Conjugation of phenyl isothiocyanate derivatives of carborane to antitumor antibody and in vivo localization of conjugates in nude mice

A systematic study of the conjugation of 1-(p-isothiocyanatophenyl)-1,2-dicarba-closo-[2-3H]dodeca borane(12), 3H-1, and 7-(p-isothiocyanatophenyl)dodecahydro-7,8-dicarba-nido -[8-3H] undecaborate(1-)ion, 3H-2, to the murine monoclonal anti-CSAp antibody, Mu-9, was carried out to compare charged and uncharged boron cages in their effect upon antibody loading. Approximately one neutral cage and four of the anionic cages were successfully linked to antibody in two separate conjugates which were subsequently radioiodinated and evaluated in vivo. No significant loss of the antibody or its immunoreactivity was observed in either case. In nude mice bearing GW-39 tumor xenografts the conjugate containing the anionic carborane derivative showed a reduced tumor uptake although the tumor:non-tumor ratio was similar to that of the native antibody. The carborane cage in 2 was radiolabeled with 125I followed by attempts to purify and conjugate product 4 to a model goat IgG protein. This exploratory conjugation study was undertaken as a prelude to linking new conjugation reagents, which contain multiple anionic boron cages, to antitumor antibodies. The latter conjugates are required to maximize boron loading for the purpose of neutron-capture therapy.     

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as a tool for antibody conjugate analysis

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis was used to assess the immunoreactivity of anti-biotin (4) and anti-fluorescein (5) monoclonal antibody after conjugation with the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of acridinium-9-carboxamide 1. Only minor changes in the apparent equilibrium dissociation constants of the antibody conjugates for their ligands resulted from the conjugation process. However, comparison of the initial binding rate of the conjugates with their ligands with those of the unmodified antibodies over a range of concentrations showed that the antibody conjugates were partially inactivated. The anti-fluorescein conjugates retained at least 90% of their immunoreactivity over the range of modification tested, while anti-biotin conjugates showed a progressive loss of reactivity with increased substitution by the label.     

Reduction-alkylation strategies for the modification of specific monoclonal antibody disulfides

Site-specific conjugation of small molecules and enzymes to monoclonal antibodies has broad utility in the formation of conjugates for therapeutic, diagnostic, or structural applications. Precise control over the location of conjugation would yield highly homogeneous materials that could have improved biological properties. We describe for the first time chemical reduction and oxidation methods that lead to preferential cleavage of particular monoclonal antibody interchain disulfides using the anti-CD30 IgG1 monoclonal antibody cAC10. Alkylation of the resulting cAC10 cysteine thiols with the potent antimitotic agent monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) enabled the assignment of drug conjugation location by purification with hydrophobic interaction chromatography followed by analysis using reversed-phase HPLC and capillary electrophoresis. These analytical methods demonstrated that treating cAC10 with reducing agents such as DTT caused preferential reduction of heavy-light chain disulfides, while reoxidation of fully reduced cAC10 interchain disulfides caused preferential reformation of heavy-light chain disulfides. Following MMAE conjugation, the resulting conjugates had isomeric homogeneity as high as 60-90%, allowing for control of the distribution of molecular species. The resulting conjugates are highly active both in vitro and in vivo and are well tolerated at efficacious doses.     

High-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen mimotope immunizations induce antibodies recognizing melanoma cells

Size and posttranslational modifications are obstacles in the recombinant expression of high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen (HMW-MAA). Creating a tumor antigen mimic via the phage display technology may be a means to overcome this problem for vaccine design. In this study, we aimed to generate an immunogenic epitope mimic of HMW-MAA. Therefore we screened a linear 9mer phage display peptide library, using the anti-HMW-MAA monoclonal antibody (mAb) 225.28S. This antibody mediates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and has already been used for anti-idiotype therapy trials. Fifteen peptides were selected by mAb 225.28S in the biopanning procedure. They share a consensus sequence, but show only partial homology to the amino acid sequence of the HMW-MAA core protein, indicating mimicry with a conformational epitope. One mimotope was chosen to be fused to albumin binding protein (ABP) as an immunogenic carrier. Immunoassays with 225.28S indicated that the mimotope fusion protein was folded correctly. Subsequently, the fusion protein was tested for immunogenicity in BALB/c mice. The induced anti-mimotope antibodies recognized HMW-MAA of 518A2 human melanoma cells, whereas sera of mice immunized with the carrier ABP alone showed no reactivity. These anti-mimotope antibodies were capable of inducing specific lysis of 518A2 melanoma cells in ADCC assays with murine effector cells. In conclusion, the presented data indicate that mimotopes fused to an immunogenic carrier are suitable tools to elicit epitope-specific anti-melanoma immune responses.     

High-dose,unlabeled, nonspecific antibody pretreatment: influence on specific antibody localization to human melanoma xenografts

Summary Nonspecific uptake of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies in normal tissues is a significant problem for tumor imaging. A potential means of decreasing nonspecific antibody binding is to blockade nonspecific antibody binding sites by predosing with cold, nonspecific isotypematched antibody, before injecting specific antibody. Nontumor-specific murine monoclonal antibody LK2H10 (IgG1) or Ab-1 (IgG2a) was given i.v. at doses of 0 to 3.5 mg to nude mice with xenografts of human melanoma. These mice were then given i.v. 4 g of ¹³¹I anti-high molecular weight antigen of melanoma (HMWMAA) monoclonal antibody 763.24T (IgG1) or 225.28S (IgG2a), respectively. These mice were also given a tracer dose of ¹²⁵I LK2H10 or Ab-1, respectively. Specific tumor uptake of anti-HMWMAA antibodies was see in all cases. No drop in tumor or nontumor uptake was demonstrated for either of the tumor-specific or nonspecific monoclonal antibodies due to nonspecific monoclonal antibody pretreatment. These data suggest that high doses of isotype-matched unlabeled nonspecific monoclonal antibody given before ¹³¹I tumor-specific monoclonal antibody, will not enhance tumor imaging. Present address: Hybritech, San Diego, CA, USA     

Quantitative collision‐induced unfolding differentiates model antibody–drug conjugates

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are antibody‐based therapeutics that have proven to be highly effective cancer treatment platforms. They are composed of monoclonal antibodies conjugated with highly potent drugs via chemical linkers. Compared to cysteine‐targeted chemistries, conjugation at native lysine residues can lead to a higher degree of structural heterogeneity, and thus it is important to evaluate the impact of conjugation on antibody conformation. Here, we present a workflow involving native ion mobility (IM)‐MS and gas‐phase unfolding for the structural characterization of lysine‐linked monoclonal antibody (mAb)–biotin conjugates. Following the determination of conjugation states via denaturing Liquid Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (LC–MS) measurements, we performed both size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and native IM‐MS measurements in order to compare the structures of biotinylated and unmodified IgG1 molecules. Hydrodynamic radii (Rh) and collision cross‐sectional (CCS) values were insufficient to distinguish the conformational changes in these antibody–biotin conjugates owing to their flexible structures and limited instrument resolution. In contrast, collision induced unfolding (CIU) analyses were able to detect subtle structural and stability differences in the mAb upon biotin conjugation, exhibiting a sensitivity to mAb conjugation that exceeds native MS analysis alone. Destabilization of mAb–biotin conjugates was detected by both CIU and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data, suggesting a previously unknown correlation between the two measurement tools. We conclude by discussing the impact of IM‐MS and CIU technologies on the future of ADC development pipelines.     

Boron-enriched streptavidin potentially useful as a component of boron carriers for neutron capture therapy of cancer.

A boron-enriched streptavidin has been prepared by chemical conjugation of a boron-rich compound, B(12)H(11)SH(2)(-) (BSH), to a genetically engineered streptavidin variant. The streptavidin variant used has 20 cysteine residues per molecule, derived from a C-terminal cysteine stretch consisting of five cysteine residues per subunit. Because natural streptavidin has no cysteine residues, the reactive sulfhydryl groups of the cysteine stretch serve as unique conjugation sites for sulfhydryl chemistry. BSH was conjugated irreversibly to the sulfhydryl groups of the streptavidin variant via a sulfhydryl-specific homobifunctional chemical cross-linker. Quantitative boron analysis indicates that the resulting streptavidin-BSH conjugate carries approximately 230 boron atoms/molecule. This indicates that the chemical conjugation of BSH to the streptavidin variant was highly specific and efficient because this method should allow the conjugation of a maximum of 240 boron atoms/streptavidin molecule. This boron-enriched streptavidin retained both full biotin-binding ability and tetrameric structure, suggesting that the conjugation of BSH has little, if any, effect on the fundamental properties of streptavidin. This boron-enriched streptavidin should be very useful as a component of targetable boron carriers for neutron capture therapy of cancer. For example, a monoclonal antibody against a tumor-associated antigen can be attached tightly to the boron-enriched streptavidin upon simple biotinylation, and the resulting conjugate could be used to target boron to tumor cells on which the tumor-associated antigen is overexpressed.     

The conjugation of preliminarily immunosorbent-immobilized 5B4D6 monoclonal antibodies with a chelating polymer.]

A study has been performed to investigate the change in antigen-binding capacity of antibodies as a result of their interaction with chelating agents, and polymers under various conditions. It has been demonstrated that antibody immobilization on the sorbent preceded by the antibody conjugation with chelating polymer allows better maintenance of specific activity of 5B4D6 monoclonal antibodies. Such modification yields a 10-fold increase in the antibody-antigen binding as compared with a standard conjugation technique in a mixture.     

Selective macrophage activation by muramyldipeptide bound to monoclonal antibodies specific for mouse tumor cells

Summary IgM monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor cells which do not mediate antibody-dependent macrophage cytotoxicity (ADMC) even when they are cytotoxic in the presence of complement, have been shown to render macrophages tumoricidal when they carry an immunomodulating agent, i.e., muramyldipeptide (MDP).This statement is based on experiments using two IgM monoclonal antibodies selected for their ability to bind L1210 leukemia cells (F₂-10-23-IgM) and 3LL Lewis lung carcinoma cells (6B6-IgM) specifically, as shown by flow cytofluorometry analysis.The MDP-IgM conjugates, containing 45 MDP molecules per IgM molecule, were prepared by allowing MDP-hydroxy-succinimide ester to react with IgM monoclonal antibodies.The MDP-IgM conjugates are shown to bind to relevant tumor cells and to induce the activation of thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal mouse macrophages leading to 80% growth inhibition of target cells at optimum concentrations of bound MDP. These concentrations of bound MDP were 10 times lower than the concentration of free MDP, giving a maximum activation that is limited to 20% growth inhibition.No macrophage activation was evidenced when tumor cells were incubated in the presence of irrelevant MDP-IgM conjugates and macrophages or when macrophages were preincubated in the presence of MDP-IgM conjugates and then incubated in the presence of relevant or irrelevant tumor cells but in the absence of the MDP-IgM conjugates.The reported results are discussed with reference to the mechanism of activation of macrophage by muramyldipeptide and to the usefulness of such MDP-IgM conjugates as potential antitumor agents in cancer therapy.Abbreviations ADMC antibody dependent macrophage mediated cytotoxicity - F-GAM fluoresceinylthiocarbamyl goat anti mouse antibody - -Man-BSA -mannopyranosyl-phenylthiocarbamyl bovine serum albumin containing some 25 mannose residues (neoglycoprotein) - MDP muramyldipeptide, 2-acetamido-3(2-0-d-lactyl-l-alanyl-d-glutamyl amine) glucopyranose - MDP-F₂-10-23-IgM Murine monoclonal antibody specific of L1210 leukemia cells and substituted with 45 MDP molecules - MDP—6B6-IgM Murine monoclonal antibody specific of 3LL Lewis lung carcinoma cells and substituted with 45 MDP molecules - MEM minimal essential medium - TDM Trehalose-dimycolate     

Sulfhydryl site-specific cross-linking and labeling of monoclonal antibodies by a fluorescent equilibrium transfer alkylation cross-link reagent

The site-specific intramolecular cross-linking of sulfhydryls of monoclonal antibodies via a new class of "equilibrium transfer alkylation cross-link (ETAC) reagents" is described. Following complete or partial reduction of interchain disulfides with dithiothreitol (DTT), two murine IgG2a monoclonal antibodies, 225.28S and 5G6.4, were reacted with alpha,alpha-bis[(p-tolylsulfonyl)methyl]-m-aminoacetophenone (ETAC 1a) and a fluorescent conjugated derivative, sulforhodamine B m-(alpha,alpha-bis(p-tolysulfonylmethyl)acetyl)anilide derivative (ETAC 1b). Reducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the products from 1b indicated the formation of S-ETAC-S interchain heavy and light chain cross-links (approximately 23-34% overall yield by video-camera densitometry) which do not undergo disulfide-thiol exchange with DTT at 100 degrees C. In contrast, no interchain cross-links were observed upon reaction of unreduced or reduced antibody wherein the thiols have been previously alkylated with iodoacetamide. These results indicated site-specific cross-linking of interchain sulfhydryls and places their distance within 3-4 A. Flow cytometry of the ETAC 1b 5G6.4 cross-linked product using 77 IP3 human ovarian carcinoma target cells showed positive binding and retention of immunoreactivity. The in vivo biodistributions of 131I-labeled intact 5G6.4 and 125I-labeled reduced 5G6.4 + ETAC 1a product in rats were essentially identical over a period of 24 h. The present study illustrates the potential applications of labelable ETAC reagents as thiol-specific probes for a wide variety of immunological studies.     

Reduced immunogenicity of beta-lactoglobulin by conjugating with chitosan

Bovine beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) was conjugated with chitosan (CHS) by means of a water-soluble carbodiimide to reduce the immunogenicity of beta-LG. Each beta-LG-CHS conjugate was purified by ion-exchange chromatography and hydrophobic chromatography. The conjugation between beta-LG and CHS was confirmed by SDS-PAGE, the isoelectric point of the conjugate being higher than that of beta-LG. Two types of the beta-LG-CHS conjugate were obtained with molar ratios of beta-LG to CHS of 1:1 (F1) and 1:2 (F2). Structural analyses by fluorescence measurement, ELISA with monoclonal antibodies and retinol-binding activity indicated that the conjugates had almost maintained the native structure of beta-LG. The antigenicity of the beta-LG-CHS conjugates was similar to that of beta-LG in C3H/He mice. Reduction of the immunogenicity of beta-LG was achieved by conjugation with CHS. In particular, F2 showed very low immunogenicity. B cell epitopes of beta-LG and the conjugates recognized in C3H/He mice were determined with 15-mer multi-pin peptide; the linear epitope profiles of the conjugates were found to be similar to those of beta-LG, while the antibody response to each epitope was dramatically reduced. Conjugation of beta-LG with chitosan was effective for reducing the immunogenicity of beta-LG.     

Antibody conjugates mimic specific B cell presentation of antigen: relationship between T and B cell specificity

We developed antibody conjugates by covalently coupling antibodies against mouse mu-chain and monoclonal antibodies against nominal antigen, myoglobin, as a tool for antigen presentation and as a model of specific presentation of antigen by antigen-specific B cells and T-B interaction. In the presence of the antibody conjugates, myoglobin-specific Iad-restricted cloned T cells proliferated at 1000-fold lower concentration of myoglobin than the stimulatory concentration without the conjugates. This enhanced presentation was observed only when Iad spleen cells were 1000 R-irradiated but not 3300 R-irradiated, consistent with B cell presentation. The simple mixture of each component of the conjugates had no enhancement effects. The conjugates per se had no mitogenic effects on either splenic B cells or the cloned T cells at concentrations employed for antigen presentation. The conjugates reduced the number of antigen-presenting cells required for the maximal response but did not change the kinetics of response. The enhanced presentation by the conjugates required a genetically restricted interaction with B cells. Antigen specificity of the enhanced presentation was confirmed by using various T cell clones or lines with different antigen specificities and different conjugates constructed with monoclonal antibodies of known epitope specificity. The enhanced presentation was significantly inhibited by competition with exogenous mouse IgM or anti-mouse mu-chain but was not significantly inhibited by monoclonal antibodies against Fc receptor. Thus, conjugate-coated B cells serve as models for myoglobin-specific B cells in that they can take up specific antigens at extremely low concentration and can present the antigen to specific T cells. This model system can be applied to any antigen and any species without the need to develop antigen-specific B cell clones, which is not yet possible for most antigens and species of experimental animals. This system allowed us to investigate the relationship between T cell epitope and B cell epitope when these cells interact with each other in an antigen-specific and Ia-restricted manner. Experiments using antibody conjugates of different monoclonal antibodies against myoglobin and various myoglobin-specific cloned T cells of known antigen specificity revealed that there are some particular combinations in which much more limited enhancement of antigen presentation is observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Radiolocalization of 99mTc-labeled fragments in a melanoma xenografted model

A xenograft model of human malignant melanoma was used to compare, in terms of tumor localization, the specific antimelanoma monoclonal antibody (MoAb) 225.28S with an irrelevant antibody (4C4). Both specific and non-specific 99mTc-labeled fragments were injected in 12 nude mice bearing subcutaneous tumor. The animals were then sacrificed at 6 and 24 hours post-injection and immediately dissected. Radioactivity of the tumor and normal tissues was measured in a well scintillation counter and autoradiography of tumor, liver and kidneys was also obtained. Tumor localization of 99mTc-labeled MoAb 225.28S fragments was highly specific compared with 99mTc-labeled irrelevant antibody 4C4. With the exception of the kidneys, already at six hours there was a satisfactory tumor-to-normal tissue ratio, which improved at 24 hours. However, the percentage of injected dose per gram of tumor decreased with time, probably due to the weaker bond of radiolabeled Fab' fragments to tumor cells. These results would indicate 99mTc-fragments of the antimelanoma MoAb 225.28S as a suitable radiotracer in clinical nuclear medicine.     

Purified immunotoxins that are reactive with human lymphoid cells. Monoclonal antibodies conjugated to the ribosome-inactivating proteins gelonin and the pokeweed antiviral proteins

Seven different monoclonal antibodies of the IgG class that are reactive with four different antigens on human lymphoid cells were utilized to form immunotoxins with the ribosome-inactivating proteins gelonin and the three known pokeweed antiviral proteins. Thirteen different immunotoxin combinations were prepared. The ribosome-inactivating proteins were modified with 2-iminothiolane. The sulfhydryl groups so introduced were reacted with maleimido groups or with dithiopyridyl groups that had been introduced into the antibodies. The toxin-antibody conjugates so formed were purified by affinity chromatography on protein A-Sepharose CL-4B, ion exchange chromatography, and by gel filtration and were characterized by polyacrylamide-dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. The purified immunotoxins were free of nonconjugated monomeric proteins and aggregates of very high molecular weight. All the immunotoxins showed the specific binding of the component antibody as measured by indirect immunofluorescence binding assays. The activities of the ribosome-inactivating proteins were unaffected by conjugation where the cross-link to the antibody contained a disulfide bond and when assayed after reductive cleavage of the linker. Disulfide-linked immunotoxins with six of the antibodies were highly cytotoxic for the target cells. However, immunotoxins containing an anti-B1 antibody showed no cytotoxicity.     

Selective in vitro toxicity of purothionin conjugated to the monoclonal antibody 225.28S to a human high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen

The toxic agent purothionin was conjugated to the monoclonal antibody 225.28S to a human high-molecular-weight melanoma-accociated antigen. The toxic conjugate displayed in vitro toxicity to cultured human Colo 38 melanoma cells as indicated by reduced uptake of 3H-thymidine following a 24-h incubation and loss of cell viability following a 7-day incubation. The effect is dose-dependent and is specific since addition of the toxic conjugate to a cultured Raji B lymphoid cells did not affect their 3H-thymidine uptake or their viability.     

Evaluation of ketone-oxime method for developing therapeutic on-demand cleavable immunoconjugates

The use of antibody molecules in immunoassay, molecular targeting, or detection techniques encompasses a broad variety of applications affecting nearly every field of medical science. In cancer therapy, monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been used as vehicles to deliver radionuclides, toxins, or drugs to the target cancer cells. New conjugation methods are most needed to conjugate a wide variety of targeting small molecules and peptidomimatic compounds. Here, we exploited a keto-oxime method for conjugation of protease susceptible linkers to an antibody. This modified method involves two steps: (i) introduction of methyl ketone linkers (referred to as linker moiety) to the primary amines present in the antibody and (ii) conjugation of ketone linkers to aminoxy functional group present in the conjugated moiety (referred to as functional moiety). We have optimized this conjugation method and shown that approximately 10 functional moieties can be conjugated to antibody. Conjugation was verified by MALDI-TOF MS and Western blot analysis. The acidic pH conditions used in this method did not change the immune reactivity of the Ab. In addition, in vitro protease susceptibility assay was performed to validate this method for prodrug release assay as well as to remove excess radioimmune conjugates from circulation. This orthogonal method is compatible with peptides containing a thiol, amino, or carboxyl groups in the conjugation moiety.     

Use of different hapten-protein conjugates immobilized on nitrocellulose to screen monoclonal antibodies to abscisic acid

The dot-immunobinding method for screening antibodies to proteins on sheets of nitrocellulose has been modified to allow monoclonal antibodies (McAb) to the hapten abscisic acid (ABA) to be screened. Several methods for conjugating ABA to proteins using new bifunctional coupling reagents, specific for hapten keto groups, are described. Hybridomas secreting McAb with a defined specificity for the hapten can be identified by screening supernatants against the carrier protein and other hapten-protein conjugates with different conjugation bridges or modified hapten structure. Inhibition of binding to conjugates by free hapten is used to determine the relative avidity of the McAb for free and bound hapten. All of these tests could be done with no more than about 50 microliter of antibody solution. Dot immunobinding is a useful alternative to radioimmunoassay for screening McAb to haptens.     

Region-selective labeling of antibodies as determined by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)

The electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis of three sets of monoclonal antibody-acridinium-9-carboxamide conjugates is described. The conjugates (nine total) were enzymatically digested using papain and the resulting fragments [Fc heavy chain, Fab, or F(ab')(2)] were analyzed using liquid chromatography/ESI-MS. The average number of labels per fragment were calculated using Sigma nx%, where n is the number of acridinium molecules covalently bound to the fragment and x% is the percent relative area of the corresponding peaks in the mass spectrum. When these values were normalized against the molecular weight of their respective region, antibody-dependent labeling patterns were observed. For antibodies T (anti-L-T(4)) and F (anti-FITC), there was a preference for conjugation of the Fab region over the Fc region. For antibody B (anti-biotin), the trend was reversed.     

An improved method for conjugating monoclonal antibodies with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl DOTA

A simple, water-soluble procedure for conjugation of monoclonal antibodies to 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N",N"'-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) has been improved by optimizing pH, buffer, and temperature conditions for the preparation of N-hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl DOTA and its conjugation to the human/murine chimeric anti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody cT84.66. This improved method results in a 6-fold increase in conjugation efficiency, a 3-7-fold decrease in antibody cross-linking, a more homogeneous population of conjugate species, and a 5-fold decrease in the quantities of reagents needed for conjugation. The cT84.66-DOTA conjugate was labeled to high specific activity with 111In, 90Y, 88Y, 64Cu, and 67Cu, affording near-quantitative incorporation of the majority of these radiometals. This improved conjugation procedure facilitates large-scale production and radiometal labeling of cT84.66-DOTA for clinical radioimmunotherapy trials.     

Heterogeneity of human melanoma-associated antigens defined by monoclonal antibodies and conventional xenoantisera

Summary Immunochemical analysis of cultured human melanoma cell detergent extracts and spent culture medium with conventional xenoantisera and monoclonal antibodies identified four types of 94,000 (94K) dalton molecules and two types of high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigens by the following characteristics: (1) association with other components, (2) mobility in SDS-PAGE under reducing and nonreducing conditions, (3) antigenicity, and (4) presence in spent culture medium. Conventional xenoantisera were found to contain antibody populations to antigenically distinct structures, some of which have similar apparent molecular weights. Immunodepletion studies showed that the antigenic determinant detected by the monoclonal antibody 225.28S to a high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen was expressed on a subpopulation of the antigens defined by the conventional xenoantiserum #8995. These data prove that antibodies reactive with antigens of similar molecular weight cannot be assumed to identify the same structures, and indicate that tumor-associated antigens may be heterogeneous in the expression of antigenic determinants defined by monoclonal antibodies.Visiting investigator from the Veterans Administration Hospital, Minneapolis, MinnesotaVisiting investigator from Sapporo Medical College (Japan). Abbreviations used: MAA, melanoma-associated antigen; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; NP40, nonidet P40; MoAb, monoclonal antibody; SDS-PAGE, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; 2-ME, 2-mercaptoethanol