolipids.

Radiative transfer in the ocean: computations relating to the asymptotic and near-asymptotic daylight field

The asymptotic daylight field in a homogeneous ocean is, like the absorption (a), scattering (b), and attenuation (c) coefficients and the volume scattering function (VSF), an inherent optical property (IOP) of the medium. A simple relationship in the spirit of the van de Hulst similarity relationships is developed from which the diffuse attenuation coefficient K(infinity) of the asymptotic light field can be obtained from a, b, and the VSF with an error of < 2%. In this relationship, the shape of the VSF is characterized by its asymmetry parameter g, whereas omega(0) = b/c characterizes the other IOP's. The relationship applies approximately to other quantities as well, particularly tau(x), which is the optical depth at which the downwelling irradiance attenuation coefficient K(d) can be replaced by K(infinity) with an error no greater than x%. Computations of tau(5) and tau(10) are presented as a function of g, omega(0) and the incident light field, and it is shown that for overcast conditions K(d) can be within 5% of K(infinity) at depths at which the downwelling irradiance is greater than 50% of its value at the surface. Simulations of radiative transfer in verticall inhomogeneous waters reveal that for sufficiently large depth (z), the value of K(infinity)(z) determined from the asymptotic theory that uses the values of the IOP's at z is a good approximation to K(d)(z). Thus our results suggest that in addition to being a pedagogically interesting concept, the asymptotic theory may actually be useful in ocean optics research. The influence of inelastic processes (fluorescence and Raman scattering) on K(infinity) are briefly examined, and it is shown that for an ocean of pure sea water, i.e., no particles or fluorescent compounds, K(infinity)(lambda) approximately 0.02 m(-1) for lambda >/= 430 nm with little spectral variation.

Anti-GM3-lactam monoclonal antibodies of the IgG type recognize natural GM3-ganglioside lactone but not GM3-ganglioside

Immunization of mice with a synthetic GM3-lactam-BSA (bovine serum albumin) conjugate (designed to emulate the corresponding natural GM3-lactone conjugate), followed by fusion of splenocytes with myeloma cells, gave rise to more than 300 monoclonal hybridomas producing antibodies to GM3-lactam-BSA, which did not react with Glc-BSA and BSA. Eight antibody clones were randomly chosen from the positive 300 hybridomas. The eight clones, all belonging to the IgG class, were unreactive against GM3-ganglioside, whereas two antibodies (P5-1 and P5-3, both IgG1, kappa) reacted with GM3-ganglioside lactone. Binding of these two antibodies to the GM3-lactam-BSA conjugate was inhibited by soluble glycosides of GM2-, GM3-, and GM4-lactam and by GM3- and GM4-lactam, respectively, but not by Gb3 or asialo-GM1 and GM2-saccharides. A third antibody (P3; IgG2b, kappa) was inhibited by GM2-, GM3-, and GM4-lactam, but did not recognize GM3-ganglioside lactone.