Immunocytological and preliminary immunohistochemical studies of prothymosin alpha, a human cancer-associated polypeptide, with a well-characterized polyclonal antibody.

Abstract

Prothymosin alpha (ProTalpha) is a nuclear polypeptide of great biological and, possibly clinical, importance, because its expression levels have been associated with early diagnosis/prognosis of human cancer. It is therefore interesting to raise easily available and cost-effective antibodies that would be applied to develop reliable ProTalpha immunodiagnostics. In this study, New Zealand white rabbits and laying hens were parallel immunized against intact ProTalpha or the synthetic fragments ProTalpha[1-28], ProTalpha[87-109], and ProTalpha[101-109], all conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). The corresponding antibodies G and Y were immunochemically evaluated in parallel with ELISA and Western blot systems and applied to fluorescence immunocytology experiments using various cancer cell lines and normal cells. The antibody G raised against ProTalpha[101-109]/KLH had excellent functional characteristics in the Western blot and immunocytology experiments, where the fluorescent signal was almost exclusively shown in the cell nucleus independently of the cells assayed. The above antibody has been applied to preliminary IHC staining of human cancer prostate tissues, leading to a high percentage of clearly and intensively stained nuclei in the adenocarcinoma tissue; this antibody can be further used in cancer tissue immunostaining and in research concerning the role of ProTalpha in tumorigenesis.

• Authors: Persefoni Klimentzou, Angeliki Drougou, Birgit Fehrenbacher, Martin Schaller, Wolfgang Voelter, Calypso Barbatis, Maria Paravatou-Petsotas, Evangelia Livaniou
• Journal: The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society (J Histochem Cytochem) Vol. 56 Issue 11 Pg. 1023-31 (Nov 2008) ISSN: 0022-1554 [Print] United States
• PMID: 18711212 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antibodies
• Fluorescent Dyes
• Protein Precursors
• prothymosin alpha
• Thymosin
• Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (metabolism)
• Animals
• Antibodies
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Nucleus (metabolism)
• Cells, Cultured
• Chickens
• Fibroblasts (metabolism)
• Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate
• Fluorescent Dyes
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Male
• Prostatic Neoplasms (metabolism)
• Protein Precursors (immunology, metabolism)
• Rabbits
• Thymosin (analogs & derivatives, immunology, metabolism)