Preparation of a diagnostic antigen of human melanoma based on lymphocyte activation as measured by intracellular fluorescein fluorescence polarization.

The intracellular fluorescein fluorescence polarization (IFFP) test indicates that peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of cancer patients display stimulatory sensitivity to a short incubation with specific tumor protein extracts. In this work, a human lymphocyte activation melanoma antigen (LAMA) was purified from supernatant of a human melanoma cell line (L1M1), which could specifically stimulate lymphocytes of melanoma patients. The results showed a significant stimulation of lymphocytes from healthy donors after incubation with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), while no stimulation was observed after incubation with LAMA. On the other hand, lymphocytes from melanoma patients showed a significant stimulation with LAMA, while generally showing minor or no stimulation with PHA. Melanoma specificity of LAMA was demonstrated by no response in lymphocytes from patients of lung, colon, or breast cancer. The purified fraction is therefore considered to be a shared tissue-specific antigen which may be useful in immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy of melanoma.