Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to produce monoclonal antibodies which recognize hemidesmosomes and to analyze the differences in the expression between in normal epithelium and squamous cell carcinoma. Cultured squamous carcinoma cells derived from oral mucosa were immunized to mice and one monoclonal antibody named 8A12 was obtained. The antibody 8A12 was found immunoelectron microscopically to react with the extracellular constituent of hemidesmosomes with which the basal cells adhere to the matrix in normal human tongue epithelium. In cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma, positive immunostaining by 8A12 was observed in the actively-proliferating undifferentiated cancer cells. These cells showed a positive reaction over the entire cytoplasm. Because of the expression of the 8A12-epitope in cultured cancer cells, the hemidesmosomal component which is distributed on the surface of the normal cells is thought to accumulate intracellularly. These results suggest that the antibody 8A12 is useful for the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma and for the identification of the degree of differentiation. Moreover, abnormal transportation of the hemidesmosomal component is suggested to be related to carcinogenesis and metastasis.
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