Brain glycoprotein 10B: further evidence of the "sign-post" role of brain glycoproteins in cell recognition, its change in brain tumor, and the presence of a "distance factor"

Anti-malignin Antibody Evaluation: A Possible Challenge for Cancer Management

The major problem in the management of cancer is the difficulty of an early diagnosis. Clinical signs and symptoms generally appear late in the course of the disease. The availability of a non-invasive test which detects a blood molecule closely associated with the malignant transformation of the cells could be of help in the early detection of cancer. Malignin is a 10 kDa polypeptide located in the cytoplasmic and outer membranes of all malignant cells. Anti-malignin antibodies (AMAs) are IgM immunoglobulins spontaneously produced by the host against the oncoprotein malignin when neoplastic transformation occurs; since AMAs are IgM, they can represent an “early” transformation indicator useful for the early detection of cancer. Elevated AMA serum concentrations, measured by means of TARGET®@ reagent, have been demonstrated inpatients with a wide spectrum of non-terminal active cancers, regardless of the anatomical site and histotype of the tumor. The AMA test showed a sensitivity and specificity of 95% on first determination and >99% on repeated determinations, and has been reported to be a promising diagnostic tool for the early detection of cancer, as well as for monitoring of the response to treatment and possibly for screening of an asymptomatic population.

The metabolism of nerve terminal glycoproteins in the rat brain

The fate of [3H]fucose in subcellular fractions has been followed for a period of three weeks after intraventricular injection in the rat brain. Isolated synaptosomal membranes were examined by gel electrophoresis. Seven fucosyl glycoproteins with molecular weights ranging from 123,000 to 31,000 were detected by scintillation counting of transversely sliced gels and their specific activities determined. The half-lives of 6 of the membrane glycoproteins fell within the range 11-22 days. The smallest glycoprotein showed anomalous behaviour; its radioactivity did not fall significantly over the period of study. The results are discussed in relation to current concepts of fast axonal transport.