Molecular mimicry of carbohydrate and protein structures by hybridoma antibodies

A large proportion of tumour-associated antigens seem to be determined by carbohydrate structures. Advances in the study of the antigenicity of cell-surface carbohydrates have been hampered by the absence of advanced monoclonal hybridoma technology comparable to that available for the study of protein antigens. Monoclonal antibodies have been raised against a carbohydrate epitope (43–9F) that is associated with the proliferative features of squamous lung carcinomas. These were used in turn to generate anti-idiotype antibodies with homology to 43–9F. The method and its possible applications are described, together with a procedure to detect rare cell membrane variants within large populations.