L-leucine sensitive, heat-stable alkaline-phosphatase isoenzyme detected in a patient with pleuritis carcinomatosa

[Carcinofetal antigens. III. Further carcinofetal antigens (author's transl)]

The occurrance and significance of important carcinofetal antigens other than AFP and CEA are reported. These included the alpha 2 H-protein which is produced in the liver and increases in serum of patients with various tumors, the fetal sulphoglycoprotein antigen FSA from the gastric juice of patients with gastric cancer, the carcinoplacental alkaline phosphatase (REGAN-isoenzyme)which is found in the serum of patients suffering from e.g. bronchogenic, mammary, urogenital and gastrointestinal carcinomas, the beta-S-fetoprotein which is most likely to be identical with C-reactive protein, gamma-fetoprotein, the carcinofetal antigen in glial tumors (CFGA); ectopic production of placental hormones like human gonadotropin, placental lactogen, plasminogen-activators; leukemia-associated antigens. Furthermore, some other less known carcinofetal antigens are mentioned.

Structual comparison of ectopic and normal placental alkaline phosphatase

An alkaline phosphatase immunochemically similar to placental alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) was purified from liver metastases of a giant-cell carcinoma of the lung. Some properties of its physical and chemical structure were determined and compared to those of purified placental alkaline phosphatase. The purified tumor phosphatase and the placental phosphatase were similar with regard to the following properties: (1) NH(2)-terminal sequence, (2) peptide map, (3) subunit molecular weight, and (4) isoelectric point. The physical properties and NH(2)-terminal sequence of alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme of liver differed from the placental and the tumor enzyme. The data from the present study strongly support the hypothesis that the tumor and the placental alkaline phosphatases are products of the same gene.

A rapid automated screening technique for the detection of placental-like alkaline phosphatase in malignant disease

An automated heat-stability procedure at 65 degrees C for the detection of heat-stable placental and placental-like alkaline phosphatase is described. Placental-like enzymes were found in the serum of three patients suffering from malignant disease and one of these is described in detail.