Immunological and biochemical characterization of the nonspecific cross-reacting antigen epitopes using twenty-three monoclonal antibodies

Nail bed keratinocytes express an antigen of the carcinoembryonic antigen family

Using a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies raised against human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CEA-related molecules, we detected strong expression of an antigen, with immunoreactivity consistent with non-specific cross-reacting antigen (NCA) (CD66c), in all of 26 normal human nail specimens obtained from various fingers and toes. In longitudinal sections, strong and constant expression of the NCA-like antigen was seen on keratinocytes distributed in the upper epithelial cell layers of the nail bed, while in transverse sections the expression was limited to the major central portions of the nail bed, but only where longitudinal epidermal ridges were observed. In the hyponychium and the ventral aspect of the proximal nail fold, the expression was weak or lacking. No expression was seen in the nail matrix, the nail plate, or the dorsal aspect of the proximal nail fold. The same results were obtained for all of the 26 nails studied. This report is the first to demonstrate that an antigen of the CEA family, with NCA-like immunoreactivity, is expressed in a specific subpopulation of keratinocytes in the nail bed. The specific expression pattern suggests that the antigen may play a part in adhesion of the nail plate to the nail bed.

Characterization of a species of non-specific cross-reacting antigen (NCA) expressed by human monocytic cell lines: structure and expression during cell differentiation

It has been documented that human monocytes/macrophages are reactive with antibodies directed to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and non-specific cross-reacting antigens (NCAs), a group of glycoproteins antigenically cross-reactive with CEA, yet the molecules responsible for this antigenic activity have not been fully clarified. In the present study, among 7 myelomonocytic cell lines tested, 2 monoblastoid lines, U-937 and THP-1, were found to express NCA-50/90, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell-adhesion molecule chiefly expressed on granulocytes. The 2 cell lines showed a reaction pattern with 5 distinct anti-CEA and anti-NCA monoclonal antibodies, similar to that of CHO transfectants expressing recombinant NCA-50/90. Immunoprecipitation and SDS-PAGE analyses identified glycoproteins of about 95 and 55 kDa in U-937 and THP-1 cells, respectively. Deglycosylation of the 2 antigens with N-glycanase gave the same apparent molecular mass of about 45,000, which was also the same as that of the deglycosylated form of the recombinant NCA-50/90. Upon Northern-blot analysis, only one band of approximately 2.5 kb was detected in both cell lines with a cDNA probe for NCA-50/90, which has a broad specificity to the CEA gene family members. cDNA cloning demonstrated that the 2.5-kb clones encode the peptide of NCA-50/90. The expression of NCA-50/90 by U-937 and THP-1 was down-regulated at both the protein and mRNA levels during cell differentiation from monoblastoid to monocyte/macrophage-like cells induced by stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Our observations suggest that NCA-50/90 is a differentiation antigen of cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage as well as of the granulocyte lineage.

Fractionation of carcinoembryonic antigen and related antigens in normal adult feces using a gradient medium Percoll

Fresh normal human feces were fractionated using Percoll gradients and phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Studies concerning how cells or cell membrane fragments are fractionated with CEA activity indicate that fecal associated CEA activity is not primarily associated with soluble antigens but with whole cells or fragmented cell membranes.

Effective purification of nonspecific cross-reacting antigens with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C

Two molecular species of nonspecific cross-reacting antigens, NCA-90 and NCA-50 with mol. wts. of 90,000 and 50,000, respectively, were effectively extracted with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) from human lung tissues, followed by extraction with perchloric acid, immunoaffinity chromatography with anti-NCA adsorbent, and gel filtration on a TSK G3000SW column. The yields of NCA were about 2 times more than those obtained by the usual method without PI-PLC. Addition of 0.05 unit of PI-PLC to 1 g of lung tissue and incubation at 37 degrees C for 1 h with continuous shaking seem to be practically sufficient for NCA extraction. The immunochemical properties of the NCAs thus obtained were found to be identical to those of NCAs obtained by the ordinary method.